John Edwards proposed raising taxes to pay for universal health care. Wait -- did he say raising taxes? NEDRA PICKLER considers what this means for presidential politics.
If there's one thing we Americans can all agree on, it's that we don't like to pay higher taxes. Which is why presidential hopefuls don't need political strategists to tell them that calling for tax increases during a campaign is probably not the smartest idea.
Right?
Well, on Monday, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards did just that, outlining a universal health care plan that includes a tax hike.
"Senator Edwards is certainly taking a gamble on it," Nedra Pickler, a Washington-based AP political reporter, told asap's JAIME HOLGUIN on Monday, shortly after interviewing the presidential hopeful. "He thinks people are so outraged over health care coverage in this country that they would be willing to pay higher taxes."
It's true that there has been a change in attitude about health care coverage in the United States, including among Republicans -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a universal plan in the nation's most populous state, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a presidential candidate, signed a law last year requiring universal coverage.
The problem for Edwards is that no one has really run on a platform of tax increases since Walter Mondale in 1984 -- and that didn't sit well with voters. Mondale's campaign proposal backfired and cost him and the Democrats the election. The victory that year went to Ronald Reagan, who said he opposed a tax hike, but later ended up raising corporate taxes.
And then there's the first President Bush, who broke an infamous pledge made at the 1988 Republican National Convention: "Read my lips, no new taxes."
Edwards is banking on the honest approach. Recent surveys have shown many Americans feel the president has not been honest with the country.
"He said that Americans want honest leadership, and clearly he's taking a little swipe right there at President Bush," Pickler said.
While the analysts Pickler talked to didn't label Edwards' proposal "political suicide," they did say it was bold and risky.
So why do it?
To create a buzz and get noticed in a crowded Democratic primary race that includes big-name candidates like Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, Pickler said.
"They are really sucking up all the oxygen in this race," Pickler said. "He's trying to take something that he says most Americans are concerned about -- health care costs -- and offer something that's bold, something that gets people talking."
___
Jaime Holguin is an asap reporter based in New York.
___
Want to comment? Sound off at soundoffasap@ap.org .
©2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
