More than 120 students plus Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83 filled Salomon 001 last night to attend the Brown Democrats' mock presidential debate. Brown students played the parts of all eight Democratic candidates for the 2008 presidential primary, discussing everything from tax policy to transgender rights, mixing serious policy discussion with sharp barbs and bits of humor.
The students debating were Ava Lubell '09 as Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Billy Packer '09 as Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Stephen Moilanen '08 as former Vice Presidential nominee and North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Max Winograd '09 as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, John Voorhees '09 as Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., Jeremy Feigenbaum '11 as Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Tor Tarantola '08 as Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and David Rangaviz '08 as former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.
The debate began with opening remarks from each candidate followed by questions submitted from audience members before the event.
Questions touched on topics including the removal of troops from Iraq, the national deficit, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change and partial-birth abortion. The questions often were addressed to multiple candidates, though some questions were directed toward individual candidates as well.
Winograd's alter ego, Richardson, was asked what he thought his biggest mistake had been in trying to broker a cease-fire in Darfur, and Packer's Obama character was queried on why he was the only candidate not wearing an American flag pin - to which he answered, "Patriotism is not about what you wear on your chest."
One question that sparked a heated debate referenced Clinton's failure in the 1990s to reform health care and how she plans to address the issue if elected. Lubell, playing her part, responded by saying that her past failure provided her with a learning experience and stressed the need to "go around and talk to Americans and find out exactly what it is that they feel comfortable with" in terms of their health care coverage.
Edwards' alter ego, Moilanen, responded by bringing up the half million dollars in contributions that Clinton has accepted from health care and drug companies. "You can't tell me that this money is not going to have an influence - that they're not going to have your ear when you become president," Moilanen said, at which point he was cut off by the debate moderator for exceeding his time limit.
Speaking as Clinton, Lubell used her response time during the next question to return to the previous topic and point out that Edwards himself served on the board of a hedge fund. "If we're going to talk about hypocrisy, let's talk about hypocrisy," she said.
When the moderator put the candidates back on track, one audience member shouted out, "Go with it," frustrated that the argument was not allowed to play out.
In response to questions on many different topics, the "candidates" steered the discussion back to the Iraq War. Winograd, playing Richardson, brought up Iraq for the second time in response to a question on Pakistan, saying, "We need to get out of Iraq now."
"We need to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in," said Moilanen, playing Edwards. Lubell, as Clinton, spoke about the need to remember that, while Americans may want to end the war, there is still work to be done in Iraq, such as fighting al-Qaida.
"The only way we're going to be able to safely leave Iraq is through a political solution," said Voorhees, playing Biden. Iraq was brought up often, even when not specifically asked about.
The mood was not always serious - one question asked Gravel's character, "How do you respond to the allegations that you are the sexiest candidate?"
The candidates had fun with their roles, often adding humor to their responses. When Packer, Obama's alter ego, was asked how he felt about the claims that there is not a big difference between Clinton and Obama as candidates, he replied with a joking tone, "Senator Clinton represents the textbook, and I represent throwing out the textbook and buying a new magazine or something."
Cicilline arrived an hour late and spoke to the audience and candidates briefly. "There is no more important election than that for the next president," he said. Cicilline spoke on the importance of young people in the election process and the shaping of the country's future.
Brown Democrats President Gabriel Kussin '09 said in his opening remarks for the debate that the 2008 presidential election is "the most important election of our lives."
"I can't think of a better way to kick off this year than with the debate we're having now," Kussin added.
