FACTBOX: Quotes from Clinton, Obama from debate on issues

Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:46pm EST
 
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(Reuters) - Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama noted their differences on health care and other key issues during a one-on-one debate on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Here are some of their views.

HILLARY CLINTON, SENATOR FROM NEW YORK

"I think I made a reasoned judgment (voting for Iraq resolution). Unfortunately, the person who actually got to execute the policy did not."

"I want a moratorium on foreclosures for 90 days so we can try to work out keeping people in their homes instead of having them lose their homes, and I want to freeze interest rates for five years."

"It's not that he (Obama) is against mandatory provisions, it's that he doesn't think it would be politically acceptable to require that for everyone. I just disagree with that. I think we as Democrats have to be willing to fight for universal health care."

"You have to bite this bullet. You have to say, yes, we are going to try to get universal health care. What I have designed makes it affordable, provides premium caps so it's never above a small percentage of what individuals are asked to pay."

"If you take business, which pays the costs and wants to get those costs down, take labor that has to negotiate over health care instead of wages, take doctors, nurses, hospitals who want to get back into the business of taking care of people instead of working for insurance companies, I think we will have a coalition that can withstand the health insurance and the drug companies."

"I believe that in many parts of our country, because of employers who exploit undocumented workers and drive down wages, there are job losses. And I think we should be honest about that."

BARACK OBAMA, ILLINOIS SENATOR

"I don't think the Republicans are going to be in a real strong position to argue fiscal responsibility, when they have added $4 trillion or $5 trillion worth of national debt."

"The reason that this is important (Clinton's Iraq vote), again, is that Senator Clinton, I think, fairly, has claimed that she's got the experience on day one. And part of the argument that I'm making in this campaign is that, it is important to be right on day one."

"You can mandate it (health care), but there's still going to be people who can't afford it. And if they cannot afford it, then the question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to fine them? Are you going to garnish their wages? You know, those are questions that Senator Clinton has not answered with respect to her plan."

"You know, Ted Kennedy said that he is confident that we will get universal health care with me as president, and he's been working on it longer than I think than anybody. But he's gone through 12 of these plans, and each time they have failed. And part of the reason, I think, that they have failed is we have not been able to bring Democrats, Republicans together to get it done."

"One thing that I think we're going to have to do as Democrats when we go after the Republicans is -- the question is not tax cuts, tax hikes. The question is, who are the tax cuts for, who are the tax hikes imposed upon. What we have had right now is a situation where we've cut taxes for people who don't need them."

"The problem is, is that if we have such a freeze (on interest rates), mortgage interest rates will go up across the board and you will have a lot of people who are currently trying to get mortgages who will actually have more of a difficult time."

(Compiled by JoAnne Allen; editing by Philip Barbara)

 

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