Evidence that Kerry is going to gut Bush at the debates

[iconoclastic cat]

Snippet from the Boston.com site:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/06/16/bush_backs_cheney_on_assertion_linking_hussein_al_qaeda?mode=PF
Bush backs Cheney on assertion linking Hussein, Al Qaeda

By Michael Kranish and Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | June 16, 2004

WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday defended Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion this week that Saddam Hussein had longstanding ties with Al Qaeda, even as critics charged that the White House had no new proof of a connection.

At a news conference with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Bush stood by his vice president, saying Hussein ''had ties to terrorist organizations," though he did not specifically mention Al Qaeda.

''I look forward to the debates where people are saying, 'Oh gosh, the world would be better off if Saddam Hussein were still in power,' " Bush said.
(snip)
*******

I have a feeling that Bush actually believes that Kerry might say something like that in the debates. My prediction: Bush will end up responding to Kerry's questions with, "I know you are, but what am I?"

[Catfight]

1. and Kerry should respond, "I look forward to the debate when

people are saying the world is better off now that Bush is out of power and peace can be restored."

[leyton]

17. Hee hee!

That would be great.

[BootinUp]

18. That was classic

:thumbsup:

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. There will be no debates...

...since America's Popular Wartime President ^tm will be too busy personally managing the War on Terror ^tm in the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attacks now planned for September to devote any time for anything so, so, political.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

8. Debates are so "Old World"

and "archaic" and just not needed when this self-proclaimed Wartime President^tm is able to take his message "directly to the people" -- provided you're a wealthy Repug supporter, young elementary student (only minorities need apply), or member of the military who can be ordered to cheer and applaud.

[stopbush]

3. JK's response: "George, you're the only up here suggesting such

a ridiculous idea. It certainly wasn't me who said that. Never have, never will. Exactly who are you referring to when you say "some people?"

[Worst Username Ever]

4. and Kerry says

"Oh Gosh, Mr. President, the world would be a better place if you were no longer in power."

[lil-petunia]

5. does anyone seriously believe

that his handlers are going to let him out on a live stage for a debate?

I doubt it. All they need is for a couple of "deer in the headlights" expressions, mixed in with a smirk and changing the topic from interest rate policies of the Fed to his "war on terra" and Iraq's "nukular threat".

[Critr Gitr]

6. Debate likely late in campaign.

Awww, he will probably just turn down every debate invite until maybe the last few days before the election.

[abburdlen]

7. The real question

Will Bush be allowed to answer question by himself or will Cheney have toi sit next to him?

[Padraig18]

9. *Snarf*

I spit tea on my monitor when I read that! :P

[newyawker99]

16. Hi Critr Gitr!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[mrboba1]

10. and Bush wins...

(snip)My prediction: Bush will end up responding to Kerry's questions with, "I know you are, but what am I?"(snip)

And then the media will applaud the way * won because he could remember that phrase throughout the debates...

[lil-petunia]

11. har har har

"I know you are, but what am I?"

T O A S T

[Still_Loves_John]

12. Whats really frusturating about that is

that pretty much everyone expects Kerry to run circles around Bush, so if Bush manages to do anything right its a victory for him, but if Kerry runs circles around Bush he's just meeting expectations. It says something about our country when people believe something like "debating" to be an extraneous talent for a president.

[ACK]

13. Short Bus President syndrome

If the man is able to stand up straight and slur two incoherent words together then he has won.

Duh.

The media will fawn over him if he is able to spout a zinger without flubbing it.

_

[gulliver]

14. Bush wants the question asked that way at the debates.

There is a good chance it will be, also. It wouldn't surprise me if Bush isn't already planting the seeds for the questions he would like to see asked of Kerry.

I think Kerry's response will end up something like, "Well George, I've never argued that Saddam should have stayed in power. But would you argue that you made no mistakes in talking America into war and in the approach you took to getting Saddam out of power? How about after he was out of power, George? Did you make no mistakes there? I'm not arguing that Saddam should be in power; I'm arguing that you should be out of power too -- and I'm far from alone there. C'mon George, anything you would like to tell us? No mistakes?"

That seems to be the tack Kerry is taking (from what I have read), and I think it is spot on. Bush's line about leaving Saddam in power is thin gruel, but it's all he has. Only Bushbots respond to it now. And Kerry will knock it out of the park if it emerges in the debates. It's a meatball.

[mzmolly]

22. I think we should start a thread coming up with answers to that very

question for Senator Kerry. ??? Who's gonna do it? ;)

[Larkspur]

15. I'm sure Rove can engineer a valid excuse for Bush not to debate Kerry

like declare martial law after a "terrorist" attack.

[Dying Eagle]

19. Kerry is

one of the best Debaters in the country, he will tear Shrub up. I mean listen how Shrub stumbled thought the press question's during the Prison Scandal.

[ArkDem]

20. Kerry will eat Bush alive just like Gore did!

[mzmolly]

21. Let's see if we define better off (without Saddam) as such:

We'd probably have captured Osama Bin Laden because the $$ resources would have been focused on our real enemy.

We'd have about 800 Soldiers alive and at home with their families who now lie rotting in the ground instead.

We'd have a far lesser deficit.

We'd not have killed innocent Iraqis who we claim to be liberating.

We'd not know what the name Abu Ghraib means?

We'd not have insighted violence/hatred against the US for years to come.

YEAH, I'D SAY WE'D BE MUCH BETTER OFF MR. BUSH, AND I AIN'T AFRAID TO SAY IT!!!!

Though, I wouldn't hold my breath for Kerry to say these things. He doesn't have to, he's got Dean.

[swinney]

23. I wish

Kerry would say now

"My first act as President will be to boot that PNAC GANG out of the People's House"

"My second act will be to kick that ATR GANG out."
Grover Nutquist Americans For Tax Reform Mob.

"That PNAC GANG has ruined our foreign policy."
"That ATR MOB has ruined our domestic policy."

Then ask. "Mr. President I served in Vietnam where did you serve?"

"Mr.President, why has it been necessary to smear so many people and tell so many lies. Mr. Swinney has a list of 208." By Nov will be 300.

"Mr. President why did you feel so strongly you should sacrifice over 800 young men's lives for nothing. They would be alive today except for your lying."

Someone in authority should ask these questions.

[mzmolly]

24. Can we ask Bush exactly how were better off without Saddam in power?

Can anyone answer that?

[MessiahRp]

25. Though for Kerry to win

he's going to have to stop trying to answer things with such a complex ambiguity like he always does and answer shorter and to the point, and on Yes or No answers be definitive. The media gored him (no pun intended) in the debates for "not answering straight", and unfortunately in the uneducated Right Wing media environment, sound bytes will outplay logic.

The media will make Kerry look like a loser if he isn't sharp, brief, and to the point.

You and I both know that's not how the man works though so we could have the media doing what it did in 2000 and declaring Bush the winner of these things when it's quite obviously not so.

But Kerry's complexity, as great a trait as that is to have in a President, doesn't work in media sparring sessions such as a debate.

Rp

[bushwakker]

26. There's only gonna be one debate

and the candidates will be prohibited from addressing one another. Moderator will be Fred Barnes or Brit Hume. As a side note how many know that Fred Barnes WAS one of the moderators at either the Dukakis/Bush debate or the Regan/Carter debate.