Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Democrats John Edwards and Hillary Rodham Clinton used a forum on cancer Monday to deepen their divide over the influence of insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists on politics and national health-care policy while both contended the Bush administration’s conservative ideology has stunted medical research.
The two presidential contenders, along with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, also used the event sponsored by cyclist Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation to push plans for universal health care and shift the nation’s priorities from war in Iraq to fighting a war against cancer, obesity and other illnesses.
Edwards, a former North Carolina senator, has repeatedly chided Clinton, a New York senator, for taking campaign donations from special-interest lobbyists. Edwards said it was the health-care industry’s actions that led to her failure as first lady to get national health care enacted in the early 1990s.
“I believe that the insurance companies, the drug companies and their lobbyists killed the health-care reform that was attempted in the 1990s by Sen. Clinton, and we applaud her for her work. But I think they’re the people who killed it,” Edwards said.
“My lesson (from that) is not the same as hers. Her lesson is, ‘Give them a seat at the table,”‘ Edwards said. “I think if you give drug companies and insurance companies and their lobbyists a seat at the table, they’ll eat all the food.”
Clinton maintained that industry contributions she has received as a candidate have not stopped her from pushing expanded health-care initiatives and changes in pharmaceutical regulations.
Armstrong co-hosted the forum, carried by MSNBC, with Chris Mathews, in which the Democratic candidates were questioned individually.
A similar forum for Republican hopefuls is set for today.
Clinton and Edwards criticized the Bush administration for its opposition to expanding embryonic-stem-cell lines for federal research.
Richardson pointed to his efforts on health care as a governor, from banning junk food at schools to authorizing the use of medical marijuana. He said his work in New Mexico will lead to universal health care in the state in two years.
Richardson also said as president he would establish a “cancer czar or Cabinet-level leader” to consolidate government bureaucracy and more effectively use research dollars.
Kucinich said he was “singularly positioned” to lead on health-care issues as president because he has forsaken animal-based food products in his diet.
“This is why I happen to be a vegan. People want a president who’s healthy, because if you’re healthy, you can think right,” Kucinich said. “I’m 60 years old; my wife’s 29. Draw your own conclusions.”
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, who is limiting his participation in such forums, did not attend and was spending time with his family, an aide said.
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Presidential escort turns deadly A police officer escorting President Bush’s motorcade from a fundraiser in New Mexico died Monday when his motorcycle crashed.
The officer from the Rio Rancho police department crashed while the motorcade was near the Albuquerque International Sunport. Albuquerque television station KOB reported that the officer collided with another member of the escort squad.
Bush was heading to the airport after attending a $1,000-a-plate private luncheon for Republican Sen. Peter Domenici. After learning of the accident he called the city’s deputy police commissioner to express his condolences, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
Homeless man arrested in Dodd burglary Officers in Hartford, Conn., arrested a homeless man Monday in connection with a weekend burglary at the downtown office of Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd, police said.
Gilberto Soto, 47, who lives in a city shelter and has a lengthy arrest record, allegedly took a television, computer and other electronics from Dodd’s Hartford office, police said Monday.
“It does not appear right now that he knew he was breaking into a presidential candidate’s office or that there was any political motivation,” Assistant Police Chief Neil Dryfe said.
Charges against Soto were being finalized Monday afternoon, and he was taking officers to spots throughout the city where he allegedly sold the stolen items, Dryfe said.
