Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Christopher Dodd, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, with Anderson Cooper

“ But more important, we have to have a sense of national commitment that universal health care is an American value.
We have to quit being told the special interests, like the insurance companies and the drug companies, that, somehow, we can't do what most other developed countries do, which is cover everybody and provide decency and respect to every single person in this country with health care. ”

“ Because if our Constitution really means what it says, that all are created equal, if it really means what it says, that there should be equality of opportunity before the law, then our brothers and sisters who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender should have the same rights accorded to them as anyone else, and that includes the ability to have a civil marriage ceremony. ”

“ What should the president of the United States do to restore America's moral leadership in the world. It's not enough just to lead with bad leaders. In addition to that, the world needs to hear from the president of the United States about who we are, what it is we represent. ”

“ It is an outrage. How is that the wealthiest nation on Earth cannot afford to provide coverage to all people? And that's why I put forward a plan.
But let's understand this. Everybody here is going to have a plan. John's got a plan. I've got a plan. Hopefully, everybody here will provide a plan for universal coverage.
But we've had plan before, under a Democratic president in the '90s and a Democratic Congress. We couldn't get it done because the drug insurance -- drug and insurance companies are spending $1 billion over the last decade on lobbying. ”

“ I think the people who are powerful in Washington -- big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies -- they are not going to negotiate. They are not going to give away their power. The only way that they are going to give away their power is if we take it away from them. ”

“ Are the Democrats playing politics?
RICHARDSON: There's a big difference on Iraq between me and the senators, and here's where it is.
The lives of our young troops are more important than George Bush's legacy.
This is what I stand for: I believe we should bring all the troops home by the end of this year, in six months, with no residual forces -- no residual forces.
This is critically important. A hundred American troops are dying every month. And this war is a quagmire. It's endless. ”

“ Senator Edwards said his opposition to gay marriage is influenced by his Southern Baptist background. Most Americans agree it was wrong and unconstitutional to use religion to justify slavery, segregation, and denying women the right to vote.
So why is it still acceptable to use religion to deny gay American their full and equal rights?
EDWARDS: I think Reverend Longcrier asks a very important question, which is whether fundamentally -- whether it's right for any of our faith beliefs to be imposed on the American people when we're president of the United States. ”

“ I'm very proud of the fact that, over my 26 years in the Senate, I've authored landmark legislation, the Family and Medical Leave Act, child care legislation, reform of financial institutions. In every case, those are new ideas, bold ideas, that I campaigned on and then were able to achieve in the United States Senate by bringing Republicans as well as Democrats together around those issues. That's what's missing, more than anything else, I think, right now, is the ability to bring people together to get the job done. ”

“ It's a breach that has resulted in inequality in opportunities for education, for health care, for housing, for employment. And so, we must be mindful of that.
But it's also a breach that has affected a lot of poor whites as well. We need to have a country which recognizes that there is an inequality of opportunity and a president who's ready to challenge the interest groups -- be they insurance companies or mortgage companies or defense contractors who are taking the money away from the people who need it.
COOPER: Time.
KUCINICH: Yes, I am for repairing the breach. Yes, I am for reparations. ”

“ I want the people of The Citadel to know that I mourn the passing of those people who gave their lives, but I also would not hesitate to call upon you to defend this country, but I'll never send you in pursuit of a political agenda or a lie. ”

“ KUCINICH: The answer is no; that we're going to stop the tax increases that President Bush gave to people in the top brackets. We're going to end war as an instrument of policy, with the defense policy of strength through peace.
So we're not going to be borrowing money from China to fight wars in Baghdad. We're going to lower our trade deficit by ending NAFTA and the WTO and going back to trade based on worker's rights.
We're going to have a change in our economy so that people will be able to get something for the taxes they pay but they're not going to have to pay more. ”

“ But it is crucial that the American people know that as president it will not be my job -- and I believe it would be wrong -- for me to impose my personal faith beliefs on the American people or to decide any kind of decision, policy decision, that will affect America on the basis of my personal faith beliefs. ”

“ If we're going to have in our military men and women that die for this country, we shouldn't give them a lecture on their sexual orientation. I would push for domestic partnership laws, nondiscrimination in insurance and housing. ”

“ But we have a very important decision to make coming up very soon, and Americans desperate for a change need to know: Congressman Kucinich, how would America be better off with you as president than we would be if either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama became president? ”

“ Now, with respect to marriage, it's my belief that it's up to the individual denominations to make a decision as to whether they want to recognize marriage or not. But in terms of, you know, the rights of people to transfer property, to have hospital visitation, all those critical civil rights that are conferred by our government, those should be equal. ”

“ OBAMA: Look, I don't think this is just a Republican problem. I think this is a problem that spans the parties. And we don't just need a change in political parties in Washington. We've got to have a change in attitudes of those who are representing the people, America. And part of the reason I don't take PAC money, I don't take federal lobbyists' money is because we've got to get the national interests up front as opposed to the special interests. ”

“ Senator Clinton, is he a better advocate for women?
CLINTON: Anderson, I have a great deal of admiration for Elizabeth Edwards. And I appreciate greatly John's comments. You know, I have spent my entire life advocating for women. I went to Beijing in 1995 and said that women's rights are human rights, and I've done everything I can to make that principle come true.
And, specifically on issues, I got to vote to raise the minimum wage. ”

“ Before we get to that, we're going to play our last YouTube-style campaign video from the Obama campaign.
[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]
OBAMA: We want an end to this war. And we want diplomacy and peace. Not only can we save the environment; we can create jobs and opportunity. We're tired of fear. We're tired of division. We want something new. We want to turn the page. The world as it is is not the world as it has to be. ”

“ With Bush, Clinton, and Bush again serving as the last three presidents, how would electing you, a Clinton, constitute the type of change in Washington so many people in the heartland are yearning for, and what your campaign has been talking about? ”

“ We have a bunch of leaders who can't seem to do their job. And we pick people based on the issues they that they represent, but then they get in power and they don't do anything about it anyway.
You're going to spend this whole night talking about your views on issues, but the issues don't matter if when you get in power nothing's going to get done.
We have a Congress and a president with, like, a 30 percent approval rating, so clearly we don't think they're doing a good job. What's going to make you any more effectual, beyond all the platitudes and the stuff we're used to hearing? ”

“ DODD: Well, no, because Iraq is related to Darfur, Anderson, here. It's because we're bogged down there at $10 billion a month, we've lost our moral leadership in the world. No one listens to us when it comes to foreign policy. That has to change in this country. ”

“ Hello, Democratic candidates. I've been growing concerned that global warming, the single most important issue to the snowmen of this country, is being neglected. As president, what will you do to ensure that my son will live a full and happy life? Thank you.
COOPER: It's a funny video. It's a serious question. Congressman Kucinich?
KUCINICH: Well, we have to understand the connection between global warring and global warming. Because when we start talking about wars for oil, we're essentially keeping the same approach to energy. ”

“ I think we need to do more of that in the United States today. Elections ought to be more than just about a series of issues, but the shared experiences of service.
It's so important that every American have that opportunity. It's something I strongly advocate and would advocate as president.
COOPER: Senator Clinton, do you think women should register for Selective Service?
CLINTON: I do. I don't support a draft. I think our all- volunteer military has performed superbly. But we've had women die in Iraq. We've had combat deaths of women in Iraq and Afghanistan. ”

“ The American president had almost no response whatsoever to the people of that city, New Orleans.
In fact, today still, the problem persists where people who had to move out of their city, move elsewhere, and little or no efforts to make sure they can get back in their homes. They have literally thousands of people whose homes were destroyed, their economic opportunities destroyed. ”

“ The question is whether or not ordinary parents, who can't work the system, are able to get their kids into a decent school, and that's what I need to fight for and will fight for as president of the United States. ”

“ We don't have to have our snowmen melting, and the planet shouldn't be melting either.
COOPER: Are the people on this stage, are your fellow candidates, are they green enough?
KUCINICH: No. And I think that the reason is that if you support, for example, in Iraq, if you say that Iraq should privatize its oil for the U.S. oil companies, then what you're doing is you're continuing a commitment to use more oil. If you believe that all options should be put on the table with respect to Iran, that's about oil. ”

“ My chances for survivor aren't as good as they might be, however, because like millions of Americans, I've gone for years without health insurance that would have allowed me to take preventative medicine. ”

“ I have proposed drastically increasing fuel efficiency standards on cars, an aggressive cap on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted.
OBAMA: But we're going to have to try a series of different approaches.
The one thing I have to remind folks, though, of -- we've been talking about this through Republican administrations and Democratic administrations for decades.
And the reason it doesn't change -- you can take a look at how Dick Cheney did his energy policy. He met with environmental groups once. He met with renewable energy folks once. ”

“ George Bush's oil war was a mistake. We need to stop killing Americans and Iraqis. Been around since the beginning of time. It's not a war. It should be a police action based on global intelligence. It's the most serious problem facing humanity today. A universal voucher system will provide equal treatment and choice of providers. The Congress has to stop raiding the surplus. [END VIDEO CLIP]
COOPER: And welcome back to the CNN/YouTube debate. That was obviously a YouTube-style video from Governor Richardson's campaign. ”

“ It doesn't emphasize the disabled kids. It doesn't -- English learning kids don't get help. The worst thing it does is it takes districts and schools that are not doing well, takes their funds away, penalizes them.
If a school is not doing well, we help that school. The last thing we need to do, relating to teachers, is the key to a good education in this country is a strong teacher. I would have a minimum wage for all our teachers, $40,000 per year. ”

“ This question is to Senator Hillary Clinton. The Arab states, Muslim nations, believe it's women as being second-class citizens. If you're president of the United States, how do you feel that you would even be taken seriously by these states in any kind of talks, negotiations, or any other diplomatic relations? ”

“ What would you as president do to make low-cost or free preventive medicine available for everybody in this country? Thank you.
(VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Senator Obama, 45 million uninsured Americans. Senator Edwards says your plan doesn't really provide universal coverage. Does it?
OBAMA: Absolutely it does. John and I have a disagreement. John thinks that the only way we get universal coverage is to mandate coverage. I think that the problem is not that people are trying to avoid getting health care coverage. ”

“ More women are affected by the minimum wage than men are affected by the minimum wage. I have been the most aggressive -- in fact, I would challenge every Democrat on this stage today to commit to raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by the year 2012. ”