Kerry labeling * a rich man during debates was the beginning of

[mtnester]

* being totally pissed and having the ultimate facial meltdown. It was a pivotal moment when speaking briefly of the tax cuts, Kerry said those cuts were for people like himself and the President (paraphrasing) and not the middle class. Bush was pissed as hell that he was exposed as a rich, privileged person rather than the folksy person he claims to be. I felt it was the beginning of his complete and utter meltdown thereafter.

I believe Kerry and Edwards need to keep this up during the rest of the debates....the Republicans HATE it when that stuff is pointed out to regular America...and it blows up *'s image they are so desperately trying to get the voters to buy into.

[DeepModem Mom]

1. Good point -- that was a smart move --

The better part of Bush's public persona is a deception.

[TaleWgnDg]

2. up that, please . . .

not "the better part," but ALL his persona is a fraud.

. . . . . . .

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Well, it was the common perception that he's not the brightest candle...

in the church -- I think even among some admirers -- that I had in mind --

[TaleWgnDg]

4. yup. and here's to Dumbya's admirers:

. . . . . . . . . how presidential can it get?

[TomClash]

5. Education

Since Kerry went to St. Paul's and Bush went to Andover, both elite prep schools, Kerry could use the same tactic in the next two debates when this subject is brought up.

[Bridget Burke]

8. Apparently Kerry paid attention at school.

Bush did not.

And he played the "rich guy" card when speaking of tax cuts--how he got some he didn't really need.

[theHandpuppet]

6. Good catch!

About time someone burst that bubble -- I was wondering how Kerry might do it. Bush the "common Texas cowboy"needs to be exposed (and often) for what he truly is -- the spoiled, Ivy-League educated, shiftless heir to a family fortune his grandfather made by dealing with the Nazis.

[txindy]

16. I am sooo sick of * and his 'cowboy' act

I live in Texas. My kids were born in Texas. They aren't cowboys any more than * -- and he is from Connecticut. Sheesh. Do any of his brothers or his sister talk the way he does? No, and I know Jeb was born here, so did his Texas drawl jump out of his suitcase on the way to Florida? I don't think so. It's all such nonsense.:grr:

All * does is help give Texas a bad name. The worst part is, we're gonna have to take him back after the election. :cry: Yes, we'll take one for the team and let Cowboy Bob mosey on back to the ranch...pig farm...whatever. I'm betting it takes him less than a year to pack up and move to Houston or Dallas. No way is he going to be out in Crawford. No one is going to truck all the way out there anymore just to see him. No one he wants to see, anyway. Besides, the nightlife is all in the big cities. :toast:

[liberal N proud]

7. Looking back, I do remember that and how shrub's eys started to

flutter.
I knew then that he was going down.

[secular_warrior]

9. two faced - Bush became upset when the mask was ripped off.

Kerry AND Edwards must continue to do this. They must continue to point out the two realities Bush is living in, two realities he can't even admit to himself. I'm sure Bush himself believes the crap he spews. That is why it's hard to convince people Bush lies because it's not really a lie if Bush believes his own lie. I've felt for months this is why the charges against Bush that he is a liar haven't stuck. It is far more effective to paint Bush as a man of two faces who lives in two realities, and becomes very upset when those two realities come into conflict. Bush "lies" when real reality does not match the false reality he lives in.

[Nlighten1]

10. Being rich is hard work!

The claims that Bush made about the Presidency being hard work made me laugh. This assclown hasn't known one day of hard work in his whole privileged life.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Agreed. It was a very smart way to defuse the "elitism" argument against

Kerry.

No way Bu$h is just a regular joe.

[Kahuna]

12. You could be right. Good call.

:thumbsup:

[starroute]

13. He probably got the idea from Clinton

Remember how at the convention Clinton spoke about Bush's tax cuts benefitting people with money like him but not average Americans?

Kerry seems to have picked that up -- using the Clintonian twist of speaking about himself and Bush as both benefitting, so it doesn't seem like a direct attack on Bush -- but at the same time being absolutely devastating to Bush's pretensions.

Precisely because Kerry has so much in common with Bush (Yale, Skull and Bones, New England ancestors), he is wonderfully placed to deflate Bush's aw-shucks cowboy image.

[KittyWampus]

21. Yup, And It's More Effective Than Gore's Saying Tax Cuts For Wealthiest 1%

too many people can't grasp that... it's too abstract... or they figure maybe someday they'll be in that 1%.

But by saying that taxcut favored wealthy such as himself and president... it illustrates the point in a conversational way.

[johnnyrocket]

14. Yes, Bush is a snotty silver spooned rich kid from Connecticut!!

That's right next to Taxachusets!! OMFG!!!!! Someone tell the Southerner's this quickly!

[Ducks In A Row]

15. Clinton gave Kerry that line to use. Clinton's was using it recently

and it really pissed the rethugs off.

[King Coal]

17. Two people who really make me laugh when they're mad

are Bill O'Reilly and Smirk.

[elperromagico]

18. Bush has had 3.5 years of never really being questioned.

Until recently, his rare press conferences have been softball love-fests.

The crowds at his rallies are carefully screened to ensure that he hardly ever has to deal with dissenters.

He rarely reads the newspapers, and instead gets his news from aides who "serve at the pleasure of the President."

He has not had to stand on a stage with anyone who disagrees with him and actually defend his positions.

Compare that to Kerry.

The press does not at all mind asking Kerry tough questions - questions often designed specifically to place him squarely between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

The crowds at his rallies are only screened for the sake of safety; in fact, he seems to like having unconvinced people in the crowd - must be the prosecutor in him.

Kerry is clearly well-informed on the issues, and he can't open a newspaper or turn on a national newscast without hearing that his campaign is somehow "doomed."

Not only has he had to stand on a stage with someone who disagrees with him, but he has had to debate as many as eight opponents, many of whom were capable debaters with strong points. He has even had to answer either exaggerated or utterly false attacks on his voting record and even on his service in Vietnam.

The differences between Bush and Kerry - not just in terms of policy, but in many other fathomable ways - are clear.

[yellowcanine]

20. Exactly. Bush has been protected from tough questions. The Potemkin

appearances have kept him from honing his already weak rhetorical skills.

[Mike L]

19. Kerry and Edwards must focus on the Rich vs. middle class distinction in

the next two debates. The whole Repuke domestic policy agenda is designed to help the wealthy.

[PurityOfEssence]

22. "So what is it you guys got against the poor, anyway?"

I mean really; don't they scream loud enough when you trample 'em? Aren't they sad and defeated enough? Don't you feel good enough about yourself yet?

How can Junior give himself over $100K a year in tax breaks and take away school lunch programs? Even in the icky Republican hate-fantasy, it's not a kid's fault for being born poor. Sure, any adult has disgusting character flaws for which they should be cut out of the herd and abused to no end, but a KID? Not even one of those Reagan mini-burgers with one-sided buns and ketchup as a vegetable? Aw, come on, if you starve all the little poor kids, they'll die off and you won't have a next generation of adult failures to whom you can feel superior. Sheesh.

[SKKY]

23. That was definitely one of those nuances that can't...

...be coached, taught, or planned ahead of time. That, in my opinion, was probably Kerry at his most honest and sincere during the entire debate.

[mtnester]

24. I agree...he saw the opening and timing for it

and went for the kill in his subtle way.

First blood.