kerry's closing last debate

[seabeyond]

beyond the issues we know in our hearts the corruption of this administration that said they would bring honor back to the whitehouse

plame
bogus numbers on reports (terrorist report, ect)
changes in governmental studies (minority healthcare, ect)
energy commission, bogus meeting in calif, and cheney closed doors
stealing of florida, setup riot in one county now employees of bush
abu gurhab
700m taken from funding to afghanistan?
9/11 happened on your watch

what are the others

[Kazak]

1. Well, there's always...9-1-1!!!

:shrug:

[alcuno]

3. Kerry should promise to declassify the 28 pages of the 9/11 report

from Congress. Senators have already said that there is no good reason for it to be classified. Make it part of a more open government theme that respects the American people.

[seabeyond]

4. duh on me, gonna put it in, yes

thanks

[checks-n-balances]

2. I hate to say it, but... people need to know how the outcome of this

election will affect them personally. They need to know that the middle class is growing ever smaller, that the huge corporations are going to have more power and citizens will have less, without at least equality in numbers we are quickly becoming a one-party state. this administration wants to be more secretive with citizens while expecting citizens to give up more of our privacy, Bush's policy will continue to be cutting programs that help people to finance tax cuts for the rich (so the rich get richer while the poor & middle class get poorer), etc. We need to know EXACTLTY how Bush's policies translate into disaster for the rest of us.

ON THE OTHER HAND, he will of course need to be upbeat and positive about a Kerry presidency (something that I personally could endorse, especially since he is our only hope)!

No offense to anyone, but something like the Valerie Plame issue is frankly just one more of so many things wrong with this presidency that has lots of meaning but little meaning for the "undecideds." I really believe they must be unfazed by the gravity of issues because they don't personally connect to them, or the issues are too complex, remote, or overwhelming for them to get passionate about. But we can usually be passionate about how something affects #1.

I do like the idea of reminding people of how corrupt and inept this administration has been (and we're just lucky the damage hasn't been greater).

Oh yeah - AND - Kerry can reassure voters that he will not be a bait-and-switch president like Bush has been. The chimperor has been almost the exact opposite of what he advertised himself to be during the 2000 campaign.

I could be totally off-base about what I'm saying and if I am, let me know. This is a hunch I've developed.

[seabeyond]

5. ah, people just so dont get it

loss of media, loss of accountability from our government, loss of rights..........they just dont see/know/care what a big deal this election is

it does go against the bush is honest, stand up guy thing that is so ingrained

[brooklynite]

6. The way to go after Bush hard...

is to go after his perceived strength: support for "the troops". Kerry has missed golden opportunities to hit W between the idea for talking a good game of supporting the armed forces, but at the same time cutting combat pay (this can be a "domestic policy" issue but referencing the impact on the families left at home) and Veterans benefits (another opening to mention the "Band of Brothers" who need help and aren't getting it).

[seabeyond]

7. this is true

one of the things i use on people. the true flip flop of it, to support the troops would be to vote for kerry, a vote for bush is turning our backs on the troops

[cavanaghjam]

8. There are so many

Where to start?
The rescission of the Presidential Papers Act. This is a big deal and Kerry didn't even know about it in a C-SPAN interview I saw. It's basically telling the American citizen, "You don't need to know nuttin' 'bout yer gummint. Now go buy sumpin'"

The first strike nuke policy, a complete reversal of previous admins.

Basically withdrawing from nuke proliferation treaty. The Moscow Treaty is a joke.

The tax cut isn't a tax cut, it's a loan. With the record deficits added to the record national debt added to the record trade deficit added to the record low personal savings, it's like a person facing bankruptcy borrowing money to pay for a new suit of clothes when the closet's full of fine clothes.

Prescription drugs. How come it's unsafe for Americans to buy American drugs in Canada but it's perfectly alright for an HMO to wire one's X-rays to India to be read by a radiologist there?

God there are so many, I'd bore you to tears.

[newyawker99]

11. Hi cavanaghjam!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[EndElectoral]

9. Kerry lost energy at the end of this debate and in his closing a bit

He should have hammered Bush on the environment on that question. No mention of the mercury in our fish, the polluted water supply in DC, what the Clear Sky initiative has done and hit hard on challenging that the air was cleaner and water cleaner. He focused on Kyoto, NOT the bread and butter environmental issues confronting americans. He should have spoken as Bush's policies being destroying our water, lands, parks and air that we pass onto children. He was weak on the answer and it was the only environmental question of the night. He needed to mention the union of Concerned Scientists and their credentials, the sierra Club, and the park rangers, and other sources behind the complaints. People slogh off this issue because the press does, but it can be a strong point for Kerry.

And in Kerry's speech, he must get impassioned about the NEED for this change, not just because of the TRUTH, or bush's lies but because we HAVE GOT TO TURN THIS AROUND - environmental, deficit, economy, alienation of former alleis around the world, worldwide terroism on the increase, degrading educational performance compared to other nations, and the loss of job, loss of health care, and dwindling wages.

He MUST GET PASSIONATE about it and NOT cerebral.

He also has to tell mention something about how he'd like to tell a joke, but that the issues in this campaign are just too important if Bush tells one.

I've been surprised Michael Moore's name has not come up from the right.

[Erika]

10. Kerry Is Not Bush

He is passionate and serious and cerebral. He's a Nam vet, a prosecuting attorney, and a senator and a candidate for president...but you think you can tell him what he should do?