Interesting Campaign debate sparring - from ABCNote

[papau]

<Snip>Lieberman really laid into Gephardt's constant praise of Bill Clinton. He said it was tough to be full of praise for the consequences of Clinton's economic agenda without recognizing NAFTA's central role.

Kerry defended NAFTA but said he'd fix it and fix the WTO.

Gephardt "took on my own president who I supported on many other things because he was wrong. That's when you gotta get the clauses into the treaty."

(WSJ)" … o win a debate on the economy, Democrats need to do more than attack the Bush record. They need a clear economic vision. So far, most of what they've offered is fog." … "None of these Democratic candidates seem able to articulate the fundamental virtues of America's free-market economy." … "President Clinton put his economic policy in the hands of two men — former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers — who balanced the Democrats' traditional concern for social justice with a deep respect for free markets. That was no easy task, but it reaped huge rewards. The current crop of candidates have mastered only the first half of the Clinton economic equation." <snip>

[diplomats]

1. I hope a fuller economic vision/agenda will emerge

down the road when we get closer to picking a nominee. It is early.

[Fovea]

2. The current crop of candidates have mastered only the first half of the Cl

Perhaps that is because the 'free market' and its creation, the Bush presidency, lies at the heart of social injustice in America right now.

There is no free market. There are megacorps all neck deep at the trough they have made of the treasury in specific, and the economy in general.

[papau]

3. I agree - a controlled market is not a free market - funny how regulations

make for a much more "free" market.

[tameszu]

4. You mean like how it's funny

how laws make for freer society? What's funny is how much difficulty libertarians have with the 2nd part of that concept...