Thoughts, Quotes, Fact-Checking, Videos and More!
My first thoughts are that Kerry did well, but did not completely blow Bush out of the water. I think on balance Kerry helped himself, if for no other reason than he just look damned good standing next to Bush in that split screen. Bush looked cranky while Kerry looked stoic and engaged. If there really were worries out there about him being commander-in-chief, he did a lot to dispel them tonight. He also had at least two excellent, succinct, clear quotes about his position on Iraq that I hope are repeatedly endless for the next two days. I have those and others in the extended section.
Unlike a lot of pundits, I don't think this debate was anymore "substantive" than debates in other cycles. However, I was surprised by how heated it was. Bush actually was annoyed enough to frequently step away from his talking points. This was usually to his detriment, as his looked angrier and less focused than usual. That could really hurt him.
The rest of my thoughts are in the extended entry, and are a bit on the rambling side. If you want more, Oliver Willis has been kicking a lot of ass tonight. Remember to keep working at the spin, no matter how much you thought Kerry spoke for himself and how often pundits and polls say Kerry won. The right won't let up, and neither should we.
Kerry's Best Line:
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.
Doesn't get much clearer than that.
Close Second:
my position has been consistent: Saddam Hussein is a threat. He needed to be disarmed. We needed to go to the U.N. The president needed the authority to use force in order to be able to get him to do something, because he never did it without the threat of force. But we didn`t need to rush to war without a plan to win the peace.
I disagree with Kerry, but he summed it up very clearly and very succinctly, while denting the flip-flop meme.
Close Third
This president just -- I don't know if he sees what's really happened on there. But it's getting worse by the day. More soldiers killed in June than before. More in July than June. More in August than July. More in September than in August.
Kerry needed to more of this. This line was great--attack Bush simply byu pointing out reality.
Bush's worst line:
I`m trying to put a leash on them [his daughters].
What, like in Abu Ghraib?
Close Second:
Well, I think--listen, I fully agree that one should shift tactics, and we will, in Iraq.
Flip-flopper.
Bush's Biggest Lie:
The hardest part of the job is to know that I committed the troops in harm`s way and then do the best I can to provide comfort for the loved ones who lost a son or a daughter or a husband or wife.
Of course, he has not attended a single funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, to my knowledge.
Prior to 9/11, the Bush administration sought to slash funding for the Nunn-Lugar initiative, calling it a waste of money. Since 9/11, the administration has prudently reversed that posture, but despite his claim of a close personal relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, it's hard to find any evidence that Bush has made nuclear threat reduction a particularly high priority in U.S.-Russia relations. After the last Bush-Putin summit, the subject wasn't even mentioned in the two leaders' public declarations. Meanwhile, the administration's vaunted homeland security effort has placed an equally low priority on ensuring systematic inspection of cargos entering our country via sea, land, or air for nuclear materials.
Then again, his own statement in the debates on nukes wasn't very good either, although I don't think he said what he meant to say:
Actually, we`ve decreased funding for dealing with nuclear proliferation about 35 percent since I`ve been the president.
Not good dude. This should be in an ad.
Angry Bush
This was really bad for Bush. His petulance might have done serious damage to his national image. He also seems like he's trying to convince himself of what he was saying.
"Charles Pritchard, formerly Secretary of State Colin Powell's top official dealing with North Korea, has warned for months that "the White House lacks an effective strategy to dissuade North Korea from building up its nuclear arms." Under Bush's watch, "North Korea's nuclear arsenal, which was once thought to number one or two weapons, appears to be growing substantially." According to Pritchard, the situation has deteriorated because "the administration has neither offered much of a carrot nor wielded a stick." The administration has refused to engage North Korea in direct negotiations or "put the North Koreans on notice that further developments will trigger economic sanctions or perhaps even military actions."
Bush's Mixed Messages:
Mixed Messages on Winning the War on Terror
"Can't Win The War On Terror" Asked "Can we win [the war on terror]?" Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." [NBC, "The Today Show," 8/30/04]
"Can't Win The War On Terror" Asked "Can we win [the war on terror]?" Bush said, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." [NBC, "The Today Show," 8/30/04]
Mixed Messages on Osama Bin Laden
QUESTION: Do you want bin Laden dead?
BUSH: I want justice. And there's an old poster out west, that I recall, that said, "Wanted, Dead or Alive." [Bush Remarks, 9/17/01, emphasis added]
BUSH: "And [Osama Bin Laden is] just - he's a person who has now been marginalized. His network is -- his host government has been destroyed. He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match...So I don't know where he is. Nor -- you know, I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you. I...I truly am not that concerned about him." [Bush Remarks, 3/13/02]
Mixed Messages on Protecting the Homeland
Bush Thought Homeland Security Cabinet Position Was "Just Not Necessary" And Blocked Its Creation. In October 2001, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Bush opposed creating Office of Homeland Security position for Ridge. "[T]he president has suggested to members of Congress that they do not need to make this a statutory post, that he [Ridge] does not need Cabinet rank, for example, there does not need to be a Cabinet-level Office of Homeland Security is because there is such overlap among the various agencies, because every agency of the government has security concerns," Fleischer said. [White House Press Briefing, 10/24/01]
The Coming Week
There won't be much time for wingers to re-spin the debate. The weekend is coming up, and the Vice-Presidential debate is on Tuesday (that should be a blowout without a single word being said). Why in God's name is the next debate on a Friday? It's going to be harder for Kerry to win debate number two. He did well playing the expectations game this time. Next week, it will be "can Bush comeback?" That will be difficult for Kerry to overcome. It is also going to be difficult for us to keep expectations low and simultaneously claim that Kerry won. Lots of work to do, but I feel at least temporarily relieved. Bush could have crippled Kerry tonight, but instead Kerry won. Great stuff.
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