Posted on 10/23/2002 7:18:31 AM PDT by ItisaReligionofPeace
Florida and National Media Call Debate for Jeb
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 23, 2002
McBride’s Performance, “Dramatically Abysmal” Prompting “Laughter from the Audience”
“Bill McBride bumbled a big opportunity Tuesday night.” (Miami Herald)
“Bush's poise holds off McBride's final charge” (St. Pete Times headline)
“The onus was on McBride, as a challenger who polls show remains largely unknown to nearly one in three Florida voters, to pull off a dramatic performance. At times his performance was dramatic -- dramatically abysmal.” (Miami Herald)
“For 18 months Bill McBride has been pining to debate Jeb Bush one-on-one. Over and over, the first-time candidate predicted he would win the comparison between a governor born of privilege and the folksy ex-Marine vowing to fix Florida schools. But McBride underestimated his opponent.” (St. Pete Times)
“Despite saying his education proposal was the ‘most detailed plan in the history of Florida politics,’ McBride not only couldn't specifically answer how much he thought it would cost. He also wasn't sure where the money would come from.” (Palm Beach Post)
McBride’s “vagueness at one point prompted laughter from the audience.” (St. Pete Times)
“In their high-stakes, final televised debate Tuesday, Bush showed why he's poised to be the first Republican governor ever reelected in Florida. Looking relaxed and confident, the governor calmly brushed off barbs by McBride and tossed them back without looking defensive or smug. Bush is the seasoned politician in this race, and it showed.” (St. Pete Times)
“With latest polls showing McBride narrowly trailing Bush, most pundits believed McBride needed a knockout punch last night to overtake the governor. That didn't happen, said Jeff Butler, associate professor of communications and longtime coach of the UCF debate team.” (Florida Times-Union)
“McBride lost the chance to make case” (Miami Herald headline)
“Bush exposed McBride's inexperience with the budget when the Tampa attorney spoke of boosting spending for local law enforcement. The state doesn't pay for police and sheriffs, Bush replied, pointing out that most of the state's sheriffs are endorsing his re-election.” (Orlando Sentinel)
“But a flurry of questions from the debate's relentless moderator, NBC's Tim Russert, flummoxed McBride and laid bare an agenda lacking in specifics.” (Miami Herald)
“Across the Meet the Press-style table, Bush appeared relaxed and in command. And, most important, the governor offered an artful argument for voters to reelect him on Nov. 5. He called serving as governor ‘the most joyous experience of my life’ and spoke with emotion about his ‘passion’ for education, and his ‘hopes and dreams’ to increase standards.” (Miami Herald)
“Turning to McBride, Russert asked him to specify how he would pay for the class-size amendment. ‘Will it be higher sales taxes, yes or no?’ ‘No.’ ‘Higher property taxes, yes or no?’ ‘No.’ ‘A state income tax?’ ‘No.’ ‘So where will you find the money?’ McBride still offered no specifics.” (Palm Beach Post)
“If McBride hoped this final faceoff would give him the big shove he needs to for the final two weeks of the campaign, he would have to be disappointed. The latest polls suggest he is still behind the governor and struggling to close the gap, and Bush turned in his strongest debate performance of the campaign.” (St. Pete Times)
“By the debate's end, viewers were left with far more questions about McBride's agenda than answers and little more than a vague understanding of why he is running.” (Miami Herald)
“When pressed by Russert, McBride couldn't say how much the constitutional amendment that he backs would cost taxpayers if adopted. It would be ‘somewhere’ between various estimates, which range from $8 billion to $27 billion, he said, eliciting laughter from spectators inside the university ballroom.” (Los Angeles Times)
“McBride, on the other hand, looked slippery…It took the moderator several tries before McBride conceded that the amendment might cost as much as $15 billion -- more than one-fourth of the entire budget -- and even then McBride fumbled through an answer referring to ‘across-the-board’ cuts to services.” (Miami Herald)
Bush, who at times can appear haughty in debates, portrayed himself as a confident and bold leader in ‘the most joyous’ job of his life. He told viewers that he has earned a second term to continue to ‘build on the progress we've made.’” (Palm Beach Post)
“McBride did himself no favors Tuesday night in wooing…undecideds.” (Miami Herald)
“McBride's eagerness to engage Bush produced some missteps. To a question about crime, McBride offered no specific solutions while accusing the governor of failing to listen to law enforcement. A bemused Bush noted that every major law enforcement group is endorsing him, and then ticked off three specific steps he would take if reelected, including targeting domestic violence. To win, McBride needs to convert Bush supporters to his side and it's hard to see how he did that Tuesday night.” (St. Pete Times)
“As hard as moderator Tim Russert tried and as much as Gov. Jeb Bush goaded him, Democrat Bill McBride refused to tell a statewide television audience Tuesday night specifically how he would pay to reduce class sizes.” (Palm Beach Post)
It appears that about the only thing McMumble has going for him is the teachers' union and the "D" beside his name on the ballot which assures him of about 90% of the black vote.
Laughter, the kiss of death for those that lie in front of live audiences.
A note to Tim Russert -- Why don't you add a live audience to your Sunday show?
But I guess this means the Dumb@ssocRATS will REALLY ratchet up the "Jeb wants to kill old people and steal their money" commercials, eh?
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