It Was a Rout (final, with several changes and link)

[WilliamPitt]

Sorry for the double post, but things are flying here tonight.

===

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/100204Z.shtml

It Was a Rout
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 01 October 2004

"Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!"

- Howard Cosell

There was a President on that stage in Florida on Thursday night, and his name was not George.

This was supposed to be the debate that played to the strengths of Bush and his administration. Foreign policy in general and the protection of the United States from terrorism in particular, according to all the polls and every talking head within earshot, are the areas where George supposedly commands the high ground. That illusion came crashing down on the stage in Coral Gables.

How else can one describe the demeanor and behavior of Bush, as seen by 40,000,000 television viewers and heard by millions more radio listeners? Shrill. Defensive. Muddled. Angry, very angry. Repetitive. Uninformed. Outmatched. Unprepared. Hesitant. Twenty four minutes into the debate, Bush lost his temper, and spent the remaining hour and six minutes looking for all the world as though he were sucking on a particularly bitter lemon.

This is what happens when you surround yourself with yes-men. John Kerry put the bricks to Bush and the last four years of his administration clearly, concisely, eloquently and with devastating effect. Bush reacted like a man who has never, ever had anyone tell him anything other than "Good job, sir."

That is what happens when you have to defend your record as President, something that no one in the media or elsewhere had managed to force Bush to do in the last 1,000 days. In the October 2000 debate, Bush managed to hold his own simply by making promises and telegraphing an aw-shucks charm. On Thursday night, Bush faced a reckoning at the hands of a man who cut his teeth prosecuting and imprisoning mob bosses.

This was not a Bush meltdown. It was an exposure. George W. Bush was required to speak for 90 minutes without having the questions beforehand, facing an opponent far less pliable than the national press corps. The man he has always been, stripped of the hero-worship veneer, was there for all to see.

Don't take my word for it, though.

...more...

[ewagner]

1. btw Will

heard you on AAR...sounded happy and strong..........

good for you! Finally after 1000 or so days, you have something to be happy about.

[Chichiri]

2. I ask again, what exactly happened 24 minutes into the debate? (n/t)

[WilliamPitt]

4. He got sick of hearing criticism.

He flipped.

[Zomby Woof]

3. oh yeah

Oh kick... :smoke:

[Technowitch]

5. Nicely done, sir!

[SoCalDemocrat]

6. Will, please work Zarqawi into your final version

Bush used Zarqawi again to justify the war in Iraq.

"And, of course, Iraq is a central part in the war on terror. That's why Zarqawi and his people are trying to fight us" -- Bush during Debate #1


Q: Why didn't Bush allow the Pentagon to bomb Zarqawi and his base on the three occasions they went to him for permission?

A: So Powell could use Zarqawi's group as the original excuse #1 for invading Iraq.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=909236

[WilliamPitt]

8. This is the final version

I've written about 10,000 words in the last five days, and it's way past my bedtime.

I'll get'im on that later. Like tomorrow. :)

[Sugarbleus]

10. Exactly. I was on the edge of my seat wondering if this would

come up in the debates. Excellent and DAMNING point.......

[The Magistrate]

7. Excellent Work, Mr. Pitt!

It was indeed not a melt down, but an exposure. The little fellow looked bewildered and afraid, aware that he was in over his head, and not anywhere near up to the job he was trying to fill.

Sen. Kerry, nay, say President Kerry, was a commanding presence; firm, even, calm and consistent. Masterful, in a word. The little fellow's continual repetion that his opponent "keeps changing positions" was particularly pathetic, being so obviously belied by President Kerry's unwavering statements and forceful expression.

Once the Sage wrote: "The King has his executioner, but you are not that man. If you try and be him, it would be like trying to cut wood like a master carpenter. If you try and cur wood like a master carpenter, you will only hurt your hand."

[WilliamPitt]

9. Thank you, sir

:toast:

[The Magistrate]

13. I Will Take You Up On That Beer, Sir

They got me some Guiness recently, and I think I will have one....

[BurtWorm]

11. Very well put, Will.

Bush got whacked. Amazing that they didn't see it coming. Unless they did see it coming and Bush just didn't have it in him to keep his gloves up.

[Droopy]

12. Good article, Will

I missed about 20 minutes of the debate, but from what I heard Kerry won soundly. And like you said, that flip flopping business was laid to rest tonight. I think it was really important that people hear John Kerry's position on Iraq in a short sound bite for him to communicate that effectively. He did that when he said the inspectors could not have been brought in without the threat of force. It was just that simple. And that explains his position on Iraq from the get-go. He's not changed as the Bush people kept saying he has. I get a pleasant feeling when I think of all the money BushCo spent on that particular talking point going to waste.

[WilliamPitt]

14. Thanks!

[5thGenDemocrat]

15. Good job, Mr Pitt

Now go get some sleep.
John
2:16 am and all is right with the world. For a change and probably only for the minute.

[Room101]

16. I think Bernie Ward read your article tonight

I heard your name dropped while passing by on the phone.

Great article! Mr. Wordsmanship :toast:

[WilliamPitt]

17. .