BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

Senator Barack Obama appeared in a taped interview on The View.  The segment was taped on Thursday and aired today.

I had hoped that Barbara Walters would have been on her best game, but clearly she wasn’t.  Of course, during her more recent appearances on the show, it has become obvious that like John McCain, age is catching up with her.

The first question out of the box was about Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  Enough already.  But, Barack Obama did comment that Rev. Wright had retired and had he not retired, he would have considered leaving that particular church.  As usual, Elisabeth, the most conservative of the group continued to hone in on the Jeremiah Wright controversy.  But, when all you have to attack a candidate with is who he knows… well, again she showed that there is little left to diss.

Whoopi asked her standard question, the one she has asked all the candidates who have appeared on the show.  “What would be the first three things you would do as president?”

Obama responded:

 Call in the joint chief’s of staff and develop a plan to honorably get out of Iraq.  He mentioned that Iraq’s government needs to be stable, but we need to withdraw and have a plan to withdraw responsibly.

Put forward legislation for health care.  For those who have health care, lower the premiums.  Everybody should have health care that is designed for prevention.  Obama suggested that everyone who has health care in place should be able to keep the plan at a reasonable and affordable price.  For those who do not have health care, a plan should be put in place so health care is affordable for everyone.  The focus should be on prevention as that could save more overall than waiting until an emergency.

Energy crisis.  Get gas prices down.  We are paying Iran and Russia and other companies for oil.  He would put an emphasis on new energy forms, to create new jobs and strengthen the economy at home.  The emphasis on the energy crisis would help with global warming and in fact, would have an impact on many issues facing us today. 

Additionally, Obama described what he called crisis management for economy.  The economic situation is in such a state that it would require immediate attention.

The campaign of John Kerry was mentioned.  When asked how Obama would reply to the “attack machine” he replied that he would continue to answer honestly, swiftly and forcefully.  He added that he does not believe in responding to attacks by attacking the attacker.  Obama said that the supporters are more contentious than the candidates, often causing the controversies, adding that Senator Clinton is a bright, dedicated public servant.  The Democrats will come together. 

Obama offered that there is a presumption that Democrats want to raise taxes.  He said he would roll back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and work to cut taxes for people who are making $75,000 a year or less. 

On the housing crisis, we do not want to reward back behavior but we do need to help those who believed they wer buying a house they could afford and were duped into the purchase with teaser rates.  Obama pointed out that foreclosures not only affected those who lost their homes, but the entire neighborhoods where foreclosures are taking place.

And, that is my view… of The View.