After Bush's performance in the first debate, I can't help thinking 'rope-a-dope...'
Posted on 10/07/2004 3:39:59 PM PDT by RWR8189
Remarks by Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman And Chief Strategist Matthew Dowd in Conference Call Regarding Tomorrow's Debate (title edited for length)
ARLINGTON, VA - Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman and Chief Strategist Matthew Dowd made the following remarks today in a Bush-Cheney '04 conference call regarding tomorrow's debate:
Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman:
"Tomorrow night's debate provides an important opportunity for Senator Kerry to answer a number of questions that have arisen in the course of these debates and in the course of this campaign by the American people about the issues that will be discussed on national security and the War on Terror and also on domestic issues.
"It's an opportunity for Senator Kerry to defend a thirty-year record of being wrong with defense, which even John Edwards was unable to defend. It's an opportunity for him to explain what he meant by the 'global test' and how America would pass it under his leadership, and why an American Commander in Chief should have to pass a 'global test' before defending our country. It's an opportunity for him to explain how a record of eleven different positions on the war in Iraq can be called 'consistent.'
"It's an opportunity for him to explain which taxes he would raise to pay for the $1.5 trillion healthcare program he has come out in favor of, and which he has said he would raise taxes to pay for and how he would close the tax gap between the costs of his other promises and the effect of just raising taxes on the rich.
"It's an opportunity for him to explain how he can be for the findings of the 9/11 Commission yet yesterday miss a vote on the 9/11 Commission Report findings being enacted into law, and how he can be for middle class tax cuts having just a few weeks ago along with Senator Edwards missed a vote on the middle class tax cuts.
"So, this debate will be another opportunity for Senator Kerry to do something which he did not do in the first debate, and which his running mate did not do in the vice presidential debate, which is to overcome the threshold question -- given his record and given his vision why the American people should trust him to be Commander in Chief at this critical time -- and for him to explain his domestic policies to the American people."
Bush-Cheney '04 Chief Strategist Matthew Dowd:
"Last Thursday in Miami, just looking ahead for viewership and what we think might happen, sixty-three million people watched the debate, the highest number since 1992. This weekend in Cleveland the vice presidential debate had nearly 44 million people watch the debate, which is the highest number since 1992. As we said before, people are engaged, they're listening, they want to know where the candidates stand on policy and what their vision is for the next four years. We expect this next debate to be well-watched. The only question is, because it's a Friday night what does that mean for viewership, but my guess is it's going to be a pretty high number, higher than the second and third debates in 2000, not knowing exactly what that is.
"The other thing is where we think the race stands today. We think this race has settled into about a two-point advantage for us right now. If you take a look at all the public polls that have come out since the debate was ended, the average of all of those public polls is about a two-point average. There are some lower than that, some higher than that, but the total of them is two points, and we think the battleground states are reflective of that.
"We said, to reiterate along since March 3 when this race began, that we thought it would ultimately be a three or four-point race at most. It's settling into that. We expect it to finish up that way through the course of these debates and on to Election Day. So we said that when we were up in the polls and we said that when we were down in the polls and that's still what we think this race is going to settle into."
After Bush's performance in the first debate, I can't help thinking 'rope-a-dope...'
It's a flip-flop. He was obviously before the global test before he was against it.
And welcome to Free Republic, by the way.
So who will be asking Mr Kerry these questions?????
It reminds me of the debates when Slick Willie was not asked a single question pertaining to his character.
If they had not even Ross Perot could have saved his Slimy A$$.
TROLL ALERT
I fear that many in the northeast and midwest will be distracted from Friday night's debate by the NYY vs. MIN playoff game, which starts at 8pm ET on ESPN... :(
Anyone else out there who doesn't find Mr. Mehlman very impressive? I've seen him repeatedly on TV interviews and, IMHO, he's not effective.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
These darn trolls think that they can use nuance here.
Mehlmen doesnt need to look effective on TV he just needs to be it behind closed doors.
I'm about as nuanced as a ton of bricks falling off a ten-story building. They don't escape me.
What do you mean by rope a dope?
What do you mean by rope a dope? When Ali fought Foreman, he went through the opening rounds holding his arms against his body while Foreman pummelled him mercilessly. As they made it to later rounds, Ali suddenly sprang to life and ran rings around the slower Foreman, who had spent all his energy against Ali. Ali won the fight, and the term 'rope-a-dope' refers to the strategy of letting your opponent run himself dry early on while you take his shots and wait to open up on him...
Ah ha! Well I sure hope and pray you're right. Thanks for the explanation.
OMG the Global Test question is the end of Kerry... Read the WMD report... When your prior allies (FRANCE) are being bribed by the enemy why bother asking permission from the world... John Kerry would wait for the word of Corrupt governments in order to make a decision to defend ourselves? What is that???? Its over the Global Test is the icing on the cake...
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