A few facts

On Tuesday, April 22, Pennsylvanian Democrats will have an opportunity to cast their vote for the next Democratic candidate for President. To help you make your choice on Tuesday, we have selected two topics of concern and tried to separate out the facts from the fizz with regard to where Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stand on them.

Health care

• Both Obama and Clinton call for an overhaul of the health system that keeps the current employer-based system, but also institutes a basic health-insurance program available irrespective of employment. The cost of the premiums for the basic program would be controlled and subsidies would be provided to lower-income households.

• Clinton’s plan mandates that all households purchase insurance. Obama’s plan only mandates that children be covered.

• Clinton charges that Obama’s plan is not universal because of the lack of a mandate, which will allow young, healthy people to opt out, raising the cost for everyone else. There does appear to be a broad expert consensus that the finances of universal health insurance will be undermined if some don’t participate.

• Obama argues that Clinton’s plan isn’t universal either, because there is no way to fully enforce a mandate, and some people would just pay the fines. Data cited in an op-ed by two Harvard professors of medicine in The New York Times last December supports his claim. In the Massachusetts mandated plan established by governor Mitt Romney, only seven percent of the uninsured population of Massachusetts required to buy coverage under the system, but not eligible for subsidies, had signed up as of early December.

• Neither Clinton’s plan nor Obama’s addresses the need to control the size of co-pays and deductibles, or deals with insurance companies’ refusal to pay many claims.

The war in Iraq

• Both Clinton and Obama have announced an intention to withdraw the bulk of our forces from Iraq once they assume office. Obama has named a 16-month timetable, but has said that once he is in office he may have to make adjustments for new information and conditions on the ground. Hillary says she will commence withdrawals soon after she takes office, but refuses to give a timetable.

• Obama has declared a willingness to speak with enemies without preconditions (e.g., demanding that they stop working on nuclear reactors first), but with preparation (e.g., establishing an agenda for the talks), and has called for talks with Iran regarding Iraq. Clinton has declared an unwillingness to negotiate with any enemies, including Iran, until they have acceded to certain demands.

• Clinton voted for the original authorization to use military force against Iraq (AUMF) in 2002. She says that she thought it would be used to enhance the President’s power to conduct diplomacy, not to actually go to war. Her actual words at the time, from a speech on the Senate floor, were: “My vote is not, however, a vote for any new doctrine of pre-emption, or for unilateralism, or for the arrogance of American power or purpose… it is a vote that puts awesome responsibility in the hands of our President and we say to him, ‘use these powers wisely and as a last resort.’”

• In 2002 Obama, then a state senator in Illinois, gave a speech critical of “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs and undetermined consequences.”

• Saying that voters should look at decisions, not words, Clinton points out that her votes and Obama’s on bills related to Iraq have been identical, with one exception, since 2004. This appears to be correct, with the difference being the confirmation of General George Casey as Chief of Staff of the Army, on which Obama voted “aye” and Clinton “nay.”

• Obama criticizes Clinton for failing to read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq before voting for the AUMF. Clinton admits that this is true, but says she feels she was adequately briefed.

• In 2007, Congress passed the Kyle-Lieberman amendment on Iran, which defines the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, part of Iran’s sovereign military, as terrorists. Some experts, like Senator and former Secretary of the Navy James Webb, believe this amounts to another authorization to go to war. Clinton voted for it, saying that it was a vote not for war but for “stepped-up diplomacy.” Obama did not vote on the amendment.

These facts may seem like dry stuff, and disappointingly, they show weaknesses on both sides. But it is by paying attention to these, and not the hyped-up melodramas cooked up by the campaigns and pundits, that you may be able to form sound judgments as to which candidate might actually serve you best. We encourage those of you with Internet access to visit www.google.com and enter words related to your concerns —like “free trade” or “sub-prime”—along with the candidates’ names. For such an important vote, it’s worth doing a little digging.

Also in this issue:

• Fracked

Dr. Punnybone

Pleasant Under Glass