This episode of Public Affairs features Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool (D-Chicago). Cmsr. Claypool has been integral to reform efforts for the six years he has been on the Cook County Board and he lost in a close, Democratic primary effort in 2006 to unseat the late, then twelve-year incumbent, anti-reformer Cook County Board President John Stroger.
Cmsr. Claypool is a member of the Obama media team and this entire show focuses on Presidential candidate issues and the Obama-Biden/McCain-Palin match-up. Claypool discusses and debates domestic policy, foreign policy and horse-race issues with "Public Affairs," show host and executive legal recruiter Jeff Berkowitz.
Topics discussed include whether McCain-Palin take the issue of change away from Obama-Biden or is McCain too closely tied to Bush to pull that off. Did and does McCain differ from Bush on tax cuts, immigration, campaign finance, judicial appointments (Gang of Fourteen) and torture, just to name a few; how different is the McCain of 2008 from the McCain of 2000; is McCain a tool of big business on tax cuts; has McCain now embraced the far right, and if so, has Obama now embraced the far left-- in the form of Daily Kos.
Additional topics discussed include whether Obama is a bigger or better tax cutter than McCain; Has Obama changed his view of the Bush tax cuts from what he said on Public Affairs, in 2003; were the Bush tax cuts proportional across the board or were they skewed toward the wealthy; Does Warren Buffet know anything about macro-economics or money, as we used to call that topic at the University of Chicago.
Additional topics discussed include whether McCain is more bi-partisan than Obama; did Obama or McCain have better judgment about the Iraq War, the Surge and the change in counter-terrorist strategy that accompanied the Surge; did the Surge work, militarily and politically; are the U. S. and Iraq on their way to victory over the insurgents; is it time to shift the focus to Afghanistan; if so, did the Iraq war make the future for Afghanistan and the U. S. better or worse; is dealing with the Al Qaeda on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border a tricky issue; how much does Palin rock the Presidential race, especially in light of Obamas rejection of Hillary for Biden; is Palin a maverick reformer and is that her bond with McCain; how much of a reformer is Biden; is it "The economy," stupid; does McCain feel your pain.
For more about Cmsr. Claypool, please go to www.ForrestClaypool.com
RT/ 29:15; taped on Sep. 7, 2008
Tags: commentary analysis news
