Posted on 10/13/2004 8:20:34 PM PDT by crushkerry
We told you not to believe the hype about this topic being Kerry's home turf - because tonight proved it wasn't. If tonight is the last impression people got of these candidates then the President served himself extremely well this evening. Let's just hope they weren't glued to the baseball games. For whatever reason the President seemed to pull it all together tonight and it was perhaps his best performance in his 6 Presidential debates.
We loved how Kerry needed the standing 8 count when confronted with his record, and the President's slam at the MSM was tonight's moment where you stood up and said "F-ing A" (we're a family website). For whatever reason John Kerry looked tired this evening. His skill as a debater, which we think is very good, remained good throughout all the debates. However in tonight's performance his body language and appearance (which unfortunately does matter) were as bad as the President's in Debate #1. Bad move comparing Tony Soprano to the President. Why? Tony is known for killing people, and that's just what the President did to him tonight.
And when did Bob Schieffer die? We're guessing a while ago, but he just doesn't know it yet. My 6 year old could have done a better job. If his performance tonight is not an argument for mandatory retirement for journalists we don't know what is.
Instead of going through the "strengths and weaknesses" tonight, we'll do it a bit differently and highlight each candidate's handling of specific issues.
John Kerry Let's put it this way, when your best response to an attack on your lifelong record of raising taxes is "Anyone can play with these votes. Everybody knows that" then it's not your night. The usual pabulum about "tax cuts for the wealthy" His responses to all these issues, including "Paygo", were strictly out of the stump speech on class warfare. And he had way to many "plans" again that were very general and not specific at all.
Even worse was his answer on social security. He's going to bring "experts" together if it becomes a problem? Um, it IS a problem, and he looked really weak by skirting the issue. I wonder if this gathering will be the same as the "summit" on national security? Oh, and minimum wage? Who cares. His affirmative action answer was as non-offensive as it can be. At least he learned something from Clinton.
George Bush Out of the park home run here. First he did a masterful job of highlighting his own record and show just how it has made a difference in people's life. He showed a lot of passion in defending the fact that real people have benefited by the tax cuts including the popular child tax credit and marriage penalty relief. The best thing he did however was utterly skewer John Kerry's liberal record. The line about "You pay and he goes and spends it". Nice and catchy.
The handling of social security was also done well. He showed he realized the problems ahead and laid out a good plan for dealing with it. This is an issue that resonates with many more people than the media would have you believe. The baby boomers even realize that Social Security is broke and don't freak out as much when they hear about privatization. Still, the key here is to make sure he's not going to scare the old people in Florida and Pennsylvania. Did he succeed there? We hope so.
John Kerry He came out and said it. He wants everyone insured, just like Canada and England. It is a pander of the worst kind, but it does strike a chord among people. He claims not to want government sponsored health care, but his problem is that he didn't tell us at all how he's going to pay for it. This is a very wonkish topic and Kerry was full and facts and specifics to be sure, but was anyone really listening? He fumbled the flu vaccine question big time by not even answering it, and Bush left him a big opening, as I will note below. He used it to talk about health insurance problem in swing states. Oh, and he let us know twice he has Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
George Bush We love the guy, but even we must admit we didn't think he had it in him. His explanation with what is wrong with the US health care system was spot on. People don't know the whole cost so they think it's "free". It's almost like the President read the Wall Street Journal today that made this very point. The President did a great job of using the opening John Kerry gave him by bringing up the specter of the disasters that are the Canadian and English health care system. He made a potentially huge gaffe when saying that the US was turning to Canada for help on the flu vaccine. If Kerry were smarter he could have asked why if that was the case, we can't buy drugs from them. But Kerry missed the hanging curve.
John Kerry Hey Senator - this Guinea says that your joke about Tony Soprano was fagazi and you don't compare the President of the US to a fictional mob boss. The one liner fell as flat as Gwen Stefani's breasts (how's that for a pop culture reference). Quite simply the rest of it was Boring. The outsourcing could have been a home run from him but surprisingly he didn't. He went on about fair trade, and leveling the playing field. Not bad, but you could just hear the eyes glazing over. He was smart not to go the "Benedict Arnold CEO's" route. But on the whole very non specific answers. Bill Clinton would have won the election with this question by using a "feeling your pain" line.
George Bush Not a bad response in a tough spot. Hey Bob, what the hell do you think he would say to someone without a job? The President tried his best to say the government would help retrain the worker. The riff on education, not about workers, but about students, was not very effective and looked evasive.
John Kerry Bringing up Dick Cheney's daughter on the issue of gay marriage was a cheap shot of the highest order. On that issue Kerry was full of bromides about being "God's children" and "respecting" others, but all the while he endorses partial birth abortion. He should have learned from Bill Clinton that the way to handle this question is to say "safe, rare, and legal". I think NARAL and the suburban women got his message he won't overturn Roe v. Wade.
Kerry stepped into deep water when discussing his Catholicism. He made an argument to all the "cafeteria Catholics" to basically tell the bishops to go screw themselves. Actually not a bad thing politically as many feel the same way. However, it might hurt him in the heavily Catholic areas in the swing states of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. I also cringe when I hear any politician quote scripture. Oh, and he's a Catholic altar boy as well. However, for the first time he was funny, when talking about himself "marrying up, even more than some others." Good way of showing self deprecation.
George Bush Not bad, but not as good as he was at the town hall meeting. The "culture of life" is a good line, however, will the fact that he didn't give a definitive "yes" on overturning Roe v. Wade, turn off evangelicals? He might have made up for it by stating unequivocally he wanted a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage without sounding like a gay basher. He could have done a better job of hammering the judge issue home. That's a big issue to the base
His response about what his faith means to him and how he uses it in daily life was touching. He obviously is a man of great faith who gets great strength from prayer. But he did it in a way that didn't scare people into thinking he would like to establish a national religion. His speaking about his wife and daughters was genuine and warm, and his line about learning "not to scowl and stand up straight" and his wife being "more articulate" had us rolling.
IMMIGRATION
John Kerry AND George Bush We put them together here because we were disappointed in both answers. We don't think neither of them have a clue of the huge national security problem this really is. The reason they won't do it of course, is they want the Hispanic vote. Sad really. Sure Bush sounded compassionate about the people that want to come here, and we agree. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that the borders are a mess.
John Kerry Granted, tonight's debate was on domestic policy but this issue did play a part. Kerry's problem was that in talking about this issue he seemed to focus more on defensive measures (more police and firefighters) than on offensive ones. Just saying "I Will Kill the Terrorists" is not believable, especially from him.
George Bush His passion in talking about freedom, and especially the Afghan elections, is something that shined through the screen. He also did a good job in hitting Kerry with his 1991 vote against the Persian Gulf War.
We simply hope that more people were watching the debate than were watching the baseball games. Sadly, the third debate is always the least watched, especially against the Yanks/Sox series. But if this election is as close as the mainstream media would have you believe then President Bush could have won a second term this evening. We said Kerry won the first debate on a split decision, that Bush brought his "A" game in the second. Tonight he brought the "A+" game.
Now folks, for the most part this election is up to you. Get energized and get out to vote, especially in light of the massive fraud it appears we're going to face on election day.
othere=others (my bad)
It was quite clear how Kerry implied how government would do for you, and Bush implied how government would help you do for yourself.
If Allen Greenspan says it's a problem, it's a problem.
Even better, I'd have liked to see him ask how on Earth Hanoi John and TuhRAYzuh get away with paying a 12% effective tax rate.
FReegards...MUD
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