I'm not fearful, just as Joe isn't, to have a debate about this with Rudy Giuliani because we've got the facts on our side. But we've got to be clear about those facts and not pretend that those facts don't exist.
Look, Barack, I don’t think anyone here is afraid of Rudy Giuliani. So, I think we could potentially short circuit that. But, we do have to keep in mind that you are receiving donations from some really rich people. And do you really expect us to believe that you will turn around and raise taxes on them?
Russert: But when asked by The New York Times whether Senator Clinton has been truthful, you said no.
Obama: What I said is that she has not been truthful and clear about this point that I just made, which is we can talk about fiscal responsibility and all of us agree with that. All of us oppose privatization.
But even after we deal with those issues, we are still going to have an actuarial gap that has to be dealt with. It is not going to vanish and if we have a moral responsibility to the next generation to make sure that Social Security is there, the most successful program to lift seniors out of poverty that we've ever devised, then we need to start acting now and having a serious conversation about it.
Conversations, avoid “the politics that we have been playing, which is to try to muddle through, give convoluted answers”, have clear intentions---These are all great ways to handle government. But do you bring any ideas with substance to the table? I mean, do you have the ability to develop any sort of policy for anything?
You talk a good game but can you really play the game you talk about and better the lives of Americans at the same time?
Clinton: Tim, I don't see any difference here. You know, my view is we go towards fiscal responsibility, which is hard. It's not going to be easy inheriting what we're going to inherit from Bush and the Republicans.
And there are some long-term challenges. I have no disagreement with that.
But I think the best way to handle them is within the context of a bipartisan commission. That's what worked in 1983 when Social Security was on the ropes. Our colleagues in the Senate had a hearing today talking about how they could move toward a bipartisan commission.
And, once there's a bipartisan commission, then we can see what we need to do. But I don't want these decisions to be made in a vacuum. I want it to be made in the face of moving back toward fiscal responsibility, because that will influence which choices are actually better.
And I certainly don't want to impose a trillion-dollar tax increase on middle-class families, or any kind of additional burdens on our seniors.
No, certainly not. But there is a way around these burdens. Privatize the system. Allow seniors to take from a depleted system and start convincing the others to participate in a privatized system.
Look, as long as you refuse to talk about any other options and just talk about how Republicans wish to privatize Social Security, it will seem fishy to me. It will be like closet homosexuals in the Republican Party talking about how bad gays are.
Williams: Senator Obama, we're going to transfer into a new area here. A question specifically for you because you're in a rather unique position. It's about religion and misinformation. Governor Romney misspoke twice on the same day, confusing your name with that of Osama bin Laden.
Your party is fond of talking about a potential swiftboating. Are you fearful of what happened to John McCain, for example, in South Carolina a few years back; confusion on the basis of things like names and religion?
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