| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gephardt displays some swagger in presidential raceTaking a stand on health care
By Bill Schneider
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democrats are supposed to be testosterone-challenged. You want bold, risky ideas, tax cuts, invasions? Try President George W. Bush. But this week, it was a Democrat who displayed some swagger and who made off with the political Play of the Week. Former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt is this week's winner. "I do not think we're going to defeat George Bush by trimming around the edges and, in effect, being 'Bush-lite,'" Gephardt of Missouri said Wednesday on CNN's "Lou Dobbs Moneyline." Bush-lite? Try Gephardt, last October. "In response to the president's desire for congressional support, and in keeping with our constitutional responsibilities, I have worked to draft a resolution," Gephardt said at an October 2002 White House briefing. That was the resolution authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq. Gephardt led the fight for it. Now he's running for president and that may not sit so well with Democrats who want a sharp, clear alternative to Bush. If that's what you want, why not try -- Dick Gephardt? "I think we've got to have bright-line alternatives," said Gephardt. Alternatives like a hugely expensive plan that would provide health insurance for virtually every American; giving states and cities much needed financial relief and pumping money into the economy. How's Gephardt going to pay for all this? Brace yourself. "We pay for it by repealing the Bush tax cuts," said Gephardt during a speech in New York Wednesday. Gulp. Republicans wasted no time attacking Gephardt's plan as a $2 trillion dollar tax HIKE. Gephardt was ready and responded, "There hasn't been one job created by these tax cuts. There hasn't been anything that's good that's happened to this economy." The rap on Gephardt is that he's yesterday's man. He tried to run for president once before. And failed. He tried to become speaker of the house. And failed. This week, we saw the new Dick Gephardt, charged with testosterone and saying, "I challenge every candidate for president to offer a health care plan that covers every American, stimulates the economy and creates jobs. And I challenge them to tell us exactly how they'd pay for it." As President Bush would say ... "Hoo-ahh!" for the political Play of the Week. But what about the deficit? Gephardt's answer: To hell with the deficit! If President Bush can ignore the deficit, so can I.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
