Clark's 4 main issues....as listed tonight when someone asked him

On the way out of the NH breakfast, someone asked him what the most important issues were in his mind.

Without hesitation he said

1. Jobs
2. Healthcare issues
3. Environment...a sleeper issue, everyone's mad at what Bush is doing on the environment
4. Iraq

He seems to be bringing the environment up a lot during these events; or if asked, he seems very interested and knowledgeable, with a committment to enforcing the laws.

I think those are excellent choices.

From Rolling Stone mag, back in October

<snip>

Let's talk about issues beyond the war. What's your position on the environment?

People are going to look back in 100 years and ask, "What did you leave behind in this country?" We will leave two legacies. The first is the Constitution, which implements the will of the majority while protecting the minority. The second is the environment. And if you want to protect it, you've got to start now. Unfortunately, this administration has rolled back the legacy we will leave for our children and our grandchildren. I believe in clean air. They believe in letting power plants modernize without pollution controls. I believe in clean water and preserving wetlands. They believe "shit happens." I don't believe in opening up old-growth forests for logging in the name of fire prevention.

How would you decrease our reliance on oil imported from the Middle East?

The easy, conventional way is to raise the price of gasoline. But I don't want that. That's a regressive tax -- the people who pay it the most are the people who can afford it the least. There's people in my part of the country, in Arkansas, who are traveling sixty miles a day for a minimum-wage job. If you raise the price of gas to three dollars a gallon, they can't pay that. They're trying to save everything they can right now. The president talks a lot about hydrogen being the fuel of the future, but where are you going to get your hydrogen from? You're probably going to get it out of natural gas -- and a lot of that natural gas is going to come from the Middle East. So I'd raise average-mileage performance on automobiles. That's something we can do right now that will decrease our oil dependence - but it's something the administration has dragged its feet on.

What about global warming?

If you want to deal with that issue, you've got to start now. We should never have pulled out of the Kyoto Accords. Instead, we should have worked to make them better. We're the biggest polluter in the world right now, but there's a huge brown cloud over China that gets bigger every year. So we have to set an example and work together on global warming. The most important thing is to change our mind-set.

http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=1970

:kick:

"sleeper issue" more often and that's great! I think he is right on, there is anger on what Bush is doing regarding his turning back the clock on many of the gains made in environmental issues.

n/t:bounce:

And foreign policy isn't in the top four either?

Hmmm...so Clark is admitting that Jobs, Healthcare and the environment are more important to voters than Iraq, foreign policy, and homeland security. Let's compare Clark and Dean on experience on Clark's top 4 issues, shall we?

Jobs...Dean has created new jobs before and has experience. Clark hasn't.

Healthcare...Dean has the best political record on healthcare out there according to Bill Clinton's recent comment at Harkin's Steak Fry. Clark has no record on healtcare.

Enviornment...Dean protected more acres in Vermont than all other governors before him COMBINED. Clark has no environmental record.

Iraq...Dean and Clark have basically the same view and agenda (as do all the other candidates). Clark has military experience but doesn't offer an agenda significantly different than what Dean offers.

So, do I vote for 4/4 or 1/4?

Gee, I wonder...

since you guys muzzled everyone else's right to use nicknames! HD is safe! All's well!

anyone know?

conversations with voters! "Lybia is a confirmation of the former policy that Bushco abandoned - that diplomacy works" "Kosovo should be independent" - with amazing background, we need to help Chechnya - avoid danger of more extremism. His answers on drug costs, jail population, media consolidation were just amazing in their clarity and wealth.