Thursday, September 30, 2004
The Presidential Debates
I saw the Presidential Debates tonight. They were more well-behaved than 2000's debates, when candidates ran roughshod over time limits all over the place. This year they used Toastmaster lights, and when the red came on, the speaker stopped right there. So how did they do? I say Kerry did slightly better, but not enough to have much effect on the election. Kerry has to come out with a definite plan and he has to speak from his heart. This means there must be stumbles and errors in Kerry's talk. A perfect Kerry speech performance means that speechwriters wrote his words. Stumbling would say that Kerry himself is speaking from his heart.
It was Bush that was stumbling all over the place. Yes, from the heart at times, but to me Bush gave me the impression as fumbling all over the place. He had trouble grasping for words. He did get in a few points, though. But he overdid some words, such as "mixed messages", and at one time he almost committed a Bushism, namely "Mexages". Reminds me of a Mix-Mex Mexican restaurant.
Bush did make one glaring Bushism: Moolah instead of mullahs. Moolah is money. Is that what he is thinking of with regard to Iraq?
Kerry made some good points, such as asserting that Bush's attack on Iraq was a serious mistake. Of course he did not come up with any definite plans for getting us out of that mistake. He said that attacking Iraq because of 9/11 was like FDR attacking Mexico because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Actually it is more complicated than that. Bush did invade Afghanistan first. So it is more like FDR attacking Japan because of the Pearl Harbor attack, then attacking Mexico. But it was still a good point made.
One thing that Kerry brought out was that the situation in Iraq is apparently getting worse. Every month that passes by brings about more and more US casualties there. But it still is not enough to topple Lichtman Key 11, Foreign and Military Success. Still only five keys have fallen; Allan Lichtman says only four have fallen; he thinks that Short Term Economy still stands. I think it has fallen because this employment thing is dragging on, and that is how people feel the economy. But Short Term Economy fall or no, that still leaves not enough keys down to defeat Bush. So it still looks like a Bush victory, unless something startling happens.
It was Bush that was stumbling all over the place. Yes, from the heart at times, but to me Bush gave me the impression as fumbling all over the place. He had trouble grasping for words. He did get in a few points, though. But he overdid some words, such as "mixed messages", and at one time he almost committed a Bushism, namely "Mexages". Reminds me of a Mix-Mex Mexican restaurant.
Bush did make one glaring Bushism: Moolah instead of mullahs. Moolah is money. Is that what he is thinking of with regard to Iraq?
Kerry made some good points, such as asserting that Bush's attack on Iraq was a serious mistake. Of course he did not come up with any definite plans for getting us out of that mistake. He said that attacking Iraq because of 9/11 was like FDR attacking Mexico because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Actually it is more complicated than that. Bush did invade Afghanistan first. So it is more like FDR attacking Japan because of the Pearl Harbor attack, then attacking Mexico. But it was still a good point made.
One thing that Kerry brought out was that the situation in Iraq is apparently getting worse. Every month that passes by brings about more and more US casualties there. But it still is not enough to topple Lichtman Key 11, Foreign and Military Success. Still only five keys have fallen; Allan Lichtman says only four have fallen; he thinks that Short Term Economy still stands. I think it has fallen because this employment thing is dragging on, and that is how people feel the economy. But Short Term Economy fall or no, that still leaves not enough keys down to defeat Bush. So it still looks like a Bush victory, unless something startling happens.
