A quick word on last night's debate
I usually watch C-Span for things like this, because I don't want my spin during the debate, I'll take it afterwards when I can't avoid it. C-Span was courageous in, I think, defiantly NOT submitting to the President's "request" that candidates not be filmed while their opponent is speaking. C-Span ran a split screen for the ENTIRE debate.
Bush's "off screen" body language was very revealing. Slamming down waters, rolling his eyes, puffing his cheeks, growling like a junk yard dog...and looking like he barely understood the question, let alone his opponent's answers.
To an objective observer, which I admit I am not, I think it is clear that Kerry won the debate, but the Spinsters immediately started earning their paychecks trying to make us believe the Emperor had a full set of clothes and that Kerry was naked.
Former Mayor Rudy was the worst, because he is an intelligent guy...but he's got a receipt instead of a soul. Karen Hughes claims to have retired from the campaign and gone home to be with family but is at every single speech and I expect will be at every debate...literally mouthing the words of the President as he speaks them. She was saying afterwards on MSNBC that Bush handily won the debate, but she and all the other neo-con talking heads just repeated the same thing Bush kept repeating throughout the debate, the only line he has: "Kerry is too inconsistent to be president."
This flip-flopping bullshit is just a poorly paraphrased redneck version of the slogan his dad used against Clinton, "You can't turn the White House into the Waffle House."
Let's hope it works just as well for the son as it did for the father. Last night was a clear win for Kerry, and if the American People who saw it know shit from shinola they will vote for Kerry in droves.
Unfortunately, there was an actual media effort to keep Republicans from even watching the debate. All the Conservative Radio Voices I listen too, like Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, and even Rush Limbaugh were calling the debate a "joint press conference" and not worth listening to. Their opinion is that if you need to hear a debate at this point to make up your mind who to vote for you are an idiot.
While there may be some truth to that argument, it would be nice to get the people who are such ardent Bushies to see their candidate think and speak "on the fly" since he rarely holds press conferences where he takes questions not submitted in advance, and even when he does he gives 17 minute speeches first so the "liberal news media" pull the coherent quotes from that instead of the idiotic babble he tosses back to softball questions the press corps field him.
Nobody in the Bush Camp wants the majority of their base to see him stammering, yammering, fidgeting at the podium, looking so much shorter than Kerry, getting flushed with anger, and arrogantly asserting he is the smarter of the two.
I know that it worked to some degree.
I have a Republican office mate, an ex-air force Lt. Colonel who constantly says things like, "I'm not crazy about Bush but Kerry scares the hell out of me." (To which I say pithy things like, "They are so close on so many issues, what scares you? That he might actually try to fund No Child Left Behind?" but I digress)
Anyway, my office mate proudly said yesterday that he was taking his kids to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow instead of watching the debate.
For what it's worth, I think Kerry realizes his worst enemy is optimism, and so should the Democrats. Keep up the panic. There's more than enough reason.
Even so, get out there and find every online poll you can and vote that Kerry won the debate. Write letters to your local papers saying Kerry won the debate, and why you honestly think he did. Call talk radio shows and explain why you're not crazy about Kerry but Bush scares the hell out of you. People are sheep...lead them away from the slaughter and back to the nice green fields.
Take the Kerry Challenge
Archie
Bush's "off screen" body language was very revealing. Slamming down waters, rolling his eyes, puffing his cheeks, growling like a junk yard dog...and looking like he barely understood the question, let alone his opponent's answers.
To an objective observer, which I admit I am not, I think it is clear that Kerry won the debate, but the Spinsters immediately started earning their paychecks trying to make us believe the Emperor had a full set of clothes and that Kerry was naked.
Former Mayor Rudy was the worst, because he is an intelligent guy...but he's got a receipt instead of a soul. Karen Hughes claims to have retired from the campaign and gone home to be with family but is at every single speech and I expect will be at every debate...literally mouthing the words of the President as he speaks them. She was saying afterwards on MSNBC that Bush handily won the debate, but she and all the other neo-con talking heads just repeated the same thing Bush kept repeating throughout the debate, the only line he has: "Kerry is too inconsistent to be president."
This flip-flopping bullshit is just a poorly paraphrased redneck version of the slogan his dad used against Clinton, "You can't turn the White House into the Waffle House."
Let's hope it works just as well for the son as it did for the father. Last night was a clear win for Kerry, and if the American People who saw it know shit from shinola they will vote for Kerry in droves.
Unfortunately, there was an actual media effort to keep Republicans from even watching the debate. All the Conservative Radio Voices I listen too, like Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, and even Rush Limbaugh were calling the debate a "joint press conference" and not worth listening to. Their opinion is that if you need to hear a debate at this point to make up your mind who to vote for you are an idiot.
While there may be some truth to that argument, it would be nice to get the people who are such ardent Bushies to see their candidate think and speak "on the fly" since he rarely holds press conferences where he takes questions not submitted in advance, and even when he does he gives 17 minute speeches first so the "liberal news media" pull the coherent quotes from that instead of the idiotic babble he tosses back to softball questions the press corps field him.
Nobody in the Bush Camp wants the majority of their base to see him stammering, yammering, fidgeting at the podium, looking so much shorter than Kerry, getting flushed with anger, and arrogantly asserting he is the smarter of the two.
I know that it worked to some degree.
I have a Republican office mate, an ex-air force Lt. Colonel who constantly says things like, "I'm not crazy about Bush but Kerry scares the hell out of me." (To which I say pithy things like, "They are so close on so many issues, what scares you? That he might actually try to fund No Child Left Behind?" but I digress)
Anyway, my office mate proudly said yesterday that he was taking his kids to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow instead of watching the debate.
For what it's worth, I think Kerry realizes his worst enemy is optimism, and so should the Democrats. Keep up the panic. There's more than enough reason.
Even so, get out there and find every online poll you can and vote that Kerry won the debate. Write letters to your local papers saying Kerry won the debate, and why you honestly think he did. Call talk radio shows and explain why you're not crazy about Kerry but Bush scares the hell out of you. People are sheep...lead them away from the slaughter and back to the nice green fields.
Take the Kerry Challenge
Archie
posted by Archie Levine at 4:28 AM
3 Comments:
I think it's fairly clear John Kerry won the first debate. Most members of the media seemed to agree with me last night. I hope they feel the same way today.
Full disclosure: I am a Kerry supporter. But I feared the worst going into the debate. I was afraid that he would be stiff, that his language and logic would be convoluted, and that he'd continually run over the time limit. Instead, I found him strong and clear. He knew what he wanted to say and said it. He made one point in particular that I wish more politicians would address: that national security needs to begin at home, with securing our chemical and nuclear (not nucular) facilities, ports and airports, and borders. I've been impatient with Kerry in recent weeks, but tonight I saw the Kerry of the convention. He's not a charmer, but he's strong, serious and resolute.
George Bush beat himself in this debate. I teach public speaking and he made a series of gaffes I warn my students about. He leaned into the podium too much, making him look slumped. He took long pauses and muttered a lot of "ums," which injures credibility. He blinked excessively, which makes the speaker look weak. (Hard to help that last one, but you've got to try.) His interruptions -- especially the ones that left him with nothing to say -- made him seem desperate. In cutaways, he looked angry. He was Al Gore in 2000.
One commentator (Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, no liberal he) noted that Bush used the phrase, "It's hard work," 11 times. Once is recognition of the daunting task ahead of us. 11 times makes you seem like you're not up for the job. I'm ready for a change.
J. B.
Chicago
Well, here's some links which might help us understand why Bushies think their man won the debate, and checking the claims of lies by both sides.
Bush Supporters Misread Many of His Foreign Policy Positions: Kerry Supporters Largely Accurate, Swing Voters Also Misread Bush, But Not Kerry, PIPA, September 29, 2004
Iraq, terror record stretched two ways, CNN, Thursday, September 30, 2004
Fact check finds few errors, By GLENN KESSLER and WALTER PINCUS, Washington Post, Oct 1st, 2004
John Kerry has not found the sound bite on this, which is: "I voted to give the President the authority because I trusted him to do the right thing. He proved himself unworthy of that trust."
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