Brokaw: 'Everybody' Believes Kerry Probably Beat Bush on Debating Points

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Tom Brokaw had his Pauline Kael moment on MSNBC this morning. Though the story might be apocryphal, the late NY Times film critic is famously credited with saying she was shocked by Nixon's 1972 victory, since everybody she knew had voted for McGovern.

Here's Brokaw on today's "Morning Joe," discussing the importance of the upcoming debates.

TOM BROKAW: Debates should be judged on two big counts: tonal and substance. You know, are you comfortable with this person? Look, everybody believes that on debating points, John Kerry probably beat George Bush, the 43rd, the last time around. But people liked Bush.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

[Pistolshot]

Thanks Tom,

Living in the past is bad for you. It doesn't matter how you debate, it's how you resonate.

Thanx.

[johnny7]

“And I think a lot of women out there who are for her may disagree with her on some fundamental issues, like choice.”

Choice... infanticide... murder... what's the diff?!

[Dr. Sivana]

That means nothing. I was in parliamentary debate in college. You can easily win taking the “wrong” position. My debate partner and I kept the top team from Amherst out of the finals beating them by arguing in favor of Japanese internment camps. (Not the most popular position to take, but we had to “oppose” the other team, who got to pick the topic and the side.)

[jokyfo]

Yes, I’m sure Osama bin Laden quakes in his sandals at night fearing America will elect a world class master debater!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Tom’s Pauline-moment ping to Today show list.

[tx_eggman]

Brokaw: 'Everybody' Believes Kerry Probably Beat Bush on Debating Points

Fine, Tommy .. J F'n K won the debate.

It's time for you to accept that he lost the election.

[golfisnr1]

Everybody that counts means every liberal.

[1Old Pro]

He’s still crying about Algor losing, he can’t get over the fact that Conservatives have not been tempted to believe his left wing media indoctrination.

[loveliberty2]

Such provincial thinking (limited to their own little time and suroundings) typifies the Far Left spokespersons, wherever they are found. They assume that "everybody" sees the world through their limited-vision glasses.

Thankfully, America always has been peopled by individuals, not a collective mind, and those individuals, with a heart of love for liberty tend to think for themselves for the most part.

[popdonnelly]

Tom Brokaw, Everyman.

[iceskater]

Fine, Tom. But if winning debates was so important, why did Kerry lose?

Just keep talking Tom, you just keep digging yourself in deeper.

[SirFishalot]

Kerry lost the minute he went after Cheney’s daughter.

[normy]

There are 300 million people in America. Define “everybody” Brokaw, and by the way your credibility is tied to NBC “news” and MSNBC.

[jmaroneps37]

Everyone in the ratmedia must have thought this, but I guess the nation, you remember tommie boy the real people of America, didn’t agree with the skunks in the ratmedia.

[Vaquero]

did Kerry give you a leg tingle Tommy boy????

[jersey117]

So why’d he lose? These people crack me up!

[DustyMoment]

Hmmm . . . . battle - war . . . . . battle - war

Which winner do we remember, Tom? The one that won the battle . . . . . or the one that won the war??

The fact is that Kerry actually lost BOTH!!! He lost the battle by deferring to his and Edwards’ “plans” . . . . the details of which were never forthcoming. Bush won on substance.

There’s a reason you’re a bitter, unemployed hack of a “journalist”, Tom.

[mewzilla]

I’ll bet Tim Russert is spinning....

[capydick]

STILL Stuck on Stupid.

[j_k_l]

Brokaw: 'Everybody' Believes Kerry Probably Beat Bush on Debating Points

Me: 'Everybody' Believes The Rockies Probably Beat The Redsox in the 2007 World Series

[retrokitten]

John Kerry in the debates was hysterical. I don’t remember which debate it was, but the host asked, “What is the greatest problem facing the world today, Senator Kerry?”

He snapped, “NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION!” like he was on a game show. I really wanted the host to say, “Oh, I’m sorry, Senator. You did not phrase it in the form of a question.”

[Rinnwald]

“...arguing in favor of Japanese internment camps.”

Did you use the Niihau Incident? It was a small event that had big repercussions with the U.S. government.

[detch]

Yeh, Tom, Kerry did a great job, saying he had a secret plan for Iraq. Did you ever see it, or did any of your media friends follow up on it?

Kerry also flunked (with a big fat F minus) the parsing of his Catholic faith and his anti-Catholic voting record.

Kerry never addressed or countered the Swiftboat charges, his false claims about his Purple Hearts...

Sorry, Tom, most Americans saw through Kerry during the debates — you and your liberal friends couldn't see it if you read the script without Kerry/Bush showing their faces.

[riverdawg]

Brokaw also probably still believes that Edwards won the 2004 VP debate with Cheney. Fortunately, the video and transcripts of that debate (and, presumably, the Kerry-Bush debates) are readily available on the Internet for “everybody” to view and decide for themselves.

[Dr. Sivana]

Did you use the Niihau Incident? It was a small event that had big repercussions with the U.S. government.

No. In parliamentary debate tournaments, the opposition has to make its case on the spot, no extra research, and I was not familiar with the Niihau incident. The emphasis in parliamentary debate is on presentation, logic and persuasiveness, not a mere regurgitation of facts. My main argument was that no one knows what would have happened without the camps, and that one rogue Japanese bombing of an airport in California would cause instant panic and massive lynch mobs that would have been far worse for the Japanese Americans. I also contrasted our camps with the German version. Ours got to go free when the war was over, big difference.

[Mad Dawg]

I'm sorry. This is obviously a nasty rumor planted and spread by conservatives.

The MSM is toadally unbiased. Toadally. Nooz Ankers are just way, WAY more enlightened than we.

I'm series.

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Tom Brokaw, Everyman.

Sarah Palin, Every Mom!

[tioga]

tom, tom........the purpose of the debates was to win VOTERS, not points........he LOST, get over it....you are beating a broken drum.

[ConfusedAndLovingIt]

I still remember clearly one of my “wake-up” moments concerning the bias of the media. I had always assumed the national media was fairly even-handed and I could depend on them for good information.

It was a 1984 Reagan-Mondale debate. There was an abortion question and Reagan blew Mondale out of the water. In the post-debate analysis by a few journalists they got to the abortion question and one of them said something like, “Well, Mondale clearly won that point.” The rest of the panel made agreement noises and they moved on. Not even one of them acted like Reagan had made a decent showing. I was stunned, frankly. A very big learning experience for me.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Who’s Tom Brokaw?

[xp38]

Indeed especially if purple is your colour. ;)

[gridlock]

You can say all the right things, but if everybody knows your lying, it doesn’t matter what you say.

[Lancey Howard]

"Look, everybody believes that on debating points, John Kerry probably beat George Bush..."

Yeah, that's Brokaw for you.
NBC, right?

[Former Proud Canadian]

Be careful how you spell and place those last two words in your post.

[Brett66]

It’s really ironic, these leftists wallow in moral relativism, but they “know” that “everyone” thinks just like them.

[Ditter]

No just you Tom ,just you.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Did Brokejaw have to get out of the news racket because of talking like his mouth is full of marbles? He used to cover it up somewhat but now he sounds like he needs speech therapy.

Also he’s dumber than a box of rocks.

[norwaypinesavage]

When you're watching a football game on TV, you can always tell which side everyone is on when a call is disputed. Each viewer will side with his own team.
The same is true for political debates. Each observer will most often say his own candidate won. When Brokaw says "Kerry won", he is also saying "I'm a Democrat."

[Redleg Duke]

Tom, life is tough...it’s a lot tougher when you are stupid!

[RetSignman]

[John Kerry probably beat George Bush,]

Ok, I know my memory is not what it used to be but did I miss the whole kerry presidency?

[GeneralisimoFranciscoFranco]

The only point kerry has is on his head.

[redstates4ever]

BrokeJaw is out of practice in actually speaking. His speach is more garbled and mangled then it was before he ‘retired.’ I worry that he will choke himself on his tongue on live TV.