Who is the Democrats best debater?

[TheFarseer]

Let's say there was going to be a huge debate on every chanel between Sean Hanitty and one of the following. Who would you want to represent the Democrats, keeping in mind it's got to be someone that believes in your core principles and can articulate them well and forcefully. Sorry if your favorite is not included, but I just can't see including people like, say Dennis Kucinich or John Edwards, both of whom I love but I just don't consider good debaters.

[Bluebear]

1. Dennis Kucinich & John Edwards

'I just can't see including people like' - - how about letting your poll responders decide? :)

[TheFarseer]

12. I see that point of view but

I've only got so many slots for choices, so I better make them the best choices I can think of.

[More Than A Feeling]

2. Biden isn't bad, but he isn't close enough to my principles.

Russ Feingold explains himself extremely well.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. george bush. honestly.

the more often he opens his mouth, the better for us.

[lutefisk]

4. Well, he's the master debater according to the people inside my tv.

According to the tv people, Junior kicked Gore's ass debating in 2000 and then took Kerry out to the wood shed in the debates of 2004. And he accomplished all that in spite of the soft bigotry of low expectations!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. ahem. please remove the "de" from your top line.

thank you.

[lutefisk]

7. Just say it fast....n/t

[SayWhatYo]

17. dammit, you beat it..

err me, to the master-debater comment. :P

[yurbud]

21. it's hard to work around that plain folks tard shtick he puts on. as soon as he says "fuzzy math"

he gave all the nitwits permission to not even try to understand what Gore was talking about.

[lutefisk]

30. He only pulled it off with the help of the media, though....n/t

[yurbud]

31. yeah, it wouldn't have been hard to make fun of the silver spoon hick act

They did a pretty good job with the real humble roots of Clinton and Carter.

[Esra Star]

9. It was BEST debater, not mass debater. nt

[lutefisk]

10. But usually one doesn't mass debate with more than one person, right?

In any event, Bill Clinton is the BEST debater. I would pay to see a real debate between Bill and Junior. That would be interesting.

[Esra Star]

11. No contest, and I would be too embarassed to watch. nt

[JacquesMolay]

6. Gore if he doesn't sigh.

He ripped Ross Perot to shreds one time. Of course, now that I know better, I'm against NAFTA.

[Swamp Rat]

8. Senator Patrick Lahey.

Sharp as a tack.

[deutsey]

13. There are so many Dem master debators, it's hard to name just one. n/t

[bemildred]

14. Michael Moore. nt

[yurbud]

24. for setting the agenda, there's no comparison. He may not be first to an issue, but once there, he

owns it.

As someone else said that was really sad:

'Insurance companies are afraid of Michael Moore. They are not afraid of Democrats.'

[bemildred]

32. Well put.

I have never seen him fail to eat his opponents lunch in open debate.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. Core principals? Noam Chomsky.

Although I doubt that he owes allegiance to any party.

[yurbud]

23. watching him and Buckley debate during Vietnam is painful on a couple of levels

Chomsky's points seem timeless and self-evidently true.

Buckley's seem shopworn and embarrassing, and yet he was able to hold a debate in which he listened to his opponent and actually responded to what he said, something modern conservatives would consider borderline treasonous.

[NI4NI]

16. Barney Frank

[undeterred]

18. Its hard to separate the memory of someone's lost campaign

from their debating skills. I think most who have practiced law are good. Clinton thinks well on his feet. Kerry may be the very best, but a campaign debate is not the same as any other kind of debate.
Feingold is a practiced lawyer and a very skilled debater; I wouldn't want to argue against him.

[undeterred]

19. Lets not forget Ted Kennedy.

:patriot:

[yurbud]

25. Kennedy's have been so pilloried in the press, you forget that collegial warmth and good humor

someone asked him if he ever talked about politics with Arnold at family functions and he said he was afraid Arnold would pick him up by his ankles and shake him.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

20. Oh God Clinton By A LONG SHOT In My Opinion.

He's levels above the others on your list.

[TheFarseer]

28. Clinton is up there for sure, but I think Kerry is really good

I'll never forget how badly he demolished Jr. in the first debate.

[Catchawave]

22. Bill Clinton said of Edwards:

"he can talk an owl down from a tree" :) I think Edwards and Kucinich are great speakers/debaters, I'm sorry you ran out of room, I voted Biden, that boy can talk!

[Skidmore]

26. I don't know about his debate skills but I Senator Whitehouse is one

of the finest minds we have. I would strongly suspect his debate skills are as sharp as his analytical ones.

[philosophie_en_rose]

27. Bill Clinton. No contest.

:bounce:

[MrSlayer]

29. Frank Stallone and easily.

Can convince a no-legged dog to take a walk.

[flaminbats]

33. Jimmy Carter..

of all the Democrats who have run for President during my lifetime, Jimmy Carter best represents how Democrats should live and the morals our party should stand for. he may not be confrontational enough, but I rarely disagree with him.

everyone blames Carter for stagflation, the hostage crises in Iran, and for a weak economy. but Carter kept the deficit low, he handled the energy crises better than Reagan or Bush could have, he got the hostages out of Iran without any bloodshed, and he didn't just talk about Christian values..they were the foundation for how he lived his life!