Posted on 09/30/2004 5:57:19 PM PDT by Admin Moderator
Thread 1 - Pre-Debate discussion
You made a point about the extra 30 sec rule that I had not picked up on and that goes along with my belief that Lehrer asked questions that would put Bush in a defensive position as stated in post 3184(whew,this is a long one).
For several weeks Kerry's friends in the media have been coaching him on how they think he could bring down Bush's popularity--and every one of them said to concentrate on Iraq and try to separate it from the war on terror. There are alot of things that could have been asked tonight and yet Lehrer chose to dwell almost solely on Iraq.
I could almost hear the terrorists clapping and hoping America doesn't have the stomach to stick this out. They already know they have our media in their pocket giving troop death and injury updates around the clock and the democratic party repeating the message that things are going badly in Iraq and that we are loosing. I think God for those who have the strength of character to fight the war on terror and the backbone necessary to stick with it.
It sorta raised my hackles when sKerry jabbed at Bush for positioning more protection around Irac's oil lines than around their nuclear facilities. Are those facilities functioning and wouldn't it be important to sustain Irac's major export item for the country's economic recovery or does sKerry think they export electricity ?
I thought the exact same thing when he said that tonight. I guess Bush was out of it. Or maybe it's part of soem giant master plan... but more likely he was out of it. Anytime Something incorrect would come up, or something that could of easily have been slapped down, He didn't do it. I wonder why. I have a few of my own theories, but discuss amongst yourselves.
I thought Bush was clear on where he stood and I don't think he did as badly as some seem to think. However, if there was one point I would have liked to see the President better prepared to address, this was certainly it.
Exactly, but the average voter watching last night does not know this since the point was not made forcefully! Bush could have done a lot more damage, and Bush's body language while Kerry was speaking reminded me of Gore in 2000. He seemed annoyed (I'm sure he was) but he should not have shown it as he did. My $.02.
YES! What President Bush has accomplished in 4 years is nothing short of jaw-droppingly awesome. President Bush is indeed a Fisherman. :) And the trap has been baited. Righteously. It's so clear to me. And yes, I should be sending notes of "lift up your hearts" to those who love President Bush (as we do); and who are so worried this morning. But how to explain to these tender hearts what really went down last night?
http://www.georgewbush.com/debatefacts/Debate.aspx?stamp=9/30/2004%2010:29:34%20PM
*WE* are not the ones President Bush needs to convince (what is so hard to understand about that?).
Bush has people (lots and lots of people) to handle any contingency that comes up 24/7/365 at least well enough that he doesn't get sucked into false alarms and spend precious time and energy chasing rabbits just hours before a crucial event as the very first presidential debate. He owes at least that much to the people who are out here in the trenches fighting for him.
And I am not one damned bit ashamed to say it. I'd say it right to his face: "Mr President sir, you need to practice the delivery of your responses by avoiding hesitation and using crutches such as "Um, well, er ...", etc. This is basic communication effectiveness 101 - nothing mysterious about it at all.
The people President Bush needs to convince to vote for him are the ones who need to be able to look at him and have complete, total confidence that he has complete control of the situation and a vote for him is without hesitation the very best choice of the two.
None of us here have to be convinced of that but the average Joe on the street does.
If a person with zero prior knowledge of what has happened to this country on 9/11 and since then and who also knew absolutely nothing about either candidate and was required to make up their mind based on that one single debate last night, President Bush's stammering and hesitation (sometimes for up to 8 seconds) would not have been viewed favorably.
His speech writers and coaches had better make him aware of this fact and he needs to spend more time listening to the feedback of those people if he is to come across with the kind of confidence a swing voter needs to see before they will vote for him.
Kerry basically admitted he had the questions ahead of time. He said something to the effect of he won't finish up discussing a point he was making---he will 'wait until the homeland security question which is coming up later in the debate.' (Paraphrased)
With the few substantive comments that Kerry did make, he proved that he would defer to anyone and everyone rather than make the tough decisions himself.
We were hundreds of posts behind and it was impossible to post or even get to the next page of posts.
Excellent. Thanks for the link
That is why self-evalution and self-criticism is so crucial at this point if we are to maintain a clear and subjective perspective of how effectively our candidate is projecting our (yes, our) goals and views to the world.
Great idea!
I don't think this could be considered an admission obviously they both knew the outline of the debate and homeland security is part of that.
I am voting for Bush nothing has changed there.
But watching the debate made me sort of feel like Bush was on the Defensive more than the Offensive not to mention at times when he was rebutting or answering questions it was almost painful to watch.
As many others have said though Bush won on Substance, Kerry won on Style. That much was evident.
What the h*ll are you talking about? When have I EVER been a "devil's advocate?" Show me ONE post of mine where I have argued against our side? Kerry was much more presidential than Bush last night; Dubya was halting, repetitious, hunched over and even--at times--whiney.
Your assessment of my comment is as poor as your assessment of the debate. Denying reality is never helpful.
Bush looked tired--he was NOT sharp. I am extremely angry with his handlers who allowed him to knock himself out running all around Florida yesterday. He should have rested and even taken a nap in the afternoon. There were some bad decisions made.
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