Presidential Q-and-A, Part II: Top Three Priorities

Coach Kathy Kemper’s interviews with the leading presidential contenders — of which the following is Part II — took place in March of 2008. The interviews were conducted in person and via e-mail and hand-written responses by Kemper in collaboration with Institute for Education interns Alex Burness and Kelsey Valentine.

What will be your top 3 priorities as president?

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.): No. 1 would be to withdraw from Iraq. No. 2 would be presenting my legislative plan — clean, affordable energy, better healthcare, and repairing relations around the world with other countries.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): National security, economic security/prosperity, global warming.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.): My top priority as president will be to end this war in Iraq and begin bringing our troops home. I also want to pass a universal healthcare plan by the end of my first term as president, and I want to bring both parties together to finally create an energy policy that invests in renewable energy and ends our dependence on foreign oil.

What is the food like on the campaign? Can you find time to work out? How do you manage a good night’s rest?

Clinton: I am not a great cook, but I love soft scrambled eggs. I love to speed-walk. Sleeping until 7 a.m. is my idea of luxury!

McCain: I try to eat as healthy as possible, but that isn’t to say I don’t enjoy hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza on the trail.

Obama: The food on the campaign keeps me absolutely committed to staying active with a run or a basketball game as often as I can.