Livestrong Presidential Candidate Forums: Democrats

It was an unfortunate twist that coverage of Alberto Gonzales' resignation should consume so much of the day's news cycle when Democratic presidential candidates were in Iowa discussing cancer, an incredibly important topic that has an enormous impact on the lives of most Americans. But it did, and done can't be undone — many of you may not have heard much of the LiveStrong Presidential Cancer Forum or what was said by whom.

Cancer is an issue of great personal interest for me; many people in my family are living with it, many of my friends and acquaintances have been affected by the disease either directly or indirectly, and I am a survivor of melanoma. So I watched when MSNBC would roll LiveStrong footage and muted the TV when news about Gonzales of Michael Vick would come on. I caught up on what I may have missed at MSNBC's video archive page, and the clips there are good quality, easy to watch, and catch you up on the high points if you missed the midday event entirely.

A few points of note, which I thought were strong commitments and statements from serious candidates about a very serious matter:

• Hillary Clinton, saying that her administration would declare a war on cancer.
• John Edwards, discussing his universal health care plan and how pre-existing conditions are outlawed in that plan, removing the possibility for discrimination against cancer patients.
• Bill Richardson, restating his commitment to universal health care as a policy and his citation of same as an avenue for battling preventable cancers.
• John Edwards again, describing how incomprehensible the health insurance coverage statements and bills are for him and his wife Elizabeth, who currently has breast cancer. His assertion that health insurance companies put a great deal of effort towards totally avoiding having to pay any benefits was quite candid and well-received.
• Dennis Kucinich on the importance of diet and lifestyle. (He's a vegan.)

I would link you directly, but MSNBC's video page is internal links only, and the stuff isn't on YouTube yet. I encourage you to go check it out, though. I am glad Lance Armstrong set this kind of thing up — I've been toying with writing a book about how many ways cancer affects so many regular lives in so many ways since I was diagnosed in 2000. Tomorrow's forum will probably be less interrupted, and I'm sure the Republican candidates will offer answers that are very different than what was offered today. It will air on MSNBC as well as via live stream through the foundation's website.