Bill Clinton Opens Up On ’08 Election

Former President Bill Clinton opened up about the 2008 election Tuesday evening, stating that he never doubted a Democrat would win the Presidency.

“I remember on the morning of the [2006 mid-term elections] I told Hillary ‘if we don’t nominate a convicted felon, we’re going to win’. The Democratic nominee will be the president of the United States,” said Clinton during a gala honoring retiring Democratic Leadership Council founder Al From.

The former President credited the shift in U.S. culture as an important aspect of President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory.

“We’re not a bi-racial country anymore, we’re a multi-racial country. We don’t have time to do anything or celebrate our differences,” Clinton explained. “We are wholly intolerant now of the staples of American politics for much of the last 40 years.”

He expressed his gratitude for Obama’s acceptance of a number of projects from the Clinton era, including extending the community service group AmeriCorp and providing a national loan program to make college more accessible. He also touched upon the challenges facing the Obama administration.

“I think we’re going to get a health reform bill. I’ve been waiting all my life for this. I think we’ll be able to get one that has some republican support that won’t be filibustered. But if we just have universal coverage without doing something to break the cost spiral, five years from now we won’t have universal coverage anymore because we won’t be able to afford it,” said Clinton.

The National Coalition: Organize! Organize! Organize!

The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation held a conference on the post-election polls about African American voters. Melanie Campbell, Executive Director and CEO for The National Coalition, said that there were a record number, four million black voters who cast their votes on Nov. 4th. “For this election we emphasized-vote early, vote absentee, just vote. We really wanted people to utilize the vote early feature for this election,” Campbell said.

Jerry Lopes, Vice President of Programs for the American Urban Radio Networks, said that it was alarming to see how many young voters were ill-informed of political issues surrounding the elections. “We had to raise awareness to the young voters because they don’t watch the news as much as older folks do,” Lopes said.

Lorretta Johnson, Executive Vice President for the American Federation of Teachers, said the key to this election was education. “We had the attention of some folks for the first time, so we had to let them know how to do things. The folks we helped and taught are those folks that will be in our positions for the 2012 elections.” Johnson went on to state, “We have to take advantage of the fact that we have connected with the ‘Lost Generation’ (the youth) and now we have to make sure we keep them involved and interested.” Johnson stressed that if authority figures don’t educate young voters and keep them engaged then they will lose interest again until someone or something brings them back in.

McCain at NAACP

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain discussed education, government spending, and the economy at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his remarks, McCain said his opponent democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama “an impressive fellow,” saying Obama has been able to inspire many Americans and that Obama has made historical strides for the United States.

McCain defended school voucher programs, asking where failing schools leave families and children in need of a good education. He said no bureaucracy should deny a child’s right to an education and that Americans are of dangerous schools with unqualified teachers. McCain also proposed aiding study outside of school by putting $500 million towards virtual schools and the expansion of online courses. He noted educational reform has been a goal of the NAACP, saying that despite the best efforts of teachers, blacks are among the most likely to drop out of high school. He criticized Obama’s opposition to educational programs in lower class neighborhoods and Obama’s decision to ignore public support for private school vouchers.

McCain said government spending has increased 60 percent in the last eight years, advocating reduced taxation as a method to ease Americans’ struggles with a hard economy. If elected, McCain told the conference he would double tax breaks for dependents and build 45 new nuclear plants as a method to develop alternative energy sources and to provide Americans 700,000 additional jobs. McCain closed by saying he needs counsel and goodwill from the NAACP to effectively help the United States.

McCain a "flawed candidate"

Support for democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama was expressed during a news conference held by the Democratic National Committee. DNC Chairman Howard Dean thanked former democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for bringing inspiration to the democratic primaries and motivating millions of voters to vote for the Democratic Party. This gratitude was echoed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saying that it is now clear that the United States is ready to have a woman president.

Pelosi and Dean emphatically stated that electing republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain would be comparable to a third Bush term. Dean said that McCain has voted with Pres. Bush’s policies 95 percent of the time, a higher percentage than any other senator has. Pelosi said that economic stability has been “sucked out of our economy,” by the top one percent of the United States due to Bush’s economic policies, causing the middle and lower class to fall behind. Pelosi said that McCain would continue to support these destructive procedures through taxes that support the wealthy. Pelosi repeatedly stated, “We do not need four more years.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) described the climate in the Senate as “surreal,” saying that republicans have disrupted debate on topics that are crucial to Americans like gas prices, renewable energy, and torture. Reid said Obama will lead the United States in a new, needed direction and that McCain is a “flawed candidate.”

Speakers strongly stated that Obama will win in November will be attributed to Americans’ dissatisfaction with republican policies. Despite a long primary election, Chairman Dean said he has “every confidence” that the party will unite. Pelosi added that woman and blue-collar voters, two demographics that voted strongly for Hillary Clinton, have the most to benefit from Obama and the most to lose from McCain.