This would have been a fair question to ask sometime before the end of the debate, followed by a question to Kerry about some similiar perceived deficiencies. To ask it at the end is clearly an attempt to leave a final impression that the President was on the defensive, having to answer for his shortcoming, and that Kerry was on the offensive, attacking Bush for his mistakes. A subtle ploy, but it could have been very effective. I think President Bush sidestepped this landmine deftly, but it clearly show's a moderator bias in attempting to give Kerry a powerful parting shot
It's hard to get a parting shot when your whimpering in the dugout...
sKerry got whomped! and the whole world saw it. Don't believe me take a poll in your own house. Mine came out
Bush 2
sKerry 0
Wow -- the Gray Lady must be looking for some sort of redemption if they're willing to call Gibson on his bias. A good second step would be to call him on his attempts to interject his personal follow-up questions.
This is from the NYT?
It was horribly biased of Gibson to try to slap Bush and run like a little kid back to his house. I was so proud and amazed with the Solomom style way that Pres. Bush answered it. And he called a spade a spade, questioning the integrity of the question! WAY TO GO BUSH!
Heard at the Tart residence, in stereo: "So, Mr. Bush, when did you stop beating your wife?"
We were not amused at the final question. Unless, of course, al-Q'erry were ALSO asked to name three mistakes HE made. I've got a list to help him out....
It seems as if ABC is going to take over the bias business from them for a while.
You are so right. The bias is unbelievable. Think about it. After The President answers it, the question is then Kerry's "name 3 mistakes the president has made". Unreal. Kerry never gets asked for 3 mistakes he's made in his 20 years as senator. Having said that, the great thing is, Bush took it to Kerry. He didn't fall for the trap. He called the lady on it. He told her "look, when people ask this question, they are really asking...was Iraq a mistake? That's what you want to know isn't it. No it wasn't a mistake." (paraphrasing) It was the greatest out of the ball park answer by the President. He was on his game tonight. No doubt about it.
http://www.drudgereport.com/mh.htm
ABCNEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR MEMO SPARKS CONTROVERSY: BOTH SIDES NOT 'EQUALLY ACCOUNTABLE'
**Exclusive**
An internal memo written by ABCNEWS Political Director Mark Halperin admonishes ABC staff: During coverage of Democrat Kerry and Republican Bush not to "reflexively and artificially hold both sides 'equally' accountable."
President Bush handled the "trick question" perfectly. Gibson is a doofus for selecting it and believing Dubya is not intelligent enough to recognize subterfuge. The Old Media are going down, one by one, and this is immensely pleasing to me.
It reminded me of the Gwen Ifel question to Edwards: "How do you feel when Mr. Cheney attacks?"
More like a booby-trap.
Dirty trick -- plain and simple, but Dubya defused it without a problem -- much to the chagrin of the reptilian Gibson and the bloated inquirer.
How about learning how to post before putting your own thoughts where you are supposed to put the NY Times article. You make your ramblings sound like they came from the NY Times.
Charlie do that? No; he just miscalculated the time; he was GOING to ask Kerry the same.
Acutally, given the question, Kerry should never had opportunity for 'his' two cents. He was not in the question. . .
As unprofessional and biased as that question was, Bush disarmed it with ease and without incident. It would have been a great time to toss out a line like, 'I guess you got Mark Halepin's memo', but overall Bush handled it like a pro.
Did anyone notice the exchange between Gibson and Kerry after the debate? Fox Cable News had a shot of Gibson and Kerry walking toward each other in the crowd. Gibson seemed to have a disappointed look on his face and seemed to shrug as he looked at Kerry. Kerry looked back at Gibson without a smile. Did anyone else see this?
The left wing media can kiss my A$$!
By President Bush's response, I think Gibson's little ploy backfired on him. I think we should all send him an email thanking him for making our president look good at the close of the debate - LOL!
Ted Koppel was just totally rude and condensending to Karen Hughes!
Yes, the question was very presumptous and was designed to put Bush on the spot. But Bush handled the question brilliantly by revealing it for what it was, a loaded question. Bush said something like: "Of course the question really means why did we go to(Iraq)."
It reminds me of an old joke from Russia under Gorbachev. A Russian is visiting the United States. He is seeing a protestor in Lafayette Park protesting against President Reagan. His guide points out that "See, here in America we are free to publicly criticize President Reagan even in the capitol of the United States." To which the Russian tourist replies "That is nothing, we have that same freedom back in Russia. We, too are free to criticize President Reagan in our capitol city of Moscow."
The intent of the question was to ask each of them to name three things they have done wrong. It shows Kerry's low character that he named things Bush did wrong -- and it is a HUGE gaffe. But let's see how much is made of it in the Media compared to Bush's minor slip of the tongue saying "Internets."