Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Dem. candidates debate

Presidential candidates Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman and Dennis Kucinich filed into Moore Theatre Sunday afternoon to agree on several points -- most notably, that the Bush administration has kept women from reaching equality on an array of levels.

Speaking at a forum sponsored by Lifetime Television and ABC's "Good Morning America," the candidates found little to argue on, and instead took time to tout their individual accomplishments in elected office.

Dean was accompanied to the event by his wife, physician Judith Steinberg Dean, and Lieberman came with his wife, Hadassah.

Kucinich, twice-divorced, is currently unattached.

Dean, Lieberman and Kucinich answered questions posed by the event's moderator, ABC's Claire Shipman, who gave each of them a few minutes to address women -- a demographic comprising a large proportion of the Democratic base and 52 percent of voters in the 2000 election.

The floor was then opened to topics selected and approved before the start of the debate.

Dean stressed the importance of an education component in early childcare, as well as the significance of providing affordable daycare as means for keeping women in the workplace.

Lieberman, in one of his many criticisms against the current administration, condemned President Bush for the state of the Headstart program and for "turning his back" on the lower and middle class. He advocated a universal pre-kindergarten program saying that education must be not be seen as K-12, but instead in terms of age -- as in zero through 16 years old.

Kucinich, making the first of many references to a plan to cut 15 percent from the "bloated Pentagon budget," said he would dedicate this money to closing the achievement gap as early as first grade.

Also addressed was sexual violence, called a "national epidemic" by Lieberman. All candidates agreed that stopping cultural proponents of sexual assault, like violent video games, is integral to preventing sexual violence against women.

They also agreed that the power to affect change in these circumstances lies mostly with men, and stressed the importance of raising boys to recognize that violence is a crime.

Dean noted the prevalence of drugs and alcohol at the root of domestic violence and stressed the importance of viewing it as a medical, and not a judicial problem.

"Part of being a male is not using violence, particularly at home," he said.

When asked about qualifications for future appointments to the Supreme Court, all candidates agreed on the importance of upholding Roe v. Wade. Dean in particular was very vocal about the irrelevance of party affiliation. He pointed out that it was a Republican justice who authored the civil unions decision in Vermont.

On the topic of the pay gap between men and women, all candidates agreed that it was necessary to raise the minimum wage, and also agreed that eliminating the wage disparity is something that must be done at the executive, and not the legislative level.

Dean underscored the need for affirmative action, saying, "People hire people like themselves, and since 55-year-old white guys like me are the ones doing the hiring," that justifies the need for affirmative action in order to ensure that women and minorities are given equal opportunities.

Lieberman added that over a lifetime, a woman will make approximately $525,000 less than a man, saying that was absolutely "un-American." Lieberman plugged himself for being a cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

When the candidates were asked when they predicted there to be a woman president, Dean was quick to answer, "2012. After I get done, Hillary Clinton will be president!" His response was met with wild applause from the audience, and left Lieberman and Kucinich at a loss for an equally popular response.

The candidates also spoke briefly on their projected female cabinet appointees, of whom none of them seemed certain, and Title IX, which all were in favor of maintaining.