Wednesday, October 13, 2004
"Lucky Me. I Hit the Trifecta."
Unfortunately, that statement was made by our President in reference to fiscal irresponsibility, saying he would only break his promise of budgetary balance in the case of war, recession, or emergency. But I think it applies aptly to John Kerry this evening. As I sit here after the third and final debate, I can't help but feel satisfied that John Kerry has won all three. He was more articulate, better informed, more emotionally composed, and more straight forward than President Bush. It has become clear over the last three weeks that George W. Bush is the intellectual equivalent of a Kleenex in a flood: completely overmatched.
I'm always amused by the spin afterwards. Joe Scarborough said that John Kerry may have won in the eyes of the Yale debate coaches but George Bush spoke to the American people. Apparently the American people speak a different language than I do. I found Bush's answers to be rambling at times, erratic at best, and incoherent at worst. If he was in a position where he wasn't able to talk his way out of something he returned to education. Time and time again he returned to education as the fix for everything. As a teacher, I believe that education is one of the most important things in a person's life, but it doesn't answer the question "what would you say to a worker who has lost his job overseas." Education was Bush'a safety-net tonight. He spent a lot of time falling back into that net.
Along the lines of spin, Rudy Giulliani said that George Bush won over a lot of undecideds with tonight's performance. WTF? Apparently Rudy's line of thought is that undecided voters are going to say "well, I don't have a clue who I'm going to vote for and the President doesn't have a clue of what he's going to do, so I'm voting for him because together we are both clueless." WTF? What is it about the President's performance that would sway an undecided? He was only appealing to his base. Bush spouted conservative talking points all night long. It's the same thing we've been hearing and seeing for four years. If you're not convinced by the last four years, what are you waiting for? It's not going to get any better. It won't be any different in a second term. Bush had his chance, failed to deliver, ran our country's economy and reputation into the ground, and now he wants to be re-hired. He has failed and does not deserve a second chance.
One of my favorite moments of the night came when the debate turned to Pell Grants. Bush claimed that his administration had increased Pell Grants by a million students. Kerry responded beautifully by saying:
What a great response. And how did Bush respond? By changing the subject to tax cuts. In other words: I can't refute what he's saying so hey everybody, look over here. Pay no attention to the facts behind the curtain.
And what about homosexuality being a choice issue? The President doesn't know? The MSNBC panel said that Kerry's response invoking Dick Cheney's daughter was a low blow. I, however, think it was perfectly within bounds. Cheney's daughter is a homosexual that Bush is presumably acquaited with. Does he think that she made a choice to be a lesbian? This isn't a porn movie where women choose to do bi because it pays the bills, this is real life. Homosexuals don't choose their sexual preference. It's a scientific fact, George. You might want to look into it.
Tomorrow morning I expect that we will see the video clip of Bush saying "Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations," (deliberately stretch out and enunciate the word exaggeration) followed immediately by a video clip of the President saying just that. Just like it did with Cheney saying he had never met John Edwards, the video will prove that George W. Bush is a liar. But we've all known that for quite some time.
What it comes down to here folks is that John Kerry has embarassed our President. He has made him look confused, frustrated, furious, and out of touch. George Bush has no explanations for his failed past and no plan for the country's future. Four more years under his leadership would be a disaster. John Kerry is clearly the better choice to lead our country into the future. On November 2, John Kerry is clearly the right choice for our next President.
I'm always amused by the spin afterwards. Joe Scarborough said that John Kerry may have won in the eyes of the Yale debate coaches but George Bush spoke to the American people. Apparently the American people speak a different language than I do. I found Bush's answers to be rambling at times, erratic at best, and incoherent at worst. If he was in a position where he wasn't able to talk his way out of something he returned to education. Time and time again he returned to education as the fix for everything. As a teacher, I believe that education is one of the most important things in a person's life, but it doesn't answer the question "what would you say to a worker who has lost his job overseas." Education was Bush'a safety-net tonight. He spent a lot of time falling back into that net.
Along the lines of spin, Rudy Giulliani said that George Bush won over a lot of undecideds with tonight's performance. WTF? Apparently Rudy's line of thought is that undecided voters are going to say "well, I don't have a clue who I'm going to vote for and the President doesn't have a clue of what he's going to do, so I'm voting for him because together we are both clueless." WTF? What is it about the President's performance that would sway an undecided? He was only appealing to his base. Bush spouted conservative talking points all night long. It's the same thing we've been hearing and seeing for four years. If you're not convinced by the last four years, what are you waiting for? It's not going to get any better. It won't be any different in a second term. Bush had his chance, failed to deliver, ran our country's economy and reputation into the ground, and now he wants to be re-hired. He has failed and does not deserve a second chance.
One of my favorite moments of the night came when the debate turned to Pell Grants. Bush claimed that his administration had increased Pell Grants by a million students. Kerry responded beautifully by saying:
- [...] you know why the Pell Grants have gone up in their numbers? Because more people qualify for them because they don't have money.
But they're not getting the $5,100 the president promised them. They're getting less money.
We have more people who qualify. That's not what we want.
What a great response. And how did Bush respond? By changing the subject to tax cuts. In other words: I can't refute what he's saying so hey everybody, look over here. Pay no attention to the facts behind the curtain.
And what about homosexuality being a choice issue? The President doesn't know? The MSNBC panel said that Kerry's response invoking Dick Cheney's daughter was a low blow. I, however, think it was perfectly within bounds. Cheney's daughter is a homosexual that Bush is presumably acquaited with. Does he think that she made a choice to be a lesbian? This isn't a porn movie where women choose to do bi because it pays the bills, this is real life. Homosexuals don't choose their sexual preference. It's a scientific fact, George. You might want to look into it.
Tomorrow morning I expect that we will see the video clip of Bush saying "Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations," (deliberately stretch out and enunciate the word exaggeration) followed immediately by a video clip of the President saying just that. Just like it did with Cheney saying he had never met John Edwards, the video will prove that George W. Bush is a liar. But we've all known that for quite some time.
What it comes down to here folks is that John Kerry has embarassed our President. He has made him look confused, frustrated, furious, and out of touch. George Bush has no explanations for his failed past and no plan for the country's future. Four more years under his leadership would be a disaster. John Kerry is clearly the better choice to lead our country into the future. On November 2, John Kerry is clearly the right choice for our next President.
