THIS WEEK'S COLUMN:
"STAYING ON MESSAGE AT THE DEBATE"
<a href="
http://www.MelvinDurai.com/debate.htm ">Web Column</a>
Your regularly scheduled column has been preempted to bring
you highlights from the presidential debate on foreign
policy and homeland security.
Moderator: "Welcome to the presidential debate. My name is
Jim Lehrer. The first question is for you, Senator Kerry: Do
you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in
fighting terrorism?"
Kerry: "Yes, I do, Jim. I believe in being strong and
resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the
terrorists, wherever they are. I will spend my first term in
office, all four years, traveling around the globe to hunt
and kill terrorists. I will eliminate them personally. You
may have heard that I fought in Vietnam. Well, I'm prepared
to fight again."
Bush: "I don't see how he's going to do that when he voted
to authorize the war in Iraq and now says it's the wrong
war, wrong time, wrong place. What message does that send to
our troops? What message does that send to our allies? What
message does that send to our ... uh ... what was the
question again, Jim?"
Moderator: "I asked Senator Kerry if he could do a better
job fighting terrorism than you. You're supposed to rebut
his answer."
Bush: "Well, let me just say this: my opponent voted to
authorize the war in Iraq and now says it's the wrong war,
wrong time, wrong place. I never dreamt I'd be sending
troops to Iraq. But the enemy attacked us."
Kerry: "The president just said something extraordinarily
revealing and frankly very important in this debate."
Bush: "I did? Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Kerry: "Yes, Mr. President, you said, 'The enemy attacked
us.' Well, no offense, Mr. President, but you wouldn't know
an enemy from an enema. Saddam Hussein didn't attack us.
Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al-Qaeda attacked us. And as
president, I will hunt them down and kill them."
Bush: "Of course I know that ... uh ... the other guy
attacked us. But Saddam had the capability. He had planes.
He had pilots. He had directions to New York City."
Moderator: "The next question is for Ralph Nader. Wait a
minute ... where is he?"
Kerry: "Uh ... he wasn't invited, Jim. The president and I
decided that having too many voices, too many ideas, might
be a hindrance to American democracy."
Bush: "Here's the real hindrance to our democracy: My
opponent voted to authorize the war in Iraq and now says
it's the wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. America needs a
commander-in-chief with a consistent message and, as you can
see, mine is consistently consistent."
Moderator: "Senator Kerry, how will you deal with the
situation in Iraq?"
Kerry: "Jim, I have a plan, a real plan. I will have a
summit with our allies. I will bring them all to the table,
the French, the Germans, the Russians. And I will look into
their eyes and say, 'My friends, it's time to bring American
troops home. Does anyone here want to take Iraq off our
hands?'"
Bush: "I don't know how he's going to have a summit when he
voted to authorize the war in Iraq and now says it's the
wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. He's sending a mixed
message, which is the wrong message, if you ask me. America
needs a president who doesn't easily change his mind, a
leader who has the courage and the strength to say the same
thing over and over again. Americans have a clear choice in
this election: If you want four years of mixed messages,
vote for John Kerry. If you want the same thing over and
over again, vote for me."
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(c) Copyright 2004 Melvin Durai. All Rights Reserved.