All-American Presidential Forums on PBS" Moderated by Tavis Smiley

FORUM RESPONSES

"Leading on the issues of race is about being authentic, about speaking honestly. Race is a major issue in this country and the next president has to talk about it. Race is not just passing new laws. Race is not just naming solid Supreme Court Justices. Race is also dealing with bigotry and racism that exists in this country.

I believe very strongly that the next president is not just going to have to pass laws and take the steps necessary to reaffirm affirmative action and take steps to make sure that our schools are integrated, but also the next president is going to have to lead and speak passionately about a dialogue among all peoples. I believe very strongly that issues of diversity for me, the first Latino to run for president, aren't talking points. They're facts of life."

"Sometimes when I talk about education, and this is the first time we have talked about it in any debate, the first thing you hear is "How are you going to pay for it?" Nobody asks how we're going to pay for the war, but it's important to say that improving our schools, improving education, access to education to all Americans, should be America's foremost priority.

You know, I want to just state that, for the record, I am for a minimum wage for teachers. The key to a good education is to pay our teachers and have accountability. We have to make sure that we deal with this achievement gap. One out of two minorities in this country, one out of two African American or Latino kids don't make it through high school. They drop out.

That has to be combated with at-risk programs, with programs that deal with more parental involvement. We have to start early, universal preschool. We did this in New Mexico. We did this. Kids under four, full-day kindergarten. We have to have healthy breakfasts for every child. And finally, we have to find a way to give every American access to a college education."

"It is a moral imperative that America have a policy to fight this dreaded disease, both nationally and internationally. You got to make some tough choices. First, we have to use needles. We have to be sure that we have efforts in the African American community, in minority communities, to have comprehensive education. In addition, we have to deal with Africa. Close to twenty percent of the African people have some kind of HIV virus.

It's important that the president of the United States make a major funding effort, a major commitment, to deal with this issue. Here I'm going to say something positive about President Bush. His funding for Millennium Accountability and Millennium Appropriations has been relatively impressive. I believe it's important that not only we deal with this issue in this country, bringing condoms, finding ways to increase needles, penetrating minority outreach in communities. That's how to deal with it."

"There's no question that there's tax unfairness in this country, but we have to rebuild the economy. Yes, the Bush tax cuts, the two percent, that has to go. But I would replace those Bush tax cuts with tax cuts for the middle class. I would reward companies that pay over the prevailing wage, that go into the inner cities, that go into rural areas. I would also have tax-free holidays for technology startups. Three years if they train people in the inner city, if they hire people over the prevailing wage.

We need to rebuild this economy by being pro growth Democrats. We should be the party of innovation, of entrepreneurship, of building capital, getting capital for African American small businesses. We need to find a way in this country that we say that globalization must work for the middle class. We need to find ways also to use the tax code not just to simplify it, but to make it fair and also to generate jobs and reward entities in this country --"

"Carved at the marble top of the U.S. Supreme Court, it says "Equal Justice Under Law." This country has had two hundred years, yet today sixty-eight percent of those in jail are minorities. In your own book, Tavis, you say that one out of three African American males spend some time in jail. That is wrong and what we need is a strategy to deal with poverty. Expand the earned income tax credit. Increase the minimum wage. Have a living wage in this country. Find ways to expand child care. Find ways also to let Americans join a union. This will not only give them more health care, but more accountability and the ability to protect themselves."

"The answer to your question is, yes, I would support that. I would also support the Katrina Recovery Act of Representative Waters. This has been the most disgraceful episode in an American response to help our own people. What we need to do in this country is not just atone for a miserable performance before, during and after Katrina, but for the future. One, we need to make sure that FEMA is directly under the president. Secondly, we need to make sure that we eliminate the ten percent match. They did it for 9/11 in New York. They ought to do it for this situation. Third, we should get rid of all the burdensome loans that are taken out. We also need to say to the insurance companies that you have to insure these people and rebuild homes in Louisiana."

"Outsourcing is a problem. Most outsourcing jobs are technical. We need to upgrade our science and math standards in our schools. It's education. And I would create two hundred fifty science and math academies with that gap. In addition to that, what we need is trade agreements, fair trade agreements, where we say no slave labor, no child labor.

We're going to have environmental protection. We're going to have to deal with wage disparity and also I would have a different attitude towards the private sector. I would say to the private sector, "What is it going to take to keep you here?" I would have an industrial policy where we invest in high growth industries, in health industries, in high-tech and renewable energy, to keep those jobs here."

"You know, in the last debate, I upset some people because I said we should use the levers on China on them hosting the Olympics to do something on Darfur. You know, I believe that fighting genocide is more important than sports. So what I would like to do is, one, a no-fly zone. Get economic sanctions back by the Europeans. We need to find ways to stop the massive rapes. I was in Darfur three months ago. Today a report by Refugees International laid out a plan to deal with that. We should not forget about Africa. American policy makers should take stands on Africa, not just the Middle East and Iraq."