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October 1, 2004
The First Debate: Blinky sputters +
Well, this time I'm glad that Krugman was wrong: everybody agrees that Kerry won last night's debate. An unidentified friend of Tom Shales called the debate "Andy Griffith meets Barney Fife". This debate might have been the first time that most Americans saw the two candidates speak for extended periods in complete sentences, instead of the little 10 second snippets on the evening news, so it's a good thing that Kerry came off as more knowledgeable and sensible than Bush. For his part, Bush blinked more during those 90 minutes than any other period in his life to date, and likely has a nasty stye this morning. He also actually defended invading Iraq and the disaster that it has become by saying that his decision to invade was "hard" and that the work we are doing there is also "hard". Well boo-fucking-hoo, Bush! You're the President, and guess what? YOUR JOB IS HARD. Now quit your whining. Here's a transcript of the debate.
One person who thought that Bush won the debate is our own favorite insane politico with an ever weaker grip on reality, Rudy Giuliani. On The Daily Show's post-debate coverage, Rudy said he thought that Kerry made no sense, and was still inconsistent in his views on Iraq. Jon Stewart meekly suggested that he thought Kerry made strong, clear statements in his position on Iraq, and that perhaps for the first time, there could be no confusion on his views. What Kerry said last night was, "I've had one position, one consistent position, that Saddam Hussein was a threat. There was a right way to disarm him and a wrong way. And the president chose the wrong way." Apparently, Rudy still didn't get it.
At least when the Daily Show staff defend Bush's performance, they're kidding. As Rob Corddry (one of the more recent additions to the show, and definitely one of the funniest) said, Kerry is the smartest man in the entire world, and Bush, "according to certain standardized tests, is technically retarded." - Amy
Bush-Kerry Debate by the Numbers:
First actual debating words out of Bush's mouth (after thanking host University of Miami): September the 11th
Number of times candidates mentioned:
"hard work": Bush, 11
great/grand diversion: Bush, 5
Kerry's wrong war/wrong place/wrong time comment: Bush, 7
"Saddam Hussein": Bush, 14; Kerry, 12
"Osama bin Laden": Bush, 4; Kerry, 9
"North Korea": Bush, 8; Kerry 13
"Iraq": Bush, 40; Kerry 33
"Afghanistan": Bush, 9; Kerry 5
"alliances": Bush, 5; Kerry, 9
"strong": Bush, 11; Kerry, 17
free/freedom: Bush, 39; Kerry, 4
- Emily
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Comments
I seem to be the only liberal on earth who thought Kerry's performance was a near-disaster, mitigated only because he avoided his customarily long-winded, rambling responses.
He didn't push hard enough on the situation on the ground in Iraq NOW...that line about more soldiers dying in August than July, more in July than June was great, but he mentioned it only once. Instead, he kept talking about that summit, like that's going to solve all the problems. I don't think a MEETING is going to fix what's going on over there, and I don't think Americans feel that a meeting is the kind of decisive action the President needs to take to find a solution.
Relatedly, what was that nonsense about a "global test" for pre-emptive action? It would have been much better if he had stuck to his original phrasing about the US having credibility in the world, which is (hopefully) what he meant. Bush was right to zing him for that one, and for his line about bin Laden using the Iraq War as a recruiting device, which, though true, needs to be brought up in context.
Furthermore, his argument that America should stop building bunker-busting nuclear weapons is a valid one, but it didn't deserve special mention in the debate last night. As my friend Mike said, he should have brought up the Star Wars defense program at that point, a snipe hunt that has been resonating unfavorably with voters for 20 years. At his opportunity to once again hammer Bush for pig-headedness in the face of contrary evidence, Kerry started talking about the old pre-war UN stuff and even global warming(!) instead of going after Bush for the current situation in Iraq.
I felt Bush's argument that you can't lead the war if you're telling everyone it's the "wrong war at the wrong time" is an effective one and Kerry did not properly counter it.
Bush also did a good job in areas that are not generally considered to be his strengths: he corrected Kerry on the Iran/plutonium/uranium issue, and was correct when he said he had increased funding for securing nuclear materials. Given that securing these materials is the centerpiece of Kerry's homeland security platform, it's surprising Bush was able to respond so effectively, although he didn't address the point about 13-years vs. 4-years.
Kerry's repeated insistence that he's had "one clear consistent view" sounded defensive, and he brought it up a couple times when it felt inappropriate.
This repetition was in part brought on by Jim Lehrer's softball question to Bush about Kerry's personality flaws (the question that led to the compliment about his qualities as a father). What kind of question was that? Was it Lehrer's way of introducing the flip-flop issue without taking the blame for it? Why didn't he pose the question to Bush as, Do you have flaws that make you less effective as President?
Hopefully, the polls showing he won the debate will achieve two things for Kerry: (1) they'll show the "he's a flip-flopper" argument is wearing thin, and (2) they'll give him the confidence to attack on CURRENT issues more in the next debate, and he'll be able to show more clearly that the "colossal mistake" is ongoing.
Posted by: adm at October 1, 2004 11:03 AM
I'd like to see the tally on the use of the phrase, "getting the job done." I was fascinated by the frequent use of job/employment terms in describing the war - "hard work" etc. It kept reminding me of the current situation with the job market.
Posted by: jess at October 1, 2004 1:04 PM
I'd say that it's troubling that Kerry mentioned freedom so few times, but then I realized Bush probably was referring to Iraqi freedom every ... single ... time.
Posted by: COB at October 3, 2004 12:18 AM
does the phrase "spreading freedom" worry you as much as it does me? I prefer 'spreading' to apply to jam and legs. and maybe, as a last resort, to spreadsheets.
forgive me for getting obsessive about word usage, but it is something that interests me.
Posted by: jess at October 3, 2004 11:45 PM
» Analysis of First Debate Speeches from politics.relevanta.com
Tracked on October 2, 2004 4:38 PM