An ice storm last weekend was not enough to stop presidential candidates from debating at the Brown and Black debate in Des Moines, Iowa. The Democratic Presidential Candidates had a twist in the debate; they had to ask a question to another candidate.
Governor Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) had a complaint asking for more time, feeling that he was ignored by the debate’s moderators. “As the only brown member in this debate, is there any chance we could have civil rights equity and have the brown guy get a little more time?” he asked.
Richardson also concluded with a statement completely in Spanish. “I know this is a minority forum and we always get put into groups. One of the most fundamental things about minorities is that we care about all issues and moving this country together,” he said.
One of the moderators for the debate, Ray Suarez of PBS, cited that car accidents are leading of death for Latino men. He challenged Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y) on her stance on driver’s licenses for the undocumented.
Clinton argued that because of the absences of comprehensive immigration reform, individual states can’t issue licenses to the undocumented. “You know, it just didn’t bear up under a lot of scrutiny,” she said.
Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was asked why African Americans supported Clinton. “Sen. Clinton is well-known for her national service and African Americans are like everyone else. Until they get to know you and your track record, they are going to be asking questions.”
The debate had a lot of technical glitches with microphones not working and even Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.) arriving and taking his place an hour into the debate. His flight to Des Moines had been delayed and the airport was closed.
Former Senator John Edwards (D-S.C.) said he wanted to eliminate poverty and labeled it his signature issue. Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said that schools should be more segregated and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) asked himself a question. The question was whether Kucinich was the only candidate to advocate a single payer, non for profit, universal health care system. Kucinich replied, “yes”.
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