Free Republic

It wasn't Live TV, it had been taped yesterday

Then they should have learned from Nixon and burned the tape. ;)

We seem to agree on a hell of a lot. Should that scare me, or are we OK? Remember, I'm relatively new here...as a poster.

DT

PS: GREAT reply.

he's not the term you used which I know you didn't mean.

Gee, that was awfully close to a Bushism.

JUST KIDDING!! ;)

As for the personal attacks, Noonan's character has always been above reproach. She's never been a bomb-thrower or character assassin. As a former Reagan speech writer (remember him?) she knows her stuff. If she says Bush came off weak, she's trying to help - not hinder. So listen. Bottom line: if the Bush peeps can't fix their communcation problems, the Republicans will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Nov.

Wow! There are TWO of us on this site who want Bush to win, but don't drink Kool-Aid. I have been trying to make this point as well, and I hope to be out of the hospital next week.

You realize this IS Free Republic where you are making this point? Tell ya what -- I'll volunteer to start YOUR car in the morning, if you'll start MINE....Oh, forget it Fenris, we both have families to think about. So lets just give up and get in line. Do you want grape or orange flavored?

If you don't like the way the President's speeches are prepared and delivered, then apply for Mrs. James Carville's job, and write them yourself.

I'm gonna take a wild stab and assume that you are being a bit critical of Noonan. But the law of unintended consequences is making you a wise poster indeed. I'd rather have one Peggy Noonan on staff right now than that room full of "yes men" he has now who put him on Meet the Press unprepared. This is a truly conservative person who knows what she's talking about.

We have two options between now and November. Listen to wise voices like hers. Or go the old Joe Stalin route and shoot anyone who has the temerity to say the Boss could do a lot better. Besides, the issue here is about putting the President in venues where he is admittedly weak. As incongruous as it may seem, strength truly is the ability to recognize your weaknesses.

he was His great honest self

That is not the issue.

[he] controlled the interview....

Quick! Email me the brand of Kool-Aid your drinking, I want to send it to the DNC....

CHECK that last post. I'm STILL the new kid on the block...I just sent my rewritten post...TWICE. Back later after I've done my time sitting in the corner.......I'll fill you in on that ritual later..........

WELCOME! I formally signed on last month after reading it for years....you'll love the lexicon. Like politics, FREEP ain't beanbag. But it is, without a doubt, the most stimulating site on the web. Glad I'm not the new kid on the block anymore! Enjoy it, because you will be a FREEP veteran soon enough. And loving every minute of it!

PS: My personal favorite is BTTT....back to the top (or thread). You have NO IDEA what my mind conjured about that acronym until the kind soul who used it let me in.

WELCOME! I formally signed on last month after reading it for years....you'll love the lexicon. Like politics, FREEP ain't beanbag. But it is, without a doubt, the most stimulating site on the web. Glad I'm not the new kid on the block anymore! Enjoy it, because you will be a veteran soon enough. And loving every minute of it!

PS: My personal favorite is BTTT....back to the thread. You have NO IDEA what my mind conjured about that acronym until a kind soul who used it let me in.

He looked a little on the disheveled side. His collar and shirt did not look crisp and sharp. Maybe it was the end of the day but...

I believe the correct term is Shanty Irish.

that is the most important criteria in judging a politician during an interview.

From your keyboard to the ears of all those undecided voters out there. To me, the most important criteria is to try hard to view it as an undecided rather than a partisan who wants validation -- to try and get a feel for how he comes across in flyover country. Frankly, he came across as insecure and tentative...at least to me. That's not a problem as he already has my vote. But the fact is that both candidates are going after about 20% of the electorate who are toss-ups right now. It is also early. Which is why I want the person who insisted he go on Meet the Press in February assigned to stuffing envelopes in Massachusetts -- where, as they say in medicine, he "can do no further harm."

I just don't know if our President has it in him.

He has "it" in him -- and then some. What he lacks is the natural communication skills to get it across. What infuriates me is that his staff has access to specialists who do this for a living. It has become a science now. And yet they sent him out to face Russert unprepared. There was absolutely NO excuse for that. I would give anything to have someone like Lee Atwater back. I knew Lee Atwater. And Karl Rove is NO Lee Atwater.

Notice Bushs critics only point out "how" he said what he did and not "what" he said.

Sadly, that is very important in this day and age. It has been a fact of political life since the first fully TV-influenced Presidential campaign of 1960. It shouldn't have to be that way, but it is reality. The fact that Rove and the staff agreed to such an early appearance is questionable, but that the President was so unprepared is inexcusable. He is not being served well. Hopefully that will change as the campaign moves on. It's nice that the choir is in agreement, but the hard fact is that we have about 20% of the electorate to convice by November. Hopefully with better performances -- and preparation --than we saw Sunday.

If you feel uncomfortable listening to President Bush, listen to John Kerry.

First of all, it is that 20% of undecided voters that I don't want to be uncomfortable listening to George Bush. If you read my post all the way through before your knee jerked you would have noticed that I said this one performance will not lose him the election. What the President does NOT need right now are Kool-Aid-drinking "yes men." He was not served well with the decision to appear on Meet the Press, and he came off as indecisive and unprepared. My criticism was with Karl Rove. The President *does* need criticism -- critical can imply an effort to see a thing clearly. If you really care about someone or a cause, you fight to keep it on track. Telling me and other concerned conservatives to "love it or leave it" not only shows a lack of critical thinking about the campaign to come, but shows me the same kind of unnecessary panic I see from Karl Rove and his team. Blind loyalty might be great for a rock star or actor, but I have seen it's toxic unintended consequences ruin many a fine political leader. Hopefully you and I, in our own ways, will get him that next term the country needs. Here's hoping.

It was a mistake to go on. Bush seemed tentative, defensive, and frankly stammered at times. This will not lose him the election, but it was a bad move. Totally unnecessary. Another Rove blunder. It is going to take some good advertising to show the immense amount of baggage that comes with Kerry. He is a total phoney. THAT is where the election will be won. Just show Kerry for what he is. In the meantime, for God's sake, keep Bush OFF live TV!

Don't abstain from voting. Vote Libertarian or the American Constitution Party.

No way I'd *ever* vote Libertarian. Those wing nuts are for open borders! Read their platform, then get ready for some real-life nightmares. ACP is more NeoCon crap, where they view America as a "market." They no doubt LOVE the Bush/Rove amnesty-on-the-installment plan. I sincerely thank you for your concern, and taking the time to post. But I am so bitter and angry with the NeoCon take-over of the GOP that I just want to sit out the Presidential part of the ballot this year. I want to vote in my March California primary in order to give our Congressman David (Open Borders) Drier a scare, and support some other soon-to-be-extinct REAL Republicans. Once that task has been performed I'm staying home and hoping the day that Karl Rove wishes he had never been born will come for his fat a** REAL soon.

Oh...you meant *THAT* JFK! Please disregard my last post, or as Rosanne Rosannadanna used to say, "Never mind."

True, but Christ was not an alcoholic

That's because he had the good sense to just stick with the Gallo hearty burgundy...it's the wafers that'll kill ya.

Hey Mike, • JFK resigned his Senate seat on 22 December 1960- which Benjamin A. Smith II (Democrat) had been appointed by Governor Foster Furcolo (Democrat) to fill, 27 December 1960; Mass. law required an election in 1962 and Teddy, as the script called for, won it.

Hope this helps.

Christ was drinking wine most all of his life.

Hey, be careful! Mel Gibson *knows* where you live...