Posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
Hoping to ease high gas prices, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) on Sunday announced a plan to crack down on “excessive energy speculation.” The plan includes a measure to fully close the so-called “Enron Loophole,” which the Obama camp says prevents the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from effectively investigating instances where market speculation might be driving up prices.
The New York Times reports on the Obama campaign’s ties to the ethanol industry.
In a speech later today on energy policy, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will reportedly propose offering a “$300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.”
CUBA: The case of Elian Gonzales remains an election issue (ChiTrib) for Cuban-Americans in Miami.
Posted in Cuba, Energy Policy, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 by Joanna Klonsky
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) suspended her candidacy for the Democratic nomination
June 7 . Clinton, who had advanced farther than any woman presidential candidate in U.S. history, sought throughout the campaign season to distinguish her foreign policy agenda from that of her main opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).
In a concession speech Saturday, Clinton endorsed Obama and urged her supporters to work for his election.
Here is a review of Clinton’s key foreign policy positions:
- Clinton said she would end the war in Iraq. Although she voted in favor of the 2002 Senate resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq, she has since become critical of the war, opposing the troop surge and the use of private military contractors there. Clinton’s plan to end the war included a phased redeployment of troops beginning within the first 60 days of her administration. She also said she would keep “small, elite strike forces” in Iraq “to engage in targeted operations against al-Qaeda.”
- Clinton said she would open a diplomatic channel with Iran upon taking office, but also warned the country about its aggression toward Israel, saying in April 2008 that the United States would “totally obliterate” Iran if it were to “foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel” under her presidency. Clinton also received criticism from her Democratic opponents for her September 2007 vote in favor of the Kyl-Lieberman amendment, which labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.
- Clinton promised to renegotiate NAFTA to improve the trade deal’s labor and environmental protections. She planned to implement a “time out” on new trade deals during her first months as president so she could “assess their impact before going forward.” Clinton also said she would crack down on China’s “unfair trade practices,” including the revaluation of the yuan.
- Clinton said she would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba and would pressure the Cuban government to release political prisoners and become more democratic.
- Clinton planned to institute a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions and create a $50 billion “Strategic Energy Fund,” funded in part by oil companies, to invest in alternative energy. She also said she would create a “green collar” jobs program.
- Clinton said she would visit Africa during her first term, if elected. She called for a no-fly zone over Darfur, Sudan, but said she would not send U.S. troops to stop the mass killings there. Clinton signed a statement in May 2008 saying the Khartoum regime was “chiefly responsible” for the violence in Darfur and demanding that it adhere to the standards of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Posted in Africa, Climate Change, Cuba, General Election, Iran, Iraq, Palestinian-Israeli, Trade | 0 Comments »
Posted on Monday, June 2nd, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) won the Puerto Rico Democratic primary on Sunday with 68 percent of the vote to Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) 32 percent. The result did not significantly change Obama’s lead (CNN) in delegates as the five-month primary process nears an end.
According to exit polls (CNN), 57 percent of Democratic voters in Puerto Rico “strongly disapprove” of the war in Iraq, while only five percent said they “strongly approve.” Exit polls also showed 60 percent of voters naming the economy as the most important issue facing the country, while 25 percent said Iraq was most important. Nearly 60 percent of voters said Puerto Rico should become a state.
The New York Times looks at the importance of Cuba policy for Democratic candidates campaigning in Florida.
Posted in Cuba, General Election | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 by campaign2008
In a column published Monday, former Cuban President Fidel Castro criticized Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) May 23 speech in which he called for “justice for Cuba’s political prisoners, the rights of free speech, a free press and freedom of assembly” and “elections that are free and fair.” Obama said he would maintain the U.S. embargo on Cuba but open up contacts in other areas.
Speaking at a Cuban community center in Puerto Rico on Sunday, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she would “redouble our efforts to support civil society” in Cuba if elected.
The Libertarian Party nominated former Republican representative Bob Barr (AP) to be its presidential candidate on Sunday. Barr has spoken against possible war with Iran, and has been an adamant critic of the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping efforts.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 by campaign2008
“There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans. That’s why I w
ill immediately allow unlimited family travel and remittances to the island. It’s time to let Cuban Americans see their mothers and fathers, their sisters and brothers. It’s time to let Cuban American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro regime.”
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in a speech Friday before the Cuban American National Foundation.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 by campaign2008
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) continued to debate the issue of negotiation with U.S. adversaries (AP) on Wednesday.
U.S policy toward Cuba has also reemerged as a prominent campaign issue this week, the Washington Post reports.
Deutsche Welle’s “Across the Pond” blog looks at campaign donations from companies outside the United States.
An op-ed in Today’s Zaman considers the implications of an Obama administration for Turkey.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Morning Update | 0 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 by campaign2008
“My administration will press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners
unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions, and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections. The embargo must stay in place until these basic elements of democratic society are met. Maintaining the embargo is, however, just one element of a broader approach my administration would make to the people of Cuba. I would provide more material assistance and moral support to the courageous human rights activists who bravely defy the regime every day, and increase Radio and TV Marti and other means to communicate directly with the Cuban people. My Justice Department would vigorously prosecute Cuban officials implicated in the murder of Americans, drug trafficking, and other crimes. While our Cuba policy will not always be in accord with that of our hemispheric and European partners, my administration will begin an active dialogue with them to develop a plan for post-Castro Cuba, a plan that will spark rapid change and a new awakening in that country. The Cuban people have waited long enough.”
–Sen. John McCain, in a speech Tuesday on Cuban Independence Day.
“Since Raul Castro formally took power, he has announced some measures that have the potential to make improvements in the lives of the Cuban people, including easing democratic opening. The new authorities should take immediate steps to release political prisoners, permit free expression and assembly, and set the stage for open an regulations on the purchase of computers and cell phones. Unfortunately, these are merely incremental steps in a society that yearns for genuine freedoms and ad competitive elections.”
–Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), in a statement Tuesday.
We should look at loosening up remittances and travel restrictions for Cuban Americans so they can travel to the island, be with their families and send money there as a gesture of good faith as Fidel Castro is transitioning. I also think we should open direct talks with Cubans, without preconditions but with a whole lot of preparation. Unless they release political prisoners, start instituting free press, and other steps to democratize the island, we won’t lift the embargo. But we are looking to normalize the situation. That’s common sense. That’s the new approach to foreign policy that is needed, because the last eight years won’t work for the next president and John McCain keeps embracing policies that don’t work, and that is part of what this election will be all about.
–Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), in an interview with ABC’s World News Tonight, airing Tuesday evening.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 by campaign2008
“Sitting down at the table, having your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castr
o, for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains a lot from it by saying, ‘Look at me. I’m now recognized by the president of the United States.’”
–President Bush, addressing reporters’ questions about meeting with Cuban leaders without preconditions, a policy advocated by Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 by campaign2008
“Not so along go Senator Obama favored complete normalization of relations with Fidel Castro’s Cuba. Last night, he said that as president he’d meet with the imprisoned island’s new leader ‘without preconditions.’ So Raul Castro gets an audience with an American president, and all the prestige such a meeting confers, without having to release political prisoners, allow free media, political parties, and labor unions, or schedule internationally monitored free elections.
“Instead, Senator Obama says he would meet Cuba’s dictator without any such steps in the hope that talk will make things better for Cuba’s oppressed people. Meet, talk, and hope may be a sound approach in a state legislature, but it is dangerously naive in international diplomacy where the oppressed look to America for hope and adversaries wish us ill.”
–Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), in a statement regarding Sen. Barack Obama’s comments in Thursday night’s Democratic debate that he would be willing to meet without preconditions with Cuban leader Raul Castro.
“John McCain would give us four more years of the same Bush-McCain policies that have failed U.S. interests and the Cuban people for the last fifty years. My policy will b
e based on the principle of liberty for the Cuban people, and I will seek that goal through strong and direct presidential diplomacy, and an immediate change in policy to allow for unlimited family visitation and remittances to the island.”
–Obama, in a statement in response to McCain’s attack.
For details on all of the candidates’ stances on U.S. policy toward Cuba, see CFR.org’s Issue Tracker.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Quote of the Day | 0 Comments »
Posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 by campaign2008
The Democratic candidates participated in a CNN/Univision debate in Austin, Texas Wednesday night, where Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) tried to stop the Obama campaign’s seeming momentum after his eleven straight victories (NYT) in the recent weeks of the primary season. In their first debate in three weeks, Clinton said she would not meet with Cuban leader Raul Castro unless there is evidence that he is freeing political prisoners, ending “some of the oppressive practices on the press,” and “opening up the economy.”
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), on the other hand, said he would be willing to meet with the new Castro government “without preconditions” to push a human rights agenda. He also said he would loosen restrictions on remittances to Cuba from family members in the United States as a “show of good faith” that the United States is “interested in pursuing potentially a new relationship.”
Immigration: Clinton said she would “consider” stopping ICE raids “except in egregious situations.” She also said she would introduce legislation containing a path to legalization for illegal immigrants in the first hundred days of her presidency.
Clinton and Obama seemed to agree that a border fence may be appropriate in some areas, but that, as Obama said, “the key is to consult with local communities, whether it’s on the commercial interests or the environmental stakes of creating any kind of barrier.”
Experience: Citing instability in the Balkans, Pakistan and Cuba, Clinton again stressed that she is “ready on day one to be commander in chief,” implying that Obama is unprepared to face international challenges.
Obama responded, saying Clinton was “wrong in her judgments” on Iraq. He also said it was a “mistake” to “put all our eggs in the Musharraf basket” in Pakistan. “We should be going after al Qaeda and making sure that Pakistan is serious about hunting down terrorists as well as expanding democracy, and I was right about that,” he said.
Surge: Clinton said the troop surge has not achieved its purported goal of political progress in Iraq. The Iraqi government “has slowly inched toward making a few of the decisions in a less than complete way, but it hasn’t taken advantage of the sacrifice and the losses of life and billions of dollars that have occurred since the surge began,” she said.Obama called the surge a “tactical victory imposed upon a huge strategic blunder,” and said it is “indisputable that we’ve seen violence reduced in Iraq.” He said in the general election versus a Republican candidate, “it is going to be much easier for the candidate who was opposed to the concept of invading Iraq in the first place to have a debate about the wisdom of that decision.”Obama also said the war in Iraq has diverted the United States from focusing on policy toward Latin America and China. U.S. neglect has caused Venezuela and China to “move into the void,” Obama said.
Posted in Cuba, General Election, Iraq, Latin America, Morning Update, Pakistan | 0 Comments »
