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Comments

• [1] Jim L. Nelson from Jersey City, NJ January 02, 2008 - 10:03AM

  RE: Also demystify process for passing caucus resolutions.

  Thank you for coverage of the issues and styles of candidates, and how they resonate with local and global citizens of Iowa. Please also ask Kathie Obradovich (and others) about what is on the minds of Iowans that will feed into the other reason for the caucus meetings: discussing resolutions for platforms. This aspect of the Iowa (and Minnesota) caucus is less covered than referendum petitions in other states, yet is also reflective of this country's pluralistic styles of democratic civic participation.

  See the very end (item 34, page 13) of the Iowa Democratic Caucus 2008 Guide to Precinct Caucus (available on-line).

  Peace,

  Jim Nelson

  
  
• [2] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey January 02, 2008 - 10:14AM

  How is people being able to switch party affiliation at the last moment a good thing for democracy? How does that not just create Trojan Horse opportunities where one party can load people into the other party to vote for the weakest of the candidates? We have documented cases of exactly this kind of thing going on in American history. Caucuses are a complete sham.

  
  
• [3] alex from NYC January 02, 2008 - 10:22AM

  Re: Kucinich's second choice: don't forget that a few months ago, Edwards enraged Kucinich by suggesting to Clinton (caught on open mic) that they limit the debates to the top candidates.

  
  
• [4] Joe Corrao from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 10:23AM

  Mention Ron Paul...c'mon say his name...

  
  
• [5] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey January 02, 2008 - 10:23AM

  That's completely ridiculous... a wide open race would make it MORE likely that someone would try to sabotage the other party's results. If it were a given about who would win, THAT would be the circumstance when it wouldn't make much sense to try to skew the results. But if each candidate is only going to get a little slice of the pie, it gives the greatest opportunity for a few saboteurs to change the outcome.

  
  
• [6] Linda from NJ January 02, 2008 - 10:23AM

  The national press needs to get on the ball and educate the voting public about Giuliani's mode of governing and otherwise conducting his public life. Articles in the Tri-State area are useless - we know him - the national press has to get the truth out to the voters who only see the NYC Hero of 9/11.

  
  
• [7] Tony from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 10:40AM

  Linda,

  "The national press" isn't responsible for educating voters. Voters are responsible for educating themselves. I agree Giuliani is a frightening prospect as president. But people who go into the voting booth and/or write a check without being informed are partaking in the contemporary epidemic of not taking personal responsibility. Otherwise you end up with people saying unintentionally ironic things like "Bush isn't my fault, I voted for Nader."

  There's a wealth of information available. People just need to avail themselves to it.

  
  
• [8] hjs from 11211 January 02, 2008 - 10:52AM

  i want to know how the next president will fix the education system & the environment problems of this country.

  
  
• [9] pam from NY January 02, 2008 - 10:54AM

  Here's a Q. that I'd like to have answered on-air: Why has Kucinic recommended Obama & not Edwards, whose anti-poverty agenda would seem, on its face, to be more aligned with his?

  
  
• [10] Demetri from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 10:54AM

  I want to know the candidates positions on campaign finance reform & generally removing money interests from politics.

  
  
• [11] Israel Martinez from Woodside, Queens January 02, 2008 - 10:59AM

  The economy! The economy! The economy! We're on the verge of rough times--how will the candidates handle them?!

  
  
• [12] nycerbarb from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 11:01AM

  Hi

  Brian mentioned you did candidate interviews. I messed them. It would be so cool if you could put direct links to the interviews on the show's front page.

  I know I could search, but you could make it easier!

  Thanks.

  
  
• [13] David from Bridgeport, CT January 02, 2008 - 11:01AM

  Obama did not vote in favor of the Bankruptcy Bill. Perhaps you could answer the caller's question with that clarifying fact.

  
  
• [14] Mike Treder from Brooklyn, NY January 02, 2008 - 11:02AM

  In a new TV ad, Mitt Romney says, "In the next ten years, we'll see more progress, more change than the world has seen in the last ten centuries."

  Do other candidates expect as much change as that? How well are they prepared to deal with accelerating change?

  
  
• [15] nycerbarb from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 11:04AM

  David is correct on Obama

  http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0312-03.htm

  
  
• [16] nycerbarb from Brooklyn January 02, 2008 - 11:06AM

  Biden also voted in favor of the bankruptcy bill, not against it as Brian indicated.

  
  
• [17] Paulo from Paterson, New Jersey January 02, 2008 - 11:06AM

  It irritates me when people bring up the republic vs. democracy issue. This is mainly because people typically only do it to needlessly split hairs as this caller was doing. Democracy is a broad term that encompasses a number of different concepts and a broad philosophy. Pointing out that we are not a democracy but a republic means interpreting democracy in strictly as a particular form of government. But we can't talk about the republic for many of these issues because a republic simply means not having a hereditary monarchy. A republic does not guarantee freedom or elections, so talking about the health and state of American DEMOCRACY isn't wrong and never has been. It's only when people want to say "Look how smart I am!" that we end up parsing this terminology to death and forget what we were actually talking about.

  Or its because those people are disdainful of democratic institutions like elections and civil rights and bring up the Founding Fathers establishing a "republic" instead of true "democracy" to legitimize those opinions.

  
  
• [18] eric from jersey city January 02, 2008 - 11:18AM

  the campaign rhetoric of g. w. bush was not very indicative of how he would eventually govern. neither was his past performance in other jobs.

  my real questions are:

  -- what could we have learned about bush in 19999-2000 that would have been more helpful in predicting his future behavior?

  -- what is the corresponding information about the current candidates?

  if i had to venture a guess, i'd suggest looking not only at the candidates, but at the influences on the candidates.

  what has shaped their thinking? who were their mentors? who are their advisors? what are their cabinets likely to look like? what kind of aliances are being built during the campaign that may persist once the campaign is over?

  
  
• [19] Upper West from New York January 02, 2008 - 11:22AM

  David and Nycerbarb are correct. Obama has consistently been against the bankruptcy bill, and Biden has not only been for it but has championed it. Below is a link to the vote on cloture, which enabled its passage.

  http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00029

  
  
• [20] Michael from Staten Island January 02, 2008 - 11:37AM

  At the Republican YouTube debate, a video questioner held up a bible and asked if each and every candidate would testify to belief in each and every word of it, saying that their answers would govern his and many other's choice at the polls.

  All the candidates delivered non-committal answers to this, essentially attempting to show their support of the role of religion in America (where they might have cited the constitution which holds that there be no religious test for candidates for public office).

  And, Romney, in a press conference defending his Mormonism, said that equal blessing should be bestowed on all who hold Christian beliefs, no matter what shade of practice they are called to.

  But what about Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, agnostics and atheists, are they entitled to the civic rights and blessings that this country has to offer?

  So I think the candidates (especially ones who seem to be holding up the bible themselves) need to have this question asked:

  Will your stewardship as President give equal rights, protections, support and blessings to Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, agnostics, atheists and others who are not Christians (or who are but don't practice much), or will that support go only to devout Christian citizens, catering only to the believers' agenda?

  
  
• [21] hjs from 11211 January 02, 2008 - 11:38AM

  will they lift the embargo on cuba?

  
  
• [22] Leon Freilich from Park Slope January 02, 2008 - 12:01PM

  SHE'S PAID HER BILL

  Hillary boasts of her eight White House years

  As the campaign approaches a crescendo,

  And just who will deny that experience counts--

  Years of coping with rumor and innuendo.

  
  
• [23] The Brian Lehrer Show from NYC January 02, 2008 - 03:10PM

  Hello All - I just wanted to let you know that the Brian Lehrer Show has consolidated all of the candidate interviews in our "president Next" section: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/president_next.html

  Best

  
  
• [24] Bea Foley January 02, 2008 - 05:22PM

  Great show this morning.

  Someone said that there is little minority presence among Iowan voters - and that big national names dont appear in Iowa.

  I lived in Waterloo Iowa during the 2000 election. We had candidates (and/or their wives/children) literally underfoot for months.

  It was fascinating to watch and listen to the rhetoric. Everytime I turned on the tube there was George W with a mike in his hand, pitching to his fellow Republicans (which were the dominent party at that time).

  I went to one Democratic rally (I vote in New York) to see what went on. It was held in a school gym in Cedar Falls (where I worked at the Univ of No. Iowa) - Al Gore brought Ted Kennedy and Herbie Hancock to speak/play. What surprised me was that the audience was 99% African American. (Waterloo IA is 20% Black). Some voters were reading an ethnic newspaper printed in an Eastern European language (dont remember which one now). And, the topper was that ole Ted kept calling Cedar Falls "Waterloo" - to groans from the audience.

  So, while Iowa IS a narrow, conservative state, it sure does know how to host a national caucus.

  Thanks for reading this epistle and keep up the good work!

  
  
• [25] Lenore from Upper West Side, NYC January 03, 2008 - 10:49AM

  I'd like the candidates to talk about the cities and their problems. We live in one, for example.

  
  
• [26] eric from jersey city January 07, 2008 - 12:02AM

  it would be interesting to know how each of the remaining candidates have reacted to a significant unexpected event that they had no plans for.