Hmm... I think I'll post something.
I kinda wish there were gonna be some more Presidential or Vice-Presidential debates between now and the election... If only because I never got to play the debate drinking game... That and the fact that they may actually change people's outlooks on the election, I suppose..
That said, let's look at some trends I've noticed from the Pres Elections:
1)
Candidate 1: Look! Numbers and statistics!
Candidate 2: No! His are wrong! These are the right ones!
2: No, he's wrong. I'm write. (If Kerry, insert quiet laughter to self. If Bush, insert monkey-like smirk.)
2)
Moderator: Look! A NEW question!
Candidate: I'll answer this NEW question in awhile. First, let me go back and finish my answer for the last question, so that after you ask me a NEWER question, I can finish answering this NEW question.
3)
Mod: Question, question, question...
Candidate: Says stuff. Doesn't answer question.
____
Since the second debate was more of a townhall setup, both candidates were free to move around as they talked. My thoughts on both:
Bush: Looked at the mod, the crowd, the camera, everywhere except at Kerry. Only looked Kerry in the eyes once or twice the entire debate. Roamed around the stage like a preacher working his congregation: "And then SATAN sent the TERRAH down to the Americans! PRAISE JESUS!"
Kerry: Played the straight lawyer. Looked directly at the person he was speaking to. Made eye contact.
____
Why the hell didn't Kerry bring up more about Bush's record of flip-flopping? He made a thinly veiled reference in the first debate [stating an instance in which Bush had changed his mind on something and stating that his (Dubya's) campaign had a word for that], but pretty much let it slip. I've heard that one of the rules they had agreed to regarding the debates was that they wouldn't use the word "flip-flop," and maybe Kerry was trying to be the better man by not bringing it up, but it might've been helpful to bring up.
____
Funny things Bush has said:
.."a rumor on the Internets": Sounds like maybe Al Gore has been busy since 2000, after all.
.."Need some wood?": A joke(?) that was only amusing to himself, or a thinly-veiled pickup line toward the mod?
I also enjoyed how talked over the mod in the second debate. Almost a Dana Carvey Ross Perot "Lemme finish. Lemme finish. Lemme finish." As well as the way he walked around the stage during one of Kerry's questions. I half-expected him to sneak up behind Kerry with some sort of giant cartoon hammer.
____
Why does Bush think "No Child Left Behind" is such a great idea that he had to bring it up as many times as possible tonight?
Education? "Man, 'No Child Left Behind' sure is helping!"
Immigrants? "Man, I'm sure glad 'No Child Left Behind' is making sure those foreign kids learn English, so's they can teach it to their parents."
Unemployment? "Man, if we'd had 'No Child Left Behind' earlier, these people might be smart enough to have jobs."
"Oh yeah, did I mention how great 'No Child Left Behind' is?"
____
Bad form on bringing up Cheney's gay daughter tonight, Kerry...
____
Soundbytes from the debates:
Bush:
"Want some wood?"
"[Laura] speaks English a lot better than I do. I think people understand what she's saying."
"A plan is not a litany of complains."
"Now, you asked what mistakes. I made some mistakes in appointing people, but I'm not going to name them. I don't want to hurt their feelings on national TV."
"Well, actually, he forgot Poland."
Kerry:
"I'm tired of politicians who talk about family values and don't value families."
"Being lectured by the president on fiscal responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking to me about law and order in this country."
"I made a mistake in the way I talk about it. He made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is a worse decision?"
Cheney:
"Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."
"Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight."
Edwards:
"Someone did get it wrong. But it wasn't John Kerry and John Edwards."
____
I pointed out to my friends that watching the Vice Presidential Debate was kinda of like watching a debate between Emperor Palpatine and Luke Skywalker. Following this line or thought, who would Kerry and Bush be in the Star Wars universe?
The best I could come up with were Kerry=C3PO and Bush=Anakin Skywalker as portrayed by Hayden Christensen.
Your thoughts?
That said, let's look at some trends I've noticed from the Pres Elections:
1)
Candidate 1: Look! Numbers and statistics!
Candidate 2: No! His are wrong! These are the right ones!
2: No, he's wrong. I'm write. (If Kerry, insert quiet laughter to self. If Bush, insert monkey-like smirk.)
2)
Moderator: Look! A NEW question!
Candidate: I'll answer this NEW question in awhile. First, let me go back and finish my answer for the last question, so that after you ask me a NEWER question, I can finish answering this NEW question.
3)
Mod: Question, question, question...
Candidate: Says stuff. Doesn't answer question.
____
Since the second debate was more of a townhall setup, both candidates were free to move around as they talked. My thoughts on both:
Bush: Looked at the mod, the crowd, the camera, everywhere except at Kerry. Only looked Kerry in the eyes once or twice the entire debate. Roamed around the stage like a preacher working his congregation: "And then SATAN sent the TERRAH down to the Americans! PRAISE JESUS!"
Kerry: Played the straight lawyer. Looked directly at the person he was speaking to. Made eye contact.
____
Why the hell didn't Kerry bring up more about Bush's record of flip-flopping? He made a thinly veiled reference in the first debate [stating an instance in which Bush had changed his mind on something and stating that his (Dubya's) campaign had a word for that], but pretty much let it slip. I've heard that one of the rules they had agreed to regarding the debates was that they wouldn't use the word "flip-flop," and maybe Kerry was trying to be the better man by not bringing it up, but it might've been helpful to bring up.
____
Funny things Bush has said:
.."a rumor on the Internets": Sounds like maybe Al Gore has been busy since 2000, after all.
.."Need some wood?": A joke(?) that was only amusing to himself, or a thinly-veiled pickup line toward the mod?
I also enjoyed how talked over the mod in the second debate. Almost a Dana Carvey Ross Perot "Lemme finish. Lemme finish. Lemme finish." As well as the way he walked around the stage during one of Kerry's questions. I half-expected him to sneak up behind Kerry with some sort of giant cartoon hammer.
____
Why does Bush think "No Child Left Behind" is such a great idea that he had to bring it up as many times as possible tonight?
Education? "Man, 'No Child Left Behind' sure is helping!"
Immigrants? "Man, I'm sure glad 'No Child Left Behind' is making sure those foreign kids learn English, so's they can teach it to their parents."
Unemployment? "Man, if we'd had 'No Child Left Behind' earlier, these people might be smart enough to have jobs."
"Oh yeah, did I mention how great 'No Child Left Behind' is?"
____
Bad form on bringing up Cheney's gay daughter tonight, Kerry...
____
Soundbytes from the debates:
Bush:
"Want some wood?"
"[Laura] speaks English a lot better than I do. I think people understand what she's saying."
"A plan is not a litany of complains."
"Now, you asked what mistakes. I made some mistakes in appointing people, but I'm not going to name them. I don't want to hurt their feelings on national TV."
"Well, actually, he forgot Poland."
Kerry:
"I'm tired of politicians who talk about family values and don't value families."
"Being lectured by the president on fiscal responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking to me about law and order in this country."
"I made a mistake in the way I talk about it. He made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is a worse decision?"
Cheney:
"Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much."
"Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight."
Edwards:
"Someone did get it wrong. But it wasn't John Kerry and John Edwards."
____
I pointed out to my friends that watching the Vice Presidential Debate was kinda of like watching a debate between Emperor Palpatine and Luke Skywalker. Following this line or thought, who would Kerry and Bush be in the Star Wars universe?
The best I could come up with were Kerry=C3PO and Bush=Anakin Skywalker as portrayed by Hayden Christensen.
Your thoughts?