Clinton Goes After Obama on Health Care

(CBS)

From CBS News' Fernando Suarez:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- During her first official campaign visit to Rhode Island, Hillary Clinton continued to criticize Barack Obama, taking aim at his experience and hitting him hard on his health care plan.

"Of all of our differences, the one that is just inexplicable is his refusal to put forth a plan for universal health care and his continuing attacks on my plan to do so," she said. "Senator Obama says one thing in speeches and his campaign does something else."

"I don't understand how someone can want to be our Democratic nominee and not be committed to universal health care," Clinton said.

"John Edwards had a plan, I had a plan, Chris Dodd had a plan, Dennis Kucinich had a plan, Bill Richardson had a plan, because we're Democrats we stand for the principle that every single person should have quality affordable health care!"

Clinton's comments come one day after she accused Obama and his campaign of purposefully sending out mailings that distort Clinton's health care plan. A visibly angry Clinton scolded Obama yesterday saying "Shame on you, Barack Obama" for putting out the mailings.

Clinton, who spoke before a crowd of several thousand supporters at Rhode Island College, continued hammering away the point that Obama lacks the experience to be commander-in-chief on "day one."

"The next president will walk in there and before the day is out will have to start tackling these big problems." Clinton went on to mention the recent problems in Pakistan, Cuba and the turmoil in Serbia saying all those problems happened in just "one week, and our president needs to be able to handle each and every one of those."

Clinton warned that voters in Rhode Island should be careful when choosing the next president, reminding them that it has been a while since the United States elected a wartime president.

"We haven't had many wartime elections. And I think it is important that we do not lose sight of what it means to be a electing a president in the midst of not just one, but two wars," Clinton said drawing applause form the crowd.

Clinton added, "None of the problems we face will be easily solved. I can stand up here and say, 'Let's get everybody together, let's get unified, the sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.' Maybe I've just lived a little long, but I have no illusions how hard this thing is going to be. You are not going to waive a magic wand and have special interest disappear."

Before arriving to Rhode Island, Clinton decided to visit with the press cabin aboard her campaign plane after some eager photographers took to decorating the rear of the aircraft with balloons and other campaign paraphernalia.

"I actually came back to see the photogs and the camera guys. I wanted to get a little time with them," Clinton said cutting off questions from reporters who stopped Clinton on her way.

Clinton was asked about form Green Party and Reform Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader joining in the current 2008 race to which Clinton said, "Obviously it is not helpful to who our Democratic nominee is. But its a free country and I don't know what party he will run on ... his being on the Green Party prevented Al Gore from being the greenest president we could ever have and I think that was really unfortunate."

Clinton has one more event scheduled in Rhode Island before departing for fund-raisers in Massachusetts.

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I can%u2019t believe Clinton is still beating the dead horse about %u201Cday one%u201D she proved in the Texas debate that she had no idea what she would do different on day one. She was asked and all she did was the %u201CClinton sidestep.%u201D I can%u2019t wait for a day when we don%u2019t have to listen to a Clinton or a Bush they are all the same. Look at her voting record!

[juan343]

Clinton and Obama make me want to puke. McCain is a Clinton wannabe who basically is more Pro-War. All three of these fools who keep talking about how much they care about the American people, voted YEA (Yes) to authorize the Patriot Act, which undermines all of our civil liberties (urban, rural, whatever). If the average American knew what these crack pot politicians were doing to our basic rights as American citizens, I think they would be outraged (well, may be I am wrong on that point, but they really should be in my opinion).
Please, please, please. I hope a Third Party is going to emerge that will call for the Repeal of the Patriot Act, as well as oppose the McClinObama train wreck policies of bigger government, more subsidies, less civil rights, and higher taxes.
The Socialist Democratic and Socialist Republican parties will continue to ruin this country, by increasing taxes on the people that are productive citizens, thereby, creating a huge disinsentive to increase productivity.
We subsidize welfare, we get more of it.
We subsidize illegal immigration (free health care, free education), we get more of it.

[juan343]

Obama wants to subsidize Health Care Insurance companies (hoping they will reduce their premiums to consumers), well that will just raise costs for the average consumer as the For-Profit Insurance companies will take out their share. So basically, we pay higher taxes to subsidize Health care insurance companies, and then get back less money through the proported lower premiums.
Obama wants to give $5000 grants to college students (sounds great), but then the colleges will raise tuition by $5000 (wanting to provide better professors pay, more facilities), and the students are in the same boat, meanwhile every American is paying higher taxes to subsidize this foolish plan.
Clinton wants Universal Health Care, well the VA system is one of the most inefficient systems (due to beurocracy, although Veterans do get good quality care) with very high costs. Now spread that on a national scale and that will be a disaster. Plus, all these proponents of this type of universal plan forget, universal health care equals less access to the newest treatments. As for preventive medicine theorists, Americans know if they lose weight they will lead a healthier lifestyle, but the rate of obesity continues to rise. Doctors and nurses can talk to patient''s until they are blue in the face, but until Americans accept individual responsibility for their own actions and lives, health care in America will never improve, even with universal health care.

[nationletter]

So Obama is the favorite to win the Democratic nomination! Do you Dems ever learn anything? With a very unpopular republican president on its way out, and a nation primed to elect a democrat to the White House, the best that you guys can deliver as a candidate is an inexperience, self-righteous, former drug dealer? Obama has shown no grand ideas and is perceived by the masses as an empty head that delivers style but no substance. The Republicans are surely excited at the prospect of comparing the likes of John McCain against someone like Obama. Wake up Dems! This is serious business; don%u2019t give the republicans four more years.

[wutuloadu]

Hillery''s healthcare plan is just another cause with a new name for the same corporate coffer lobby driven Bush "Individual Account proposal" with social security that will benefit what ? YOU KNOW WHAT !.. THE INDUSTRY$$$ NOBODY ELSE!..Hillary is a no less a right-wing insurance agency puppet than your typical republican is, tho'' she is running under the guise of a skirt [sic] pantsuit feminist ?. Her plan? Is''nt EVEN on the backburner yet. It''s only a projection from the vast empty spaces of her delusional and her campaign''s devious mind.THERE WAS NOTHING THERE FOR 8 YEARS AND... THERE IS NOTHING THERE NOW! TALK ABOUT MAGIC WANDS ? well, Come on all of you Obama bashers, compare nothing with nothing.You might as well. Put faith in somebody who''s electable - not her, that is.
This woman is bizarre! Did I see her on tonight''s news flapping and flailing her arms about and spinning around in circles at a rally ? Good Lord, somebody throw a blanket or a net over her ! She is unfit to serve much less, but worse ,I suspect,she''s at nerve''s end and is about to lose her mental faculties. Please people, show some sympathy - dont encourage her to continue this campaign any longer.

[katefranklin]

%u201CWe haven%u2019t had many wartime elections. And I think it is important that we do not lose sight of what it means to be a electing a president in the midst of not just one, but two wars.%u201D Hillary is correct, we need a candidate that had the judgement to not sponsor a misguided war in the first place. It should be unnerving to all voters that Clinton never ever recognizes her own complicity in the Iraq War!

[hillsangels1]

Obama''s plan is not universal health care because it excludes millions from taking part. Another fairy tale from the Obama web site is that there is no need for universal health care to be mandated because if people can afford it they will get it. Wrong! How naive and disingenuous it is to imply that this will happen. People who can afford it will spend their money on other things if given the choice. Again, Mr. Obama, get real.

[tony_a6]

I read online and compare both plans from Senators Clinton and Obama and found that there is not a lot of difference between the two plans. Both require coverage the only difference is his plan is looking to make the cost of coverage affordable allowing everyone the ability to purchase it. Her plan is requiring everyone to purchase coverage but I could find any information on weather or not it would work to reduce the cost of coverage, I would assume it is. Both plans provide subsidies to people who can%u2019t afford to purchase coverage any other way and from what I see the two plans or more alike than they or not. So how do you say Senator Obama%u2019s is not universal, it looks like it is to me just configured a little differently?

[frankdelfino]

noalias - While I''m inclined to disagree with your statement that you are an open minded voter, I would like to point you to the following link if you honestly believe Sen. Obama has no experience:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/201332/807/36/458633

[b-easy63]

I saw Hilary''s speech about the Obama fliers. She said on an issue this dear to the Democrats, no democrat should be tearing down another''s plan and that actions to detract from the UHC plan were straight out of Karl Rove''s playbook. So now that we know she tore down Obama''s health plan in Wisconsin and is doing it again--today---does she acknowledge she has no problems taking plays from Karl Rove? Or is it different when she does it? Every single time she does it? (Which is more times than he has done it to her)