Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Sunday, October 30, 2016
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GENERAL ELECTION 2016
Hillary Clinton
ISSUES Continued from 14 Studies say climate change is raising sea levels, melting ice and killing coral. It’s making people sicker with asthma and allergies and may eventually shrink our bank accounts. The American Association for the Advancement of Sciences says warming can be highly damaging to people and the planet and potentially irreversible.
By Ken Thomas ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton may be within striking distance of becoming the first woman to win the White House, now that the U.S. is in the final weeks of one of its nastiest presidential campaigns in recent history. The former secretary of state leads rival Donald Trump in preference polls in a series of battleground states as the Republican nominee has struggled to overcome allegations of sexual misconduct against several women. But the race is far from settled. Both Clinton and Tr u m p h a v e b e e n viewed harshly by the electorate. For her part, Clinton has tried to use Trump’s provocative statements and policy proposals to make the case that he is unqualified to lead the nation. A look at some things to know about her.
The brief
Entering the primary race as the overwhelming favorite, Clinton won the Democratic nomination after a lengthy, unexpectedly competitive battle against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Her general election campaign against Trump has amounted to a series of explosive exchanges: a convention dustup over a Muslim Gold Star family, Clinton’s description of Trump supporters as “deplorables,” her bout with pneumonia and collapse at a 9/11 ceremony, then her strong, momentum-shifting first debate with Trump. The revelation of an 11-year-old video in which Trump crudely said he forced himself upon women rocked the Republican’s campaign and prompted him, in retaliation, to bring forward several women who had accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual impropriety.
Role of government
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to volunteers at a campaign office Oct. 14 in Seattle. AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK
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Clinton has been a trailblazing figure as an attorney, senator, first lady and diplomat. In Arkansas, she became the first female partner at the Rose Law Firm while Bill Clinton served as governor and acted as his key political and policy brain trust. In the White House, she helped redefine the role of first lady as a top adviser to her husband, overseeing an ill-fated health care overhaul. At the end of her husband’s second term, Clinton became the first presidential spouse to be elected to the Senate, helping secure benefits for 9/11 responders as a New York senator. Her vote for the Iraq invasion became a dividing line in her 2008 presidential primary campaign against Barack Obama and she later described her support for the war as a “mistake.” As secretary of state, she was a hawkish member of Obama’s national security team and helped set the foundation for nuclear talks with Iran.
Signature issue
In her campaign against Trump, Clinton has stressed her foreign policy expertise through her plans to combat the rise of the Islamic State group abroad and terrorism at home. And
in recent months she has rolled out endorsements from retired generals and admirals and convened a meeting with national security experts. Clinton likes to highlight her experience, frequently telling voters about being in the Situation Room with Obama when Osama bin Laden was killed. Her foreign policy credentials have helped Clinton to cast Trump as lacking the temperament and experience to handle global affairs. She has said that Trump’s call for a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S. and restrictions on immigration send the wrong signals to allies in an increasingly complex world.
Debate digest
Clinton was convincing against Trump in the first presidential debate, forcing him to defend his part in conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama’s citizenship and pressing him to release his income tax returns and recant derogatory comments about women. Trump frequently interrupted Clinton and failed to put her on the defensive about her use of a private email system. When he sug gested that Clinton had been a less-than-stellar campaigner, Clinton noted
that she had prepared for the debate and “prepared to be president.” The second encounter in St. Louis was among the most tense in debate history, as Trump said he would call for a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s email practices, telling Clinton, “you’d be in jail,” if he oversaw the Justice Department.
Moment to remember In the first debate, Clinton carefully laid a trap for Trump by mentioning Alicia Machado, a 1996 Miss Universe pageant winner whom Trump allegedly demeaned for gaining weight. In the days that followed, Trump kept returning to Machado again and again. The story turned damaging for Trump, as he was seen disrespecting and degrading women. An explosive “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump bragging about sexually predatory behavior followed by a series of women publicly accusing him of assault only deepened that problem. By mid-October, Trump was trailing Clinton by double-digits among female voters, setting up a gender gap difficult for any candidate to overcome.
Please forget Clinton has been bat-
tling doubts about her health ever since a troubling video emerged of her being helped into a van at a 9/11 anniversary ceremony. Her campaign kept silent for nearly eight hours before revealing she had been diagnosed with pneumonia several days earlier. After several days of rest, Clinton — age 69 on Oct. 26 — returned to campaigning. She also released additional medical information to try to reassure voters about her health. “Obviously I should have gotten some rest sooner,” she said on CNN. Trump has repeatedly questioned Clinton’s stamina. Clinton has been a more vigorous presence in battleground states in recent weeks but the episode reinforced public perceptions about Clinton’s preference for secrecy and privacy, which has contributed to a lack of trust in her candidacy.
Online and social media • Web site: http:// www.hillaryclinton.com • Tw i tt e r : h tt p : / / t w i t t e r. c o m / h i l l a r y clinton • Instagram: http:// www.instagram.com/ hillaryclinton • Facebook: http:// w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / hillaryclinton
Gary Johnson By Nicholas Riccardi ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTA FE, N.M. — Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson is counting on voter disgust at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to give him the best showing in November of any third-party candidate since billionaire Ross Perot in 1992. Things to know about the former New Mexico governor:
The brief
Johnson has managed to anger both parties because they fear he’ll peel off critical voters. Democrats worry that his appeal to young voters will hurt them in some tight battleground states. In other states, he seems to be taking from Trump’s column, frustrating the GOP nominee’s backers. By picking another former Republican governor as his running mate, Massachusetts’ Bill Weld, Johnson heightened his visibility. The ticket has received more donations than prior Libertarian ones, but Johnson fell short of cracking the 15 percent polling threshold to qualify for a seat at the presidential debates. Johnson, 63, mixes social liberalism with a far stricter fiscal conservatism than the Republican nominee embraces. He Libertarian calls for raising the eligibility age for Social Security, eliminating the federal departments of Commerce, Education, Homeland Security and Hous-
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson speaks during a rally Oct. 3 in Parker, Colorado. AP PHOTO/DAVID ZALUBOWSKI ing and Urban Development, and implementing a flat tax. He became known for calling for legalization of marijuana in the late 1990s, long before states like Colorado permitted recreational use of the drug. Johnson also supports gay marriage, backs abortion rights and supports increased immigration into the U.S., as well as free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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Johnson was born into a middle-class family in North Dakota and moved to New Mexico when he was 13. He was still a student at the University of New Mexico when he founded a construction company, and eventually made millions. Johnson was a little-known outsider
when he entered a four-way Republican governor’s primary in 1994. He eked out a narrow win and went on to defeat the Democratic incumbent. Johnson vetoed more than 700 bills as governor, a record. He focused on fiscal conservatism and limiting government, striking down even the smallest fee increases. But it was his call for the legalization of marijuana soon after his 1998 re-election that got him noticed far outside his state. He pushed for legalizing the drug after leaving office and served as chief executive officer of a marijuana branding firm.
Moment to remember Just as voter disgust with the
major party candidates was peaking, Johnson went on a cable news show to get his message out. One interviewer asked him what he’d do about Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, now under Russian bombardment in the midst of that country’s civil war. “What is Aleppo?” Johnson asked, sparking widespread mockery on social media. The candidate apologized but then, weeks later, was asked to name a foreign leader he admired. Johnson paused and said he was having an “Aleppo moment” and couldn’t think of one. After another round of mockery, the governor didn’t apologize. Instead, he said he still couldn’t think of an overseas leader he looked up to JOHNSON » 16
I t ’s t h e G o l d i l o c k s conundrum of American politics: Is the government too big, too small or just right? Every four years, the presidential election offers a referendum on whether Washington should do more or less. Donald Trump favors cutting regulation and has promised massive tax cuts, but his plans are expected to add trillions to the national debt. Unlike most conservatives, he supports eminent domain and has spoken positively about government-run health care. And don’t forget that massive border wall. Hillary Clinton has vowed new spending on education and infrastructure that could grow government, too. She strongly supports “Obamacare,” which most small government proponents see as overreach. At its heart, the debate a b o u t g o v e r n m e n t ’s reach pits the desire to know your basic needs will be cared for against the desire to be left alone. For the last few decades, polls have found Americans generally feel frustrated by the federal government and think it’s wasteful. A smaller government sounds good to a lot of people until they’re asked what specific services or benefits they are willing to do without.
Supreme Court
The ideological direction of the Supreme Court is going to tip one way or the other after the election. The outcome could sway decisions on issues that profoundly affect everyday Americans: immigration, gun control, climate change and more. The court has been operating with eight justices since Antonin Scalia died in February. His successor appears unlikely to be confirmed until after the election, at the earliest. The court is split between four Democratic-appointed, liberal justices and four conservatives who were appointed by Republicans — although Justice Anthony Kennedy has sided with the liberals on abortion, same-sex marriage and affirmative action in the past two years. The ninth justice will push the court left or right, depending on whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump becomes president. President Barack Obama has nominated Merrick Garland to take Scalia’s seat, but the Republican Senate has refused to consider Garland’s nomination, in an effort to prevent a liberal court majority.
Income inequality
Income inequality has surged near levels last seen before the Great Depression. The average income for the top 1 percent of households climbed 7.7 percent last year to $1.36 million, according to tax data. That privileged sliver of the population saw pay ISSUES » 16