How will Kerry handle these debate situations with Bush

[CTLawGuy]

not intended as flamebait, but I'm curious as to how you think Kerry will respond.

#1: Kerry: George Bush, you took us to war without getting an international coalition. you rushed us into war, shame on you.

Bush: But John, you voted for it, it was good enough for you then, why is it not good enough for you now?

Kerry:______________________________________________________

#2: Bush: John Kerry wants to preserve my tax cuts for the middle class. I cut the taxes for the middle class while Kerry voted against them. Now he likes my tax cuts. Where does he stand? You should vote for the man who actually cut your taxes, me.

Kerry:_______________________________________________________

[Don Claybrook]

1. OK, I'll play

#1: I voted based on all of the lies of your administration. Then iterate the 157 lies told by Bush and his enablers.

#2: It was a package deal. Kerry voted against the tax cuts because they primarily benefitted the richest of the rich. He only wants to keep a small portion of those tax cuts intact--the portion going to the middle class.

Kerry can destroy Bush on every front. I heard the talking heads on television saying that Bush needed to get the conversation away from the National Guard and talk about Iraq or the economy or something else. OK, go ahead. There's no area in which Bush isn't a miserable, incompetent, criminal failure. Let's talk about those other issues too.

[CTLawGuy]

3. here's the second part to #2...

Bush: So now you want to raise taxes on the American people?

[Wickerman]

5. The eventual nominee can say

Mr. Bush*, your tax policy has been ill-advised and driven by per short term politic. I don't intend to raise taxes, but we MUST return the tax code for the top 1% of the population to rates that were in effect during the economic boom of the Clinton administration.

etc.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

2. #1: War was a last resort- it was a first resort for you

your coalition was a sham and you did not exhaust all available options before committing the troops.

#2... but what you're not telling everyone is that your tax cuts were intended mainly for the richest individuals- those making more than 200k- in an attempt to continue the failed promise of "trickle down" economics. The truth is the lower and middles classes, whom I am representing, are being "trickled on".

[Hav]

4. .

(Posted here by Still one)
This eloquently (as usual) written article by Will Pitt:

http://www.liberalslant.com/wrp121003.htm


“This was the hardest vote I have ever had to cast in my entire career,” Kerry said. “I voted for the resolution to get the inspectors in there, period. Remember, for seven and a half years we were destroying weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In fact, we found more stuff there than we thought we would. After that came those four years when there was no intelligence available about what was happening over there. I believed we needed to get the weapons inspectors back in. I believed Bush needed this resolution in order to get the U.N. to put the inspectors back in there. The only way to get the inspectors back in was to present Bush with the ability to threaten force legitimately. That’s what I voted for.”

“The way Powell, Eagleberger, Scowcroft, and the others were talking at the time,” continued Kerry, “I felt confident that Bush would work with the international community. I took the President at his word. We were told that any course would lead through the United Nations, and that war would be an absolute last resort. Many people I am close with, both Democrats and Republicans, who are also close to Bush told me unequivocally that no decisions had been made about the course of action. Bush hadn’t yet been hijacked by Wolfowitz, Perle, Cheney and that whole crew. Did I think Bush was going to charge unilaterally into war? No. Did I think he would make such an incredible mess of the situation? No. Am I angry about it? You’re God damned right I am. I chose to believe the President of the United States. That was a terrible mistake.”

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Basically, all Kerry has to do is point out the bait-and-switches

that * pulled not only on Congress but on the American people.

Bait-and-switch, bait-and-switch, hit him with the bait-and-switch.


:kick: