I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
Alpha
George, just visualize me as having you by the nuts. (Office safe)
oooh...want to read that one. I can't access the link (it's work related, not Atrios's problem). So please fill me in folks.
The link was not to businessweek, but it was amusing.
Read Wolcott.
He nails President Twitchy.
Poetic justice, indeed.
Ouch. That's gotta hurt.
Vicki, here's what it sez: Besides that, he's the President and has led the nation at a time of enormous peril and uncertainty (some of it, arguably, of his own making). Love him or detest him, he sits at the desk where the buck makes its last stop.
But in Coral Gables, Fla., last night, Bush looked -- at least for the first half of the debate -- like Elmer Befuddled, a commander-in-chief not in command.
Perhaps what was so unnerving was that Bush found himself in a foreign-policy debate with a seasoned politician who was espousing the same sort of measured, internationalist approach to a dangerous world that was the hallmark of his father's Presidency. Debating the security and future of the nation on live national television isn't easy -- but debating your Dad is downright scary.
...
When Kerry, methodically making his case like the prosecutor he once was, said, "This President has made a colossal error of judgment" by invading Iraq, Bush looked like a 1960s teenager called on the carpet for cracking up the family Oldsmobile. At that moment, it was hard not to get the impression that young George wanted to be anyplace but where he found himself.
The poignancy of a man ill-prepared for and overwhelmed by his job was never more apparent than when Bush said, "I never wanted to commit troops. When we were debating in 2000, I never dreamed I'd have to do that."
The message that Kerry hammered home was that, in fact, Bush did not have to "do that," did not have to send our soldiers -- at least not to Iraq.
But Bush, the onetime black sheep of his family, wanted to wipe away the "wimp factor" stain that his old man had left on the Bush clan. And so he rebelled against the family mantra of prudence in all things. Last night, he looked for all the world like a sputtering screwup -- again.
A true kick in the nads.
Business Week is generally not so bad, actually.
Vicki, it's basically just a really bad review of Bush's debate performance, saying that Kerry's stance toward the world is the measured, internationalist position of G Bush the First, and Chimpy was losing it because of his Oedipus complex when he found himself up there debating his daddy. Quite nasty.
Business Week is a commie rag. Atrios has Blog ads. Jim Lehrer is a librul stooge. Kerry looks French. BUSH WON THE DEBATE!!!!!
AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Rush, helpe me, please, please, make it all better.
Kerry really did Chimp in by refering to Poppy. I thought Chimp was gonna swallow his glass of water.
comments from don hewitt:
Hewitt: Pull out of Iraq now, hire mercenaries
By Bret Hayworth, Journal staff writer
VERMILLION, S.D. -- CBS "60 Minutes" creator Don Hewitt said the U.S. should pull quickly out of Iraq, since too many young Americans are perishing in a "hellhole" in which they are unprepared to fight.
[...]Looking out at over 100 young college students, Hewitt said his thoughts went to them, and the similar-aged American soldiers being killed by insurgents in Iraq. "I have been thinking, how do we get out of this awful, terrible situation that we are in that we should never have got into in the first place?" Hewitt said.
"I thought about this last night," he continued. "The reason we are not winning the war in Iraq is because it is not a war. It is mayhem. It is not Bunker Hill. It is not Valley Forge. It is gunfight at OK Corral. And I'm not sure we can fight a war like that. I don't think they teach beheading in Annapolis, I don't think they teach car bombing at West Point. That is so foreign to the American kids who are there now."
Hewitt shared an email from a Wall Street Journal correspondent, who cited "a significant turning point came with a wave of abductions and kidnappings," and now "the insurgency is rampant, with no signs of slowing down." He said the Iraqi police being trained are ill-equipped to protect anyone, and some insurgents have even infiltrated their ranks.
"This is so different than anything America has ever faced," he said. "This is different from Vietnam. This is not a war, this is a gang fight, this is a gang war, this is like an inner city fight between two gangs. American soldiers have no business being in the middle of it, because they don't know anything about it." Looking out over the USD students, he said, "I don't want you guys to go to Iraq."
No one in the crowd spoke against Hewitt's comments. Neuharth said the South Dakota National Guard has been one of the most tapped states for providing soldiers to Iraq.
Neuharth said some will chalk up Hewitt's comments to a member of the liberal media, but noted, "he is nothing, politically." Hewitt said he voted for strong Republicans like Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. "I am not in either camp, I only say what I say because I am petrified," Hewitt said.
It's from Business Week online, written by a Business Week senior editor. So, yeah, it's from Business Week.
Atrios: Can you post on this? Thanks for your time.
FORWARD BASING: A significant difference in Iraq plans!
Kerry mentioned it once last night. Bush is building 14 permanent bases in Iraq, and Kerry will guarantee no long term military presence after "the job is done." This is important in helping end the insurgency, yet when Bush ignored his point, Kerry did not use his extra 30 seconds to point it out. KERRY MUST HAMMER HOME ANY CLEAR DISTINCTIONS, to end the meme that he won't do anything different. Can we get this point spread around?
Thanks for listening.
I was so afraid that Kerry was going to screw up that I wasn't going to watch the debate. I went to a friends house to drink a few brews and he had the debate on. After 20 minutes I was glad I watched. After it was over, I had renewed hope for our team. Kick his ass, Kerry! Save this country!
Well, what do you expect from such a leftish rag? Buncha damn Commies working at . . . what magazine was that?
Business Week?
BUSINESS Week?
*gulp*
Shit . . .
In the BW has it this way:
...
SPUTTERING SCREWUP. The poignancy of a man ill-prepared for and overwhelmed by his job was never more apparent than when Bush said, "I never wanted to commit troops. When we were debating in 2000, I never dreamed I'd have to do that."
...
Sputtering Screwup - lovely.
Yet anonther title for Dubya.
Last night, he looked for all the world like a sputtering screwup -- again.
You can't polish a turd.
WHOA!
Check this out over at Josh Marshall's!
FOX has been caught making up bogus Kerry quotes.
NAIL THEM.
SPAM THIS TO EVERY NEWS OUTFIT YOU CAN.
If they're going to castrate Dan Rather, we should be able to execute them over this.
Wow! Who knew Businessweek hated America??
Amidst all our gloating -- which I pray is not premature -- keep this in mind: If Bush loses in November, he and his entire administration may very well sit on their hands until the inauguration while all the crises they've contributed to come to a head, thereby leaving an even bigger mess for Kerry to have to clean up.
These people have absolutely no regard for the common good, and no loyalty to any aspect of America that doesn't have mineral rights.
President Elmer, President Fudd. Hmmm. President Elmer Fudd. Damn that Waskally Wabbit.
SPUTTERING SCREWUP.SPUTTERING SCREWUP.
A perfect theme for the Bu$h residencey.
How can the objective news media keep calling it a "tie," whereas the polls and the pundits are overwhelmingly calling it for Kerry?
This is not a SCLM bashing, but a serious question. The purpose of a debate is to communicate your viewpoint to the audience, not to overwhelm reporters with rhetorical uppercuts. If Kerry did a better job of representing his candidacy to the voters, in what ivory tower universe does he not get credit for that success?
For example of what I'm talking about, read the NYT editorial. On every point, Kerry wins. In fact, they don't give Chimpy credit for much of anything. But overall it's a tie. What gives?
The reason we are not winning the war in Iraq is because it is not a war. It is mayhem. It is not Bunker Hill. It is not Valley Forge.
But in one very important sense, Don Hewitt is exactly wrong. What we fought for at Bunker Hill and Valley Forge is exactly what the Iraqis are fighting for: independence.
Our problem is, we're the British!
Here you go, folks. This is the kind of story we have been waiting for!
http://tinyurl.com/6skcq
Last nite, Georgie got the spanking he obviously never received from Poppy or Bar.
FOX has been caught making up bogus Kerry quotes.
Phoenix Woman
I saw it (it appears to be gone now).
It looked very much like someone wrote it as a joke in a draft version that got published accidentally.
So while I doubt it was intentionally posted, it certainly makes plain the character of the reporter.
If Dan Rather should go, so should whoever wrote that.
The utter fools who called the debate a tie or a Bu$h win are deluded. Or maybe they are in the double digit IQ category.
From the linked article:
"Debating the security and future of the nation on live national television isn't easy -- but debating your Dad is downright scary."
Who's yo' Daddy, George?
OT: Breaking news on CNN--Mount St. Helens just began to blow a big cloud of steam, about a mile high.
Here's another BusinessWeek article, and an ominous quote from Karl Rove:
"Remember four years ago, the same thing happened," Rove told reporters. "People said Gore won the debate. Well, it turned out Bush won the debate and the election. And the same thing is going to happen this time."
Gotta head off the Republican spin machine!
On every point, Kerry wins. In fact, they don't give Chimpy credit for much of anything. But overall it's a tie. What gives?
They're afraid of getting the Dan Rather treatment.
This just in! Karen Hughes spun so hard she accidentally broke through to the ninth circle of Hades...Preston Bush sends his regards.
President Elmer, President Fudd. Hmmm. President Elmer Fudd. Damn that Waskally Wabbit.
And though the financial markets have been very volatile lately, I cannot help but notice that about an hour before the close, on a Friday, the Dow is up 110pts (1.1%), NASDAQ is up 42pts (2.2%) and he S&P is up 16pts (1.5%). Very nice. As they say, "if you want to live like a Republican, elect a Democrat".
Go Big John!
wanted to wipe away the "wimp factor" stain
Which, I would like to point out, is related to, but not the same as, the shit stains he must soak and pre-treat nightly to remove from his bloomers. Both conditions are, however, chronic.
Could it be? ... Could it be? Is everybody -- even the suckiest -- in the meida starting to see the nude emperor, or, perhaps, the elephant in the room? Will the anti-Bush commentary cascade now? Have we all arrived at the Tipping Point?
Our message should be: A President Kerry will see clearly and CHANGE CONDITIONS.
Anyone catching "Inside Politics?" Fair and Balanced Judy Woodruff feels compelled to balance CNN'S OWN POLL showing Kerry wins debate 53-37 by showing ONE topic that Bush polled better on. No mention of how many topics there were or which ones Kerry polled well on. She used this as the basis for her statement that the debate "really didn't hurt" Bush.
I hope she's sent to Gary's duckpit.
-
Yes, the stock traders may vote Republican, but their trades vote Democrat.
Go Kerry!
From the Economist.com:
Where does Thursday night stand in this respect? Partisans will disagree, but even some commentators on the Bush-friendly Fox News channel said the president appeared annoyed and even tired while Mr Kerry spoke. By contrast, the senator penned notes rapidly and jauntily, mostly with a smile on his face, when the president was speaking. But there were no knockout lines.
[....]
Most instant-reaction polls showed that people saw Mr Kerry as winning the debate by a narrow margin, despite the lack of devastating blows from either side. This is perhaps the result of the expectations game. With the president’s personal ratings running low, alongside voters’ low opinions of the Iraq war, relations with allies and the war on terror, it would seem many are merely looking for a halfway decent alternative. In this case, a draw might just seem a win for the challenger.
It's not clear whether that last line means that Kerry has the edge even if people think the debate was a draw or that Kerry was perceived to have won merely because in fact the debate was a draw. Still, the Economist is pretty middle-of-the-road usually so I think the message that Kerry won is so far dominant.
When we were debating in 2000, I never dreamed I'd have to do that."
Could there be a better indictment of this man? His father had been president and had committed American troops to war. He's running for president and it never occurs to him that if he gets that job, he might have to commit troops to war? Holy Mother on a popsicle stick, what did he think was involved in being the president? Sitting in a big office with a nice desk and flying around on Air Force One?
How can anyone run for president without asking themselves first if they'll be able to do things such as commit American troops to war? What part of: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," did he not understand?
OT:
Mt St. Helen just blew. Yikes! I'm calling my pal that lives 50 miles from there.
Hesiod has a nice post up on why Bush was so unprepared.
Now if he would just work on those typos.
OT, St. Helens just blew.
Sitting in a big office with a nice desk and flying around on Air Force One?
And family revenge against Clinton for winning in 92.
Junior made the Volcano erupt,bet on it.
After all Junior talks to god does'nt he?
That Gore and his goddamned sighs
Forced the whores to give Chimpy first prize.
They reluctantly seek
A John Kerry leak
That will cause his Swift boat to capsize.
Bigvic, tip o' the hat to you.
Ignore my upthread. I blame Bu$h, our not responsible Preznit-wit.
Elmer Befuddled
Ooooooh, that's gonna leave a mark.
Sweet baby Jesus! Is that Bu$s's exploding head or Mt. St. Helen?
CNN also pointed Kerry's "lie" that Osama was in Afghanistan.
I think Osama WAS there when we missed him, and that was clearly Kerry's point.
We need to DO something about CNN. Would they report half a million viewers surrounding their studios?
"elmer befuddled"
i think someone called bush that in an earlier thread today. is a busniess week writer is reading atrios? and not citing?
Dont be sucked into the media reporting on this volcano erupting.It is a natural occurance,and it is very normal for volcanos to do this.It is just the media's way of divirting our attention from the bashing the pResident took.
Look!Over there!
A volcano is exploding,grab your shorts and kiss your ass good bye!
Businessweek has been rapping Bush's knuckles for about three years now. They've always been tough on his tax cuts, on the steel tariffs etc. This is definitely a bit sharper, but it shouldn't be too surprising.
Christopher asks: "How can the objective news media keep calling it a 'tie,' whereas the polls and the pundits are overwhelmingly calling it for Kerry?"
We do this for several reasons:
1) The relatively inaccurate instant polls need to be confirmed by day-two and day-three polls;
2) there's a pervasive concern that the sensibilities of national political reporters and pundits are not the same as the "average voter";
3) A "tie" is sometimes inaccurate shorthand for "no KO.";
I know, I know: There are flaws with each and every one of these caveats.
Still, instant polls have fairly fat margins of error, and pundits, well, under what other circumstances would you be taking the word of Joe Scarborough ?
"Holy Mother on a popsicle stick, what did he think was involved in being the president? Sitting in a big office with a nice desk and flying around on Air Force One?"
Yes.
U.S. Cybersecurity Chief Abruptly Resigns
By TED BRIDIS, AP Technology Writer
http://tinyurl.com/5y6uz
WASHINGTON - The government's cybersecurity chief has abruptly resigned from the Homeland Security Department amid a concerted campaign by the technology industry and some lawmakers to persuade the Bush administration to give him more authority and money for protection programs.
Richard Clarke must be laughing his ass off !
I started watching inside politics and then they change over from how much Bush sucked to the Volcanon and the offensive in Iraq for the last 20 min. I thought that they only cover disasters that affect people. Boy it is good that Kerry did not lose-that is all they would be talking about. Also, why is it that "something" always steps on Bush's bad stories?
WASHINGTON - The government's cybersecurity chief has abruptly resigned from the Homeland Security Department amid a concerted campaign by the technology industry and some lawmakers to persuade the Bush administration to give him more authority and money for protection programs.
Dude, if Bush has Allawi as head of Iraq, if Mike Powell is the head of the FCC, if Ashcroft is Attorney General, and Porter Goss is the head of the CIA, then Kevin Mitnick would be ideal to fill the chief's chair.
"George, just visualize me as having you by the nuts. (Office safe)
bo | Email | Homepage | 10.01.04 - 2:57 pm | #"
Funny how the picture was taken at an angle that makes it look like they're both about the same height, isn't it?
Most interesting:
Go to the BW poll site and
(1) Check out the results of the Sept 29 poll (Who'll [sic] prevail in the Presidential debates?)
THEN
(2) check out today's poll (Who won the first Presidential debate?)
http://tinyurl.com/5kbqu
despite the lack of devastating blows from either side.
Beg pardon, but Kerry dealt body blow after body blow to Dear Leader. It was devistating.
smalfish - gotta admit, I was thinking the same thing about this St. Helens hoo-haa. Breaking away from "Inside Politics" means lots of mindless footage of majestic steam and smoke and no discussion of how chimpy just kicked his happy ball into the sewer drain.
I can just hear the CNN editorial meeting dialogue:
"Yeah! St. Helen's - that's the ticket! Show em the volcano and the pretty dead girl in Utah! When they come back in a few days, we can just claim that Bush really WON the debate!"
"Gosh, Bill - you're a genius! Golf Wednesday?"
-
There are two AP photos in circulation that show the relative height difference between Tiny Chimpy and Commanding Kerry
Another late Fri. afternoon save for bu$h, brought to you by God Almighty.
The foxnews.com douche bags finally put up a poll about the debate (why the delay assholes). It's 40% each right now.
OK. Judy judy judy is going to get back to that other natural disaster, GWB, any time now.
"Last night, I'm afraid, the president looked like a man who showed up for a nine-minute debate and was terrified to find it was a 90-minute debate," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "After nine minutes he'd run out of Karl Rove's one-liners."
Bush, go Cheney yourself 
If Kerry collapsed, they would be showing it on endless loop right now. Not this shit. someone needs to write about this shit. First the hurricanes, not this fucking volcano that will kill nobody and is not even errupting. WTF?
Like I've been saying for weeks, the debate was not about "winning." Kerry had to look strong and presidential, in command of the issues, and willing to defend the country when necessary. He had to dispell the flip-flopper meme and appear to voters to be a reasonable alternative to Bush. My take on the debate was, he succeeded at this task. Whether he "won" is not the point - I think many wavering voters may give themselves permission to vote for him based on his performance, which is the only important thing. Bush was a known quantity - Kerry was not, and has confounded expectations by appearing masterful and at ease in a high-pressure situation.
WH'ho: But after two or three days, Bush's people spun the snot out of the 2000 debates -- and openly lied about them -- which is why the polls changed after the first week. The early polls were the correct ones.
That being said: Hey, nice to see you back! Did Asshole Ratfink Co-Worker get nailed?
Nice catch Ken Houghton! Damn, that makes it an ever more convincing butt whupping.
Anything to avoid looking at the naked emperor, for fear they might accidentally blurt out the truth of his nakedness.
The better fucking show Crossfire today and capital gang tommorow. Also anybody else notice that Wofl interviewed Karen hughes last nihgt, but when they went to interview Mike McCurry, you could not hear anything he said? WTF?
two new threads -
slappage by wolcott & cat blogging
There are two AP photos in circulation that show the relative height difference between Tiny Chimpy and Commanding Kerry
What was that all about, anyway. Kerry towers over Shrimp. How did they make the two appear to be the same height? Elevator shoes for chimp? Stilts? WTF?
CNN and all the other whores are showing that they are not real media outfits.
They won't call a winner because they will never say anything bad about Bush. Is it not time The Dems started to point this out in public?
We all know that had Bush won, they could not have waited to tell us. The whole thing was set up for Kerry to fail. The right thought they could decare victory last night, but the chimp made such a fool of himself that their plans are dust today.
We need to start demanding an answer from CNN. They are either in the pocket of the right, or they are scared shitless of Bush/Rove. Whic is it CNN? Are you a puppet of a coward?
But trying to be FoxNews Jr. is working so well for CNN ratings wise...oh wait, they appear to be tanking. Hmmm.
Yea CNN instead of interviewing Edwards are repeating the same shit abotu this volcano and showing white steam. WTF?
I guess this debate will go down the memory whole by Monday
I mean hole
when they went to interview Mike McCurry, you could not hear anything he said
CBS radio played a clip of McCurry that made him sound like a Munchkin.
Yeah, those incredible shrinking smackdown results. At midnight PST it was a clear Kerry "win". But those "reaction poll" results sure changed overnight. A sleepless night in Freeperville, I guess. Or maybe I dozed during a class or something and missed the part where they explained that reaction poll results degrade and equillibrate over time...
It not really funny, though. By Monday, given Samarra, volcanoes and celebrities, the news clones will be calling it a wash.
"Last night, he looked for all the world like a sputtering screwup -- again."
Bawahahahahahahahahahahaha
The Chimperor has no clothes.
I dunno, the weekly news magazines can slow a news cycle down a bit. I think Kerry's triumph will stick a bit.
AP reporting that Bush is trying to come back at Kerry at today's rally. http://babyurl.com/1ef1a2
He's trying to win the post-debate, and his attack consists of: "Kerry doesn't support the troops, and he wants France to tell us when to send in our troops. Oh, and also, he has mixed messages."
It's pretty lame--he's trying to make Kerry sound like a soldier-hating weakling French suckup. There's going to be initial resistance to this characterization: in the debate he was strong and well-informed, with a clear confidence as to how we should lead the world (as opposed to Bush, who was repetitive, incoherent, sound-bitten, and snippy). That's a powerful impression. It's up to us to maintain it.
I think we have to come back at it with: "John Kerry said last night it's time to go back to the strategy that won the Cold War and the first Gulf War--leading powerful alliances and going to war only as a last resort. George Bush wants to continue down the current path, using Iraq as a model for every future conflict. We think Iraq isn't something we need to repeat--it's something we need to fix. It's time to change course."
OK. Judy judy judy is going to get back to that other natural disaster, GWB, any time now.
bigvic
Not so fast, my friend. They're still on cutaway, but are showing footage taken earlier in the day! They'd do anything to avoid Bush's impression of Custer at Little Big Horn. I think they'd cover a hamster rodeo rather than admit how badly chimpy boned the pooch.
-
My take is that Kerry won the Foriegn Policy Debate, which nobody really expected. He will destroy GeeDub in the Domestic Affairs Debate, and Bush will have to answer questions from people he didn't invite next week. Plus Edwards runs rings around Darth Vader on Tuesday. The beginning of the end is nigh.
OT--
Just one phone call from a Republican legislator, and George Mason University cancels Michael Moore's appearance.
They are serious about trying to silence him (and it won't work--he's showing up anyway!).
Okay, it wasn't a phone call, it was a letter. Just to be clear.
bigvic...I live very close to Mt St Helens, it mostly just steam and a little ash, no big deal. They have been talking about it for days, we all knew it was coming. It is just burping a bit for now.
Last nite, Georgie got the spanking he obviously never received from Poppy or Bar.
Something Polish | Email | Homepage | 10.01.04 - 3:12 pm | # .......................He needs to be properly potty trained(sometimes called Born-Again Toiletry).And if that fails,he should be immediately weaned on a pickle.
penitent thief -
Thanks for the link. Of course, this is the money quote (at the very end of the article):
"I thought Kerry presented himself very well last night," said Walenga, who voted for Bush in 2000. "Kerry was very presidential in his demeanor, I thought he was a class act.
"And I had already reached that conclusion before the people on TV told us what to think."
I don't believe in coincidences. Every time Bushb fucks up, somehow they have breaking news about other shit
Hi Phoenix Woman: Boss lifted embargo as long as I don't get caught.
The thing about the 2000 debate is that the Bushies spun the snot out of it by seizing on something the media reported on its own first, the sighs.
Both then and now, the media has a lazy propensity to look at body language as shorthand for state of mind or competence.
Team Bush doesn't create narratives, but they exploit them masterfully. (Narrative: Team Clinton doesn't respect the White House. Bush Spin: They trashed the White House).
Team Kerry is now trying its hand at this, and they're doing pretty darn well. But again, it was part of the very first reports from the debate.
As for the polls in 2000, it's hard to tell, I think, which ones were the right ones. Margins of error of plus/minus five percentage points don't really convince me.
Still, based on my flawed recollections, Gore's edge was smaller than Kerry's, which in several polls is outside the MoE. And while Team Gore did relatively little post-debate spin (they sent most senior folks to help Lieberman prep for his debate), Team Kerry has not made that mistake.
If you're a Dem, you should be happy.
mexed missages
Yeah, but what's the Paris Business Daily have to say?
Boss lifted embargo as long as I don't get caught.
It's good to have you back. 
There are two AP photos in circulation that show the relative height difference between Tiny Chimpy and Commanding Kerry
It's been obvious to me for some time that there are AP photographers who are very, very happy to publish pics that show Chimpy as the fool he is.
What was that all about, anyway. Kerry towers over Shrimp. How did they make the two appear to be the same height? Elevator shoes for chimp? Stilts? WTF?
George wore Laura's get lucky high heels
Yes, Kerry's position is very much George H. W. Bush, but the pot-boiler psychology is a little silly.
Warren Buffett supports Kerry. I think we can do away with the stereotype of 'Democrats are anti-business,' however much it may resonate with people stupid enough to think W. is a 'conservative.'
right on---right on----right on!!!!!!
They are back to inside politics. McCain is campaigning for Bush now. Isnt this the person, everybody wanted to run for VP with Kerry?
I think we can do away with the stereotype of 'Democrats are anti-business,' however much it may resonate with people stupid enough to think W. is a 'conservative.'
I agree. Hell, even the 50-year Republican son of Dwight Eisenhower is renouncing his party and backing Kerry:
In a rare public announcement, Eisenhower said he switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent after 50 years after losing confidence in his former party. He said Kerry has demonstrated courage, competence and a concern for tackling the "widening socio-economic gap in this country."
[From a friend of mine (Brian Marshall of Kirkland, WA). Enjoy..]
Here’s the Fox News transcript of the debate, with Word reducing it to 5% of the original size with the Auto Summary feature. Whoever wrote that feature did a great job. After all, doing that would be hard work. If you missed the debate, this does capture much of the flavor of the debate. I like the way that whole answers are just summarized out of existence, as if Word knows that nothing was said.
-----
Good evening, Mr. President, Senator Kerry.
I can make American safer than President Bush has made us.
And I believe President Bush and I both love our country equally. LEHRER: Mr. President, you have a 90-second rebuttal.
September the 11th changed how America must look at the world. America and the world are safer for it.
Free nations will answer the hopes and aspirations of their people. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President, two minutes.
It's hard work. LEHRER: Ninety second response, Senator Kerry.
LEHRER: New question, two minutes, Senator Kerry.
The president moved the troops, so he's got 10 times the number of troops in Iraq than he has in Afghanistan, where Usama bin Laden is. LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Mr. President.
The world is better off without Saddam Hussein.
It's the hardest decision a president makes. The world is safer without Saddam Hussein.
LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. LEHRER: Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.
KERRY: The president just talked about Iraq as a center of the war on terror. Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror before the president invaded it.
BUSH: Thank you, sir.
LEHRER: Thirty seconds, Senator.
LEHRER: Ninety-second response, Mr. President.
There's a lot of good people working hard.
KERRY: The president just said the FBI had changed its culture. It's hard work. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. A free Iraq will be an ally in the war on terror, and that's essential. A free Iraq will help secure Israel. A free Iraq is essential for the security of this country.
LEHRER: Ninety seconds, Senator Kerry.
KERRY: Thank you, Jim.
LEHRER: Sure, right.
All right.
LEHRER: Senator Kerry, 30 seconds.
LEHRER: All right, new question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry.
Then the president, in fact, promised them. LEHRER: Forty seconds, Senator.
LEHRER: Thirty seconds, Mr. President.
It will remain strong, so long as I'm the president.
LEHRER: New question, Mr. President, two minutes. We've got a plan in place. It is hard work. LEHRER: Ninety seconds, Senator Kerry.
The president says that I'm denigrating these troops. Talk about mixed messages. LEHRER: New question. Senator Kerry, two minutes. You just -- you've repeatedly accused President Bush -- not here tonight, but elsewhere before -- of not telling the truth about Iraq, essentially of lying to the American people about Iraq. I've worked with those leaders the president talks about, I've
Seraphiel: Thank you. Boss decided it was silly to bar me from posting. Snake who outed me has left bureau.
Just watched Bill Schneider say "Kerry won but that's bad news because no first-debate winners have won the election since 1980." Truly remarkable.
Bill schieder gave Kerry the politcal play of the week, but then noted that every person who won the debate has lost the race for president
FYI,
FOX News has a "who won" poll on their front page. Kerry's leading by barely 100 votes right now.
Wait, are they saying Gore won the debate or the election in 2000?
Kurtz, said that in a few days people are going to reevaluate their thought on the debate. OK
It's a Post Dan Rather World.
Kerry has to find a way to slip in a "Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture" into the next debate. Wait until junior is taking a sip of water and watch him gag on it.
Don't anyone feel guilty about feeling some Schadenfreude.
The Rethugs wouldn't have any for any of you.
AP reporting that Bush is trying to come back at Kerry at today's rally.
A role reversal seems to be emerging. Typically, the incumbent simply has to act 'Presidential', and defend his position / record from attacks by the challenger. The challenger, otoh, has to attack.
Using a boxing analogy, he has to KO the champ in order to take the championship. Ties go to the champ.
bush is turning into the desparate challenger at the end of the 10th round of a 12-round bout.
Just watched Bill Schneider say "Kerry won but that's bad news because no first-debate winners have won the election since 1980." Truly remarkable.
Oooh! I can do one better than AEI Schneider.
"No sons of past Presidents have won a second term in office since 1776."
Whore Kurtz interpreted--
After we feel the rubes full of shit,
they will come over to the Smirk side.
Business week was alsl, at times tough on GW before the 2000 election.
I'll bomb the bastard. Literally.
Bush-boy is in BIG trouble now. First, there was last night's ass-whipping, next up will be a double whammy Tuesday (the VP debates and 9-11 coming out, with 30% of Americans saying they are waiting to see it on video [that's A HELL OF LOT of people]), then the Pres Debate II Friday night.
This is the beginning of the end for Bush...
Bush-boy is in BIG trouble now. First, there was last night's ass-whipping, next up will be a double whammy Tuesday (the VP debates and 9-11 coming out, with 30% of Americans saying they are waiting to see it on video [that's A HELL OF LOT of people]), then the Pres Debate II Friday night.
This is the beginning of the end for Bush...
Dear all:
According to a renowned semiotician and psycholinguist I consulted, Kerry's chances of making his victory in the debate translate into a surge in the polls would be great if one or more of the following conditions were met: 1)if Bush was forced into one or more Freudian slips; 2) if Bush was forced into pronouncing the word "nuclear" as "nukular" at least once; 3) if Bush was forced to repeat a couple of platitutes at least 5 times.
Now, not only was ONE of those conditions met, they all were:
1. a) two Freudian slips: one when he said "we looked for Saddam Hussein .. I mean we looked for Osama bin Laden"
and the other when he said
b) "wrong war, wrong place, right time" trying to attribute it to Kerry and revealing himself.
2. by my counts he said "nukular" once, maybe more.
3. "It's hard work" and "wrong war, wrong place, wrong time" were repeated more than 5 times, the latter with the Freudian variation in its final appearance.
Let us not forget to circulate widely the Gallup numbers on who won the debate: Kerry won - 53; Bush won - 37, 10% undecided. And those are the *Gallup* numbers!
Kerry did a beautiful job: solid, statesman-like, on the offensive most of the time.
Don’t forget to circulate that 10 million registered voters in Afghanistan is at least 120% of all eligible voters there!
Many progressive New Orleanians are planning on voting early in the day and driving to Florida to give a hand. If you know anyone who might want to join, have them email me.
No pasarán!
There is a great gif at Bartcop.com of a sweaty blinking Bush.
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.
bigvic when the two came out on stage last night and Chimpy looked quite a bit taller next to Big John than he should, I said immediately: "They have that little pissant in elevator shoes."
I'd bet good money on it.
Oliver Willis has links to republican bloggers who think Bush was a disaster last night. oliverwillis.com
Marginally on topic, but since we had a nice thread about Tarja Halonen a while back, everyone should look at the English language pages of Helsingin Sanomat (the major Finnish non-tabloid daily) for the article Finns overwhelmingly prefer Kerry over Bush - US foreign policy panned. The poll show that Finns prefer Kerry by 71% to 13%. You should bookmark this article and look at it whenever you've had a bad day.
These are the kinds of numbers that Bush would be pulling in the US if the American news media were doing their job instead of pandering for handouts.
SPUTTERING SCREWUP. The poignancy of a man ill-prepared for and overwhelmed by his job was never more apparent than when Bush said, "I never wanted to commit troops. When we were debating in 2000, I never dreamed I'd have to do that."
My thought is how tragic that John "Fredo" Cazale is not arround to portray Bush. He would have been perfect.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001030/#
Don't agree? Remember this scene from
Godfather II
FREDO
I didn't know it was gonna be a hit Mike -- I swear to god I didn't know it was going to be a hit. JOHNNY OLA bumped into me in Beverly Hills -- and he said that he wanted to talk -- he said that you and -- and -- ROTH were in on a -- a -- big deal together. And that there was something in it for me if I'd help 'em out. He said that -- he said that -- you were bein' tough on the negotiations. But if they could get a little help -- and close the deal fast -- it'd be good for the family.
MICHAEL
You believed that story. You believed that.
FREDO
He said there was something in it for me -- on my own.
MICHAEL
I've always taken care of you FREDO.
FREDO
Taken care of me. You're my kid brother and you take care of me. Did you ever think about that -- did you ever once think about that. Send FREDO off to do this -- send FREDO off to do that! Let FREDO to take care of some Mickey Mouse night club somewhere! Send FREDO to pick somebody up at the airport! I'm your older brother Mike and I was stepped over!
MICHAEL
That's the way Pop wanted it.
FREDO
It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things I'm smart -- not like everyone says -- not dumb, smart and I want respect!
Tena: Find a photo of the two of them head on, during the handshake.
Bush is between 5'11" and 6'. Kerry is about 6'4". You ought to be able to tell.
Catarpa - you forgot a glaring Freudian slip - he tries to keep his daughters on a leash. Abu Gharib anyone?
Mt. St. Helens is not erupting. It may have let off some steam, but look here if you want to see a picture every 5 minutes.
http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcan...olcanocams/msh/
I have not read the businessweek piece, so I don't know if this question is off topic or not. Has anyone been following the stockmarket today? It was up over a 100 points at 2 p.m. CDT. Has anyone yet started the meme of the markets preferring Kerry? Jus' wondering.
great post at kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/20...9/30/234853/
153
They are back to inside politics. McCain is campaigning for Bush now. Isnt this the person, everybody wanted to run for VP with Kerry?
McCain is playing nice with the GOP with an eye towards a possible Presidential run in 2008. Talk about making a deal with the devil...
Kerry has to find a way to slip in a "Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture" into the next debate. Wait until junior is taking a sip of water and watch him gag on it.
Man, that would be great!
llamaJockey:
Michael and Fredo...
Delicious!!
Mt St Helens just blew a little steam. That's it. Nothing to see here folks, move along...
Torture Wolf:
GO
_
The first time I saw a newsclip of Kerry saying "if I were Commander-in-Chief", it must have been six months ago, I got chills.
When he says it, he is it.
Bush has never been CINC.
Thanks, Jim Faith. And there was a fourth Freudian slip I initially missed as well. His response to Kerry's detailed plan:
"I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises. It's like a huge tax gap. Ahh.. mmm. Anyway, that's for another debate"
What gap was he thinking of? The one between his scandalous tax break for the wealthy and the actual costs of Iraq?
They're getting really worried on the other side. Let's keep them down.
Spectacular article there.
I was thinking the same thing myself about Bush. He's a damn baby. He's never had to face consequences for his actions once, never had to stand and take responsibility for himself. When in trouble, he would just walk away and let Daddy fix everything.
Bush couldn't do that last night. He had to take his medicine for the first time in his life. It was beautiful; I waited four long years to finally see this. Now if we can get Democrats to fight like this all the time, we'll really be cookin'.
I wrote a spiel about Baby Bush on my website, so I really shouldn't blab any more.
i love when i scoop atrios...(even if only by four minutes)
i love when i scoop atrios...(even if only by four minutes)
i hate when i accidentally post twice. sorry.
"Bill schieder gave Kerry the politcal play of the week, but then noted that every person who won the debate has lost the race for president."
Bill Shieder is absolutely right. It would have been so much better had GW stomped all over JFK and not the other way around. Then Big John would have really had him on the ropes.
Bill Shnieder is a.....
very silly man.
The pre-spin was that this was a must win for Kerry, absolutely had to win it, nothing more improtant to his campaign, now it's "never mind".
Apparently a lot of business types and some traditional Republicans are waking up out of a nap that began in 1980. They seem to be catching on that George Bush and the Republican party that he and his ilk have remade is damned dangerous, irresponsible and scary.
Let's welcome them to the land of the awake when they've dumped him entirely. They'd better get a move on, they've got a month to avoid a civil war. One month and if Bush is reimposed it's just a matter of time before he and his cultists lead us to complete disaster.
One month.
i must admit before the debate i was getting abit concerned about the nov2.
but kerry did indeed "report for duty" as promised.
and now its all coming back to me.
my initial reasoning for thinking that nov2 will be a resounding defeat for Bush.
1) nobody who voted against bush in 2000 will be switching to bush in 2004
2) an unprecedented percentage of voters will turnout motivated by massive dissatisfaction and the realization that voting does matter.
3) Bushs handlers know W was a one trick pony. its in and out for them, just like bushSr. remember him, made it out just in time without narry a scratch from irancontra and the savings and loan swindle. they never expect bush to win. they just gotta make a good show of it, and scorch the dems as much as possible on the way out in prep for the next manchurian candidate.
the debate polls foreshadow the outcome of nov2.
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