Posted on 09/30/2004 5:57:19 PM PDT by Admin Moderator
Thread 1 - Pre-Debate discussion
Kerry wants to dismantle our nuclear defense, negotiate with nations who wish us harm (China, N.Korea) and give US decision making authority over to the UN or other countries.
That's scary, and I hope Repubs play up those points soon.
P.S. Fox just aired a great anti-Kerry ad.
President Bush is sometimes a little wandering - but he has made all the points he needs to already.. he didnt do great but JKerry didnt knock him out, so it was pretty lame all together...
WOOHOO
4 more years!! amen!!
all my friends watching tonight say Bush by 7pts in Nov !!
President Bush was himself tonight....hes never been a great speaker, thats NOTHING new, but hes a GREAT PRESIDENT!!
It's not a question of panic; I'm simply trying to be unlike the Democrats who will deny reality in the cause of blind ideology.
Kerry simply did somewhat better than Pres. Bush in this debate. You are right to point out that he was largely substance-free, and the president did make some good points.
It's just a bit disappointing, because I was hoping to see Kerry's campaign sunk tonight. But, all in all, I don't think this hurts the president very much. He didn't embarrass himself; he just didn't come out as strongly as I had hoped.
Brilliant post.
In college, it seemed "intellectual" to have a snide, condescending comment for every occasion. Nothing was ever good enough. Everyone was always unenlightened and wrong.
Most Republicans eventually outgrow this wet-behind-the-ears obnoxiousness. Real life experiences teach them about the general imperfectibility of life, and they become more compassionate toward people who are actually in the foxholes of life trying to accomplish something.
Many liberals never outgrow their snottiness because they tend to have careers that insulate them from the day-to-day down-and-dirty of real life. They become teachers, professors, journalists, and theoreticians who can be consistently wrong without ever incurring any concrete sanctions.
Kerry has never done anything real during his entire life. He has existed entirely in the realm of the policy wonk. He has thought and talked, but he has never taken an action that has had real consequences for himself or others. He has had the luxury of being unaccountable in his professional life.
Bush, on the other hand, has real-life accomplishments. He's been an executive in the private sector and in the public sector. He's not had the luxury of theorizing endlessly. He's had to make decisions based on available information and implement policies. He has a real record because he's had a real life.
Kerry is the proverbial eunuch in a harem. He can talk about it, but he can't do it.
That's great that you think Bush held his own. I hope most Americans (who were watching) see it the way you do.
That said, one of the things I like most about FR is that we don't sugar-coat (to use a popular Dem word) our feelings/opinions, even when they reflect poorly on our candidate. The fact that most FReepers think Bush did a poor job is telling. And no, I'm not a DU troll. I've been around here for a couple years.
But again, I do hope you're analysis lines up with people watching. :-)
Bush did not put away his challenger, says someone else on CNN
Candy Crowley says both stayed on point, hard pressed to find anything new. not a combustable debate.
CNN's John King says Bushs repeated about Kerry's vascillation, Ceci connelly said Bush was ready to go after Kerry's wrong war, wrong time. She said Kerry showed a wealth of knowledge...that Bush ran out of stuff to say. Ceci liked it that Kerry mentioned his Viet Nam service. She thought Kerry would have mentioned "Mission Accomplished". She said Bush stuck to his "resolute" theme.
bill Kristol thinks Kerry did pretty well, and now we've got a real race. Mort Kondracke says Kerry looked like he could be a commander in chief.
Fred Barnes thinks there will be less complaining from democrats who have been complaining about about Kerry.
Brokaw said Kerry did what he had to do, he articulated clearly, and he appeared presidential and commanding tonight. He "kickstarted" his campaign, and maybe gave undecideds a reason to vote for him. Brokaw says Bush did the same thing.
Russert says Kerry was the candidate the democrats thought they were nominating back in the primaries. He said this was the kind of debate the country needed. Each base was secured, and now the undecideds have the information they need.
Brokaw says Kerry had his act together more tonight, but it's easier to be the challenger when things are going tough.
Bush was impatient, smirking, Kerry was never disrespectful of the president ,said Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC. Rather looks happy which troubles me.
David Ensoir on CNN is catching all the mistakes (LIES) Kerry said. he's reading, I think, from Bush site. Tommy Franks on CNN said Kerry is like lite beer, less filling...he refutes what Kerry said about Torra Bora. and catching bin Laden. Franks says what Kerry said is absolutely incorrect, the difficulty is, he says, our media built expectations.
Wesley Clark on CNN is asked about Shinsecki retiring,not being fired, Blitzer makes Clark admit that Shinsecki was not fired, that he served his full 4 years, and then retired as he had planned to do all along.
Clark says I agree with Kerry that the war with IRaq was a distraction against the war on terrorism, and we don't have enough forces,
JUdy Woodruff says everybody agrees no homeruns, but Kerry people feel really good, that they kept Bush on the defenses. Nothing dramatic happened.
Bill Hemmer on CNN is with a group of undecideds. they LOVED it when Bush said you can't say have a president denigrating our allies.
Mike McCurry has had his eyes fixed. Karen Hughes says the president made it clear tonight that he is the commander to lead us sthrough this. She said they saw the president's heart.
McCurry says the president is so stubbornly arrogant that he won't admit he's made mistakes.
Joe Biden says this administration is incompetent INCOMPETENT!!!
George Stephanopolis says Mark Halperin will be telling the world how agitated the president
Unfortunately Kerry had lost his orange hue...
Bush did not look "in command" of anything! How does he think his "out of touch" performance tonight will play with terrorists?!
No, you are not worth my bandwidth.
Hugh hasn't a clue. By Monday, this will be even nationally, with Kerry pulling close or ahead in some swing states. Bush may well still win, but the polls will shrink by Monday -- and the media will spin hard.
Bookmark it.
Hugh hasn't a clue. By Monday, this will be even nationally, with Kerry pulling close or ahead in some swing states. Bush may well still win, but the polls will shrink by Monday -- and the media will spin hard.
Bookmark it.
Madam please shut up. You are a fool. Goodbye.
Dubya has looked pissed off ever since this debate started. I keep laughing, He's just so darn cute.
"The end is near." "Mark my words, the end is near!" Nonsense. Sheesh are you always such a drama queen? Perhaps you should consider some Valium before the next debate.
Many of your supposed 17% turned the channel after the first 20 minutes. Give Americans credit for having sense to see through sKerry and his Performance Without Substance. Bush didn't lose ground tonight.
Prairie
Kerry presented well as a debater. GWB looked frustrated and bored at being there because he had better things to do - RUNNING THE COUNTRY AND KEEPING US SAFE.
Kerry looked like a Contender...Bush looked like a President with a lot on his mind.
i heard that too and thought I was channeling a crack addict...
Apparently, Mr. Kerry thinks that if we give Iran nuclear fuel, they won't create their own nuclear fuel...hmmm.
Maybe we could also give them anthrax, and missles, just so they won't develop their own.
Anyhow, I'm sure the Iranians would never hand over the U.S. plutonium to some Islamonazi dirty bomb maker.../sarcasm
Okay, I'm a first time poster, but I've been lurking for awhile. Karen Hughes is talking right now. She's hammering home some of GWB's points. I agree Kerry came across as articulate, but he's still a flip flopper. Assumming this is his final answer, we need to call him on the carpet for every bit of it. He says shame on us for alienating other countries! Yet, as for North Korea, shame on us for not taking a bilateral approach! There's so much else! I'm gonna be up all night picking away. Okay , I'm also a homeschooling mom, maybe not all night. I've got to teach my kidos some more good ole conservative thinking tommorrow.
As for Teresa! OH MY!!!! My first thought was that lady is out of it! She's all glossy eyed and swaying from side to side. I'd love to see that on Drudge tomorrow!
I love it!!!!
G.W. goes to the oval office every day with the single thought-------What can I do to benefit the American people.
Yes, it did seem like Kerry spoke for longer periods of time, yet he had no coherent position on anything.
And I've now spoken to both of my liberal-leaning, undecided sisters and they both said that Kerry did nothing to convince them to vote for him.
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