What, no new threads on Clinton vs Obama? Has fatigue set in even as the contest becomes more personal?
Democrats just can't decide whether Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a better presidential nominee, and there's some good reason for that. When it comes to policy, they are closely aligned.
"The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences that we have with Republicans," Clinton said at a debate earlier this year.
Even on one of their most frequently debated policies, Obama once said: "Ninety-five percent of our health care plan is similar."
Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution, said their policy agreements ironically have added to the tension in their campaign.
"There is simply no doubt that when two candidates virtually agree, you have to find other reasons to find an argument about why you should be for one rather than the other," he said. "That's why suddenly the issues in this campaign are issues of character rather than position. And once they are issues of character, they can get very personal."
Both want to provide health care for all and end the Iraq war. They want to increase tax credits for college tuition, protect abortion rights and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to strengthen labor and environmental standards.
They want to reform immigration in largely the same way and both have energy plans that would cost $150 billion over 10 years.
More on: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080411/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_differences
Democrats just can't decide whether Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a better presidential nominee, and there's some good reason for that. When it comes to policy, they are closely aligned.
"The differences between Barack and I pale in comparison to the differences that we have with Republicans," Clinton said at a debate earlier this year.
Even on one of their most frequently debated policies, Obama once said: "Ninety-five percent of our health care plan is similar."
Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution, said their policy agreements ironically have added to the tension in their campaign.
"There is simply no doubt that when two candidates virtually agree, you have to find other reasons to find an argument about why you should be for one rather than the other," he said. "That's why suddenly the issues in this campaign are issues of character rather than position. And once they are issues of character, they can get very personal."
Both want to provide health care for all and end the Iraq war. They want to increase tax credits for college tuition, protect abortion rights and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to strengthen labor and environmental standards.
They want to reform immigration in largely the same way and both have energy plans that would cost $150 billion over 10 years.
More on: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080411/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_differences
