Spring Break
Dean talks with News-Letter about college aid, healthcare
Issue date: 10/18/07
For all his primal energy on the campaign trail, Dean looked older in person than on TV, save for his stark blue eyes - which, one can only imagine, are accentuated once his face turns characteristically red. He spoke with the News-Letter briefly before his speech.
News-Letter: On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama came to Maryland and spoke at Prince George's Community College to a crowd of mostly young adults and students. The News-Letter covered that, and the feedback we got from that, for the most part, was that Obama talked about a lot of things that students really care about - his opposition to the Iraq war, his vision for political change - but left one thing out, which was college affordability. Do you think the candidates are talking enough about that? And why should the Democratic candidates be trusted to address this issue anymore than Republicans?
Howard Dean: Because we've already done something about it. You know, there's a lot of criticism, which I think is unfair, of the new Democratic majority, because they haven't gotten us out of Iraq, which is pretty hard to do when you have a determined minority filibustering and a president who wants to veto. But here's what they have done. They passed a universal health care bill, essentially, for [people] under 18, which was vetoed by the president. They raised the minimum wage, which has a big effect on students, especially those who work. They passed a real ethics bill, which matters a lot, and they increased college funding by $20 billion, and Bush signed that. And it was Pell grants and it was cutting the interest rate in half on student loans, which the Republicans have raised. So the Democrats have already delivered on college aid in a serious way, and undone a lot of the damage the Republicans did while they were in office for eight years. So I think you're right to say that you've got to show people, not just talk about it, but I think the Democrats have already demonstrated that they are serious about higher education.
News-Letter: On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama came to Maryland and spoke at Prince George's Community College to a crowd of mostly young adults and students. The News-Letter covered that, and the feedback we got from that, for the most part, was that Obama talked about a lot of things that students really care about - his opposition to the Iraq war, his vision for political change - but left one thing out, which was college affordability. Do you think the candidates are talking enough about that? And why should the Democratic candidates be trusted to address this issue anymore than Republicans?
Howard Dean: Because we've already done something about it. You know, there's a lot of criticism, which I think is unfair, of the new Democratic majority, because they haven't gotten us out of Iraq, which is pretty hard to do when you have a determined minority filibustering and a president who wants to veto. But here's what they have done. They passed a universal health care bill, essentially, for [people] under 18, which was vetoed by the president. They raised the minimum wage, which has a big effect on students, especially those who work. They passed a real ethics bill, which matters a lot, and they increased college funding by $20 billion, and Bush signed that. And it was Pell grants and it was cutting the interest rate in half on student loans, which the Republicans have raised. So the Democrats have already delivered on college aid in a serious way, and undone a lot of the damage the Republicans did while they were in office for eight years. So I think you're right to say that you've got to show people, not just talk about it, but I think the Democrats have already demonstrated that they are serious about higher education.
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