NYT (Bumiller) Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry. But Not Really. (debate prep)

[kskiska]

(snip)

Neither doppelgänger knows the other well, but both have similar jobs: extensive research into the policy positions and speech patterns of Brand X, a probe for the weak points in his own candidate's argument, then closely guarded run-throughs intended to expunge Mr. Kerry's verbosity or Mr. Bush's peevishness.

"We would try to get him to the point of impatience; we challenged him," said Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff, recalling how Mr. Gregg and the staff pushed the president's buttons in their mock debates.

After the encounter in Miami, which even many Republicans said had helped Mr. Kerry, Mr. Card insisted that Mr. Bush was merely eager to rebut his opponent, and was not the angry and defensive debater the Democrats described. When asked if any of the president's mock debates had not gone well, Mr. Card replied that "some days are better than others."

This week, Mr. Gregg and Mr. Craig will be busy preparing for the second presidential debate, a town-hall-style encounter on Friday in St. Louis with audience questions expected to focus heavily on domestic policy.

"I think the president is much, much stronger in terms of content on domestic policy than most people expect," said Mr. Craig, who insisted he was not spinning positively about Mr. Bush to lower expectations for Mr. Kerry. "I think he's got a story to tell on his education initiative. The Democratic critique is that it's under-funded and the hopes have not been met. I think that's all true. But he has imposed accountability and increased funding, and in terms of content, he's got a case to make."

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/10/04/politics/campaign/04letter.html

[msanthrope]

1. Thanks, Andy!!!

"We would try to get him to the point of impatience; we challenged him," said Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff, recalling how Mr. Gregg and the staff pushed the president's buttons in their mock debates."

Keep up the good work, Andy!!!

[Lisa]

11. unfortunately for Bush, the real Kerry was even better at that!

Says a lot that he got peevish even though he knew about the pitfalls. What bets Gore's assessment back in 2000, on election night ("There's no need to get snippy") was right on?

[Eye and Monkey]

2. "I think he's got a story to tell on his education initiative. "

Even odds that there is - literally - a story, anecdote. Even odds that Chimpie runs long and says "Let me FINISH!"

[clydefrand]

5. My Pet Goat story???

[clydefrand]

3. I can't wait until all of Bush's surrogates write their

tell-all books about their years with Bush. What stories they can tell.

[kskiska]

4. Kerry only prepped for 3 days!

(at the end)

Mr. Gregg declined to say how many preparation sessions the president has had, although Mr. Bush's advisers said he was adamant that he not be overloaded at the last minute. (Mr. Kerry had three full days of debate sessions at a Wisconsin resort last week.)

"We've done as many as the president thought were necessary," Mr. Gregg said.

[saracat]

7. Apparently The Resident didn't think he needed any!

[uhaul]

6. Some days are better than others

This quote from Card, referring to Bush's mock debate performance, is something that is typically said about people with dementia or Alzheimer's. Does this strike anyone else as a peculiar comment for the Chief of Staff to make about his incumbent president who is running for reelection?

[bluedeminredstate]

9. Yes.

It could imply that the Chimp has problems controlling his anger, expressing himself coherently or even understanding the frigging questions being asked!
It's a weird statement to make about someone who is portrayed as being so "IN CHARGE, RESOLUTE, KNOWING WHAT HE BELIEVES," etc.,etc.
It certainly doesn't convey confidence and command of the issues.
:shrug:

[fearnobush]

8. The open debate forum is Bush's strongest suit. Remember, Bush has

only lost 1 debate in his life. Keep his expectations high as they should be.

[Jim Sagle]

10. And since Kerry is a socialistic, French-looking, horsefaced flipflopper,

he's going to do just TERRIBLY in a town-hall format. ;)

[truthisfreedom]

12. i wonder if bush is going to we wearing that T-shaped mechanism under his

suitcoat (in the back) again. it was extremely obvious that he had something attached to him under the back of his coat during the debate. was it a device to remind him to stand up straight? or was it an electronic receiver for his earpiece?