Outside the Adler Theater, it was a competition of chants.
“Quad-Cities, Let’s Go! Hillary is the Way to Go!” “Go John, Go!” “Go Joe, Go!’
With five of the six major Democratic presidential candidates in town for the first televised debate of the year in Davenport, the number of supporters dwarfed the campaign signs across the street.
Inside the Adler, Sen. Joe Biden (Delaware), Sen. Hillary Clinton (New York), Sen. Chris Dodd (Connecticut), former Sen. John Edwards (North Carolina), and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson debated about health care and financial security to an audience of more than 2,300.
Sen. Barack Obama (Illinois) was a no-show, and debate moderator Judy Woodruff mentioned he was invited to the event but declined the offer due to a scheduling conflict.
Many in the audience were members of the AARP, which hosted the Sept. 20 event broadcast nationally on PBS. Media from across the country, representing newspapers, TV, radio and the Web, came to cover the debate.
The candidates all agreed the country needed an overhaul in the current health-care system, expressing differences in how to go about it. Some also didn’t waste time making jokes, including Edwards, who said he found it hard to criticize Clinton’s health-care plan because it was similar to his.
Biden remarked that Richardson would make a good Secretary of State. Richardson, who formerly served as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN during the Clinton administration, said the comments were all in good fun and considers the senator his friend.
During a post-debate interview, Dodd said he thought the debate went well, adding later that he is the only candidate who is a member of AARP.
AARP and Iowa Public Television will hold its second presidential debate – on the Republican side – on Oct. 25 in Sioux City at the Orpheum Theater. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. John McCain have confirmed they will come. That forum will be broadcast live from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and aired on PBS.
For more information, go to www.dividedwefail.org.
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