Sioux City Journal

McCain, Huckabee will take part in Sioux City forum

By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, September 09, 2007

Two Republican presidential candidates have announced they will take part in an October forum that will be broadcast nationally from Sioux City's Orpheum Theatre.

U.S. Sen. John McCain and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced they will be present for the Oct. 25 Divided We Fail event. They are the first two candidates in the sizable field of Republicans to indicate participation in the forum for candidates to address issues of financial security and health care.

Divided We Fail Iowa Campaign manager Bruce Koeppl applauded McCain and Huckabee for their participation. He said health care and financial security are the top domestic issues.

In early July, AARP announced the kickoff of the Divided We Fail, Together We Can Do Anything campaign, which is designed to put financial security and health-care issues before the presidential candidates when they campaign in the states with the earliest presidential contests. Two forums were announced, one on Sept. 20 in Davenport for Democratic Party candidates, and another on Oct. 25 in Sioux City for Republican Party candidates.

In a statement, McCain said, "The Divided We Fail Forum will provide Iowa voters with a great opportunity to hear each candidate's views on health care. In nearly every town hall meeting I've held across the state of Iowa, there are concerns about the affordability of quality health care, prescription drug coverage and other vital issues facing Iowa seniors and their families."

Huckabee said the forum is important to fit into his campaign schedule.

"I'm convinced we can balance the needs of older Americans and our growing number of Baby Boomers, while ensuring that all generations enjoy the financial security that comes from a strong, safe and economically vibrant country," Huckabee said in a statement.

The Orpheum event, which will be broadcast on Iowa Public Television and aired nationally by PBS, marks the first time in history a major presidential campaign forum originates from Sioux City. The Journal is the local media partner for the 90-minute event, which will be moderated by Judy Woodruff.

The forum is free and open to the public, but tickets are required for attendance. To request tickets, call (877) 926-8300 or visit the Web at www.dividedwefail.org/forums.

Read more in Hayworth's Politically Speaking blog at www.siouxcityjournal.com

Story Comments

Ian wrote on Sep 10, 2007 12:29 AM:

" Huckabee is an adroit public speaker who calls upon his listeners to "do something," to awaken them to their own empowerment, and summons them to act in order that "Main Street," and not "Wall Street," will prevail in guarding the values and beliefs upon which the Republic was founded. Huckabee puts his listeners at ease, articulating clear concepts in a natural, easy style. One can imagine sitting comfortably with this man over a cup of coffee at the Main Street Cafe. Most importantly, Huckabee is ONE with the FairTax grassroots movement. Romney''s recent WEAK response to FairTax questioning on �This Week with Geo. Stephanopoulos ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW4fa6Z_4Po )� drew a sharp contrast between Huckabee and all other presidential front-runners who will not embrace it. Huckabee understands that what''s wrong with the income tax can''t be fixed with "a tap of the hammer, nor a twist of the screwdriver." That his opponents cling to the destructive Tax Code, the IRS, preserving political power of granting tax favors at continued cost to - and misery of - American families, invigorates his campaign''s raison d''etre. "