They don't admit it but they were terribly disappointed with the debates

[kentuck]

The Bush supporters thought Bush was going to clean the floor with John Kerry - just like he did with Al Gore, they thought. They were cautiously optimistic. Then came the first debate. Bush was literally whimpering and whining in the corner by the time it had ended. It was a miserable performance. Even the majority of Republicans, who usually lie thru their teeth, admitted that Kerry had won the debate. Then came the second and third debates and, although Mr Bush improved, he never won either debate. You could almost feel the deep sighs from the Bush supporters.

[ogradda]

1. didn't he suck?

poor bushites:nopity:

[Cha]

2. Hmmm? I wonder how bush lost the

ball after only four years?..

bush got lucky four years ago..and now he's shit outta luck.

[SammyWinstonJack]

3. How come we don't hear about the three faces of bush*

in the debates from these bushbots? I mean they hammered on Gore. And I thought bush* whined in all three debates. He's either whining or screaming.

[Fed Up]

6. Would the German press fault Hitler in 1935? Our press isn't

going to bring up "Three faces of George Bush."

It's a shame that John Kerry, a great man, has to defeat two scoundrels......the press, and George W. Bush.

[bullimiami]

8. exactly. chicken shit asshole press.

they pounced on gore for the same thing but arrogant bush? they are scared to put it out in front.

they are cowards. they attack who they percieve as week or unlikely to retaliate if you act like an asshole they run away and hide.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. I hope when Kerry is elected

the scoundrel press pays dearly for their whoredom!

[caledesi]

13. Yes. That's exactly what I have been thinking.

They crucified Gore (which Gore is going to show up next?). Makes me sick. :puke:

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. Why? The foaming at the mouth thing was a brilliant touch

It really resonated with the mainstream. And now some are suggesting that Kerry's refusal to drool was pre-planned.

[kentuck]

5. He needs to re-convince a big portion of his base now...

after the debates. They were very important,in thatthey showed a side of Bush he had been able to conceal from many of his supporters fo 4 years.

[bullimiami]

7. clean the floor with gore?

we sure didnt see it that way at the time.

bush was less weird and arrogant but just as shallow and cheer leader-like.

I appreciate substance and thought gore was better in each debate.

[kentuck]

10. I thought Gore won also...

But they have come to believe that Bush was a great debater and then, he disappointed them. :)

[sofa king]

9. They did it to themselves.

It was patently obvious to many of us in 1999 and 2000 that Bush was a dishonest, disinterested, singularly unremarkable and unqualified candidate. The SmearMachine managed to create the impression that Bush was a good debater, and like the election itself, it managed to steal the debates as well.

Like most myths, the story got larger in the re-telling, but the man himself remained ignorant, incurious and incompetent. John Kerry masterfully exposed the naked Emperor in a way in which Al Gore could not, because now the President has three and a half years of badly tarnished record to defend.

There is another aspect of the debates upon which I've yet to see anyone comment. Our http://mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-pe07.html">narcissistic President also happens to be a real hands-off guy. He takes personal credit for any successes, but I strongly suspect that he personally blames his underlings for any and every failure.

That might make defending his own record exceedingly difficult, because publicly he cannot point the finger where he probably thinks it should be pointed: anywhere but at himself. Attacks on his record probably don't hurt him personally because he doesn't think those mistakes are his, and since he lacks empathy for others, he's unwilling to defend the mistakes of his appointees.

[DesEtoiles]

15. "The Naked Emperor" - sounds like a good book title

[DesEtoiles]

16. he has an arrogant sense of entitlement to power

[calimary]

11. I saw that, firsthand.

I went to this meeting of some of the moms getting the school carnival together. Just two of 'em were there. It was October 1st. Kerry had killed the night before. I was delighted and feeling uplifted for the first time in weeks. I came bounding in, in a great mood, giggling about how I was going to have a T-shirt made up with "Mexed Missages" on it. One of the moms looked up at me with worried eyes and a very sad face and said "I knowwwwwwww..." with a sigh. I backed off, realizing she was a dejected bush supporter. I find everything else about this woman to be EXTREMELY likeable, so I didn't want to rub it in. She wouldn't have done so, were the situation reversed.

I think they're most dejected because Kerry came into that first debate a SERIOUS underdog. He was down, and not shaking off the swifties' attacks or the republi-CONvention momentum too successfully at the time. I think they were all expecting to clinch the election then and there. It was supposed to be the coup de grace that finished Kerry off, once and for all.

Unfortunately for them, the exact opposite happened, and Kerry came roaring back from the dead. He changed the dynamics of the campaign that night, and proved that the rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated.

Every debate after that just went from bad to worse to worst. Every chance bush/cheney had to recover, to regain lost ground, to seize the momentum again, they blew. And every time they blew it, it set them back farther. They did NOT need this. Especially when victory was within their grasp even as late as the day of the first debate. They thought they had this one in the bag. They were wrong.

That said, THIS IS NO TIME TO BECOME COMPLACENT. WE don't have this one in the bag yet, either.

[SammyWinstonJack]

14. We would if the Media Whores would do their job!

If they would report even half of the evil that is bush*co, it would be a landslide for Kerry. :argh:

[DesEtoiles]

17. AMEN.