The First Debate: Post-Debate Analysis

[Roguish Lawyer]

Originally Posted by Greenhat

I warned you that it was long...

LOL -- you did, but it was well worth the read. Excellent points, GH.

The one comment I have is on the countries with greater capability than Iraq to make WMDs. I commented on that point during the debate as well. I suspect the list goes something like, "The United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, Germany, . . . ." LMAO

I wish POTUS was a better debater, because he missed so many opportunities. Oh well . . .

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

[Roguish Lawyer]

James Taranto made the following good points on opinionjournal.com a few days ago:

John Kerry made some strong and sensible statements during the debate last night, but did you notice what the next word usually was? Here are some Kerry quotes:
-"I'll never give a veto to any country over our security. But . . ."

-"I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are. But . . ."

-"We have to be steadfast and resolved, and I am. And I will succeed for those troops, now that we're there. We have to succeed. We can't leave a failed Iraq. But . . ."

-"I believe that we have to win this. The president and I have always agreed on that. And from the beginning, I did vote to give the authority, because I thought Saddam Hussein was a threat, and I did accept that intelligence. But . . ."

-"I have nothing but respect for the British, Tony Blair, and for what they've been willing to do. But . . ."

-"What I want to do is change the dynamics on the ground. And you have to do that by beginning to not back off of the Fallujahs and other places, and send the wrong message to the terrorists. You have to close the borders. You've got to show you're serious in that regard. But . . ."

-"I couldn't agree more that the Iraqis want to be free and that they could be free. But . . ."

-"No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to pre-empt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America. But . . ."

-"I've never wavered in my life. I know exactly what we need to do in Iraq, and 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 . . ."

Maybe Kerry misunderstood when someone told him he needed to have the "qualifications" to be president. But it'd inspire a lot more confidence if he had followed any of these remarks with a "therefore" clause instead of a "but" one.

[The Reaper]

Let me be blunt.

I was dissatisfied with the President's performance, his demeanor, his mannerisms, and his lack of aggressiveness. If his aides told him to act that way, they need to be replaced. If no one picked up on his mannerisms during rehearsals, he needs better staff and dry runs.

I thought Kerry presented himself as best he could, given his record, his divided base, and lack of substantive solutions.

I was off the net for several days and had only televised and print media. I thought that Kerry had won the election already. I was shocked to get the real deal again from RCP, Ras***ssen, and Drudge. I think that the media is trying like hell to spin this as a Kerry victory, and that Kerry is on the comeback trail to try and energize the Dem base.

I still think that the POTUS better tighten up his shot group in the next two, or hope Kerry has a stroke from all of that Man Tan.

Just my .02, YMMV.

TR

[Roycroft201]

I was dissatisfied with the President's performance, his demeanor, his mannerisms, and his lack of aggressiveness. If his aides told him to act that way, they need to be replaced. If no one picked up on his mannerisms during rehearsals, he needs better staff and dry runs.

Agreed.

TR's points also were the subject of discussion on several programs today in case you didn't see them. Among the more noteworthy:

1. The body language of the POTUS when Kerry said something that frustrated him or irritated him: They ran a split screen that showed Kerry making remarks and the POTUS' facial expressions and body language. (This was followed by showing a rerun of the infamous "sighing" that Gore did so often in his debate with President Bush.) Not good.

2. RE: the last phrase of TR's sentence - it was noted by one panelist that Kerry had spent a great deal of time prepping, including using a podium while being peppered with questions from staff. It was noted that President Bush sat with his aides and "discussed" anticipated questions, but did not role play.

3. That President Bush did stick to his message, but missed a number of prime opportunites to score against Kerry when there were openings to do so.

4. That there were a couple of instances when President Bush seemed to have time left at the end of a couple of his responses and he could have/should have used those extra moments of allotted time to his advantage.


I'm glad Kerry's standing in the polls didn't jump more than it has. Somebody in the Bush camp is not doing his/her/their job but I hope it gets fixed quickly.


JMHO.
Roycroft201

Kerry is consistant...... news-link

"....But criticism of the coalition by Mr. Kerry has led to ruffled feathers abroad. Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, the leader of one of the countries already contributing troops, sharply criticized Mr. Kerry for his frequent comments that no country besides the United States and Britain is contributing troops in a substantial way.
"It is sad that a senator with 20 years of experience underestimates Polish sacrifice, this is sad," Mr. Kwasniewski said in an interview with Poland's TVN television, saying it was "immoral" to ignore the contributions of Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria and others...... "

[pulque]

Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc

I like it. Maybe a Kerry grill on the back with the Ghostbuster red circle through it.

My T-SHIRTS are here

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by pulque

My T-SHIRTS are here

I don't like that.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Don't take it personally.