Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

Tonight was the first debate and it revealed quite a bit. Did Kerry end up besting Bush, or was Bush able to get his beliefs out better than Kerry? What do you think?

--------------------

"My impersonation of an ordinary person was flawless." - Neal

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Bush said something to the effect of:

Quote

I'm going to stand by my core values no matter what the consequences

I thought that was admirable. Bush seemed to falter a bit in some areas but he seemed more optimistic and upbeat than Kerry. That shouldn't count for leverage or anything, but I think it shows Bush is still supporting his plans through the harsh criticism.

I did find it funny that Kerry said he "was going to hunt down the terrorists and kill them", though.

--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

I, along with alot of the media- Am giving it to Kerry. Bush was bumbling and looked taken off guard alot of the time. I also found it funny when he refered to people as- Folks- and couldn't remember the word insurgent. I think bush screwed up that debate.

--------------------

If you've been mod-o-fied,
It's an illusion, and you're in-between.
Don't you be tarot-fied,
It's just alot of nothing, so what can it mean?
~Frank Zappa

Sins exist only for people who are on the Way or approaching the Way

I only caught the end of it but from what I saw it looked like Bush had a really hard time finding things to say in response to all of the questions. Both candidates evaded certain questions by repeating things they've already said a million times during their campaigns. It's like the candidates' advisers before the debate said to them "when you get caught in a corner just recite one of your trademark lines". If everything wasn't so scripted and the candidates were more honest then some real debating could get done. Perhaps the beginning of the debate was better. Towards the end they both looked stupid. Kerry supporters will think Kerry won the debate and Bush suporters will think Bush won. That's what it comes down to. Right?

--------------------

FFXI (Siren server)
Tauu the Windurstian Tarutaru!
White Mage & Paladin

Quote (i90east @ 30th September 2004 22:47)

Kerry supporters will think Kerry won the debate and Bush suporters will think Bush won. That's what it comes down to. Right?

Basically. It's for the independents to decide, I suppose.

--------------------

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

Quote (i90east @ 30th September 2004 20:47)

If everything wasn't so scripted and the candidates were more honest then some real debating could get done.

I totally agree with this. I don't like how the format of the debate was skewed so much. Leave it to lawyers

I didn't watch the debate, as I don't have a TV, so I can't really comment, but reading about the changes in the debate on google news, I was frustrated.

--------------------

Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

I find it very difficult to actually decide who won. Kerry definitly was able to get his point across more easily than Bush, everyone expected that though. Bush on the other hand came across as more of a human being than Kerry, which a lot of people will use to decide their vote as well.

All in all I believe Kerry won this one for me. But I'm going to keep an open mind and watch the other debates.

One thing I am sure of, it would be nice if all four of their thumbs were cut off for the next debate. I'm tired of them pointing at me with them. The bastards.

This post has been edited by Hanyou on 1st October 2004 05:00

--------------------

"My impersonation of an ordinary person was flawless." - Neal

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Kerry rocked the casbah, yo.

Seriously, I think Kerry presented himself better and answered the questions and got his ideas across far more precisely than ol' Dubya did.

Towards the end there, every question Bush got asked.... his answer would start like this: "That's not how a commander-in-cheif acts. He can't say this war is a mistake. What does that make our allies think?" He gave that speil, like, 4 times. Goofy bastard. I was watching it on CNN-FN, and the approval rating dipped into the 3's and 4's when he spouted that line. Kerry's approval dipped low, too, whenever he mentioned his war service. What a novel idea... the public wants to hear real answers, not meaningless crap!

--------------------

Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

I give the slight edge to Bush since it is clear, and I know more about this stuff then most of you, Bush talked about the issues while Kerry just tried to rip on Bush. Kerry's advantage is he is a better orator then Bush (who isn't though) but Kerry resulted to dirty tactics and attacked President Bush. That is a clear sign of despiration on the Kerry side. Pres. Bush won on the topic issue, which I mean he stuck to his topics and dealt with them. Kerry had no position on them and when he tried to they were awful. Right now it was a draw in the debate but in all reality Bush will probably win the election and I hope he does (this coming from a democrat, but a conservative democrate remember). Neither Pres. Bush or Kerry are very good candidates but Bush is stronger right now with his position in Iraq and especially his health care...I will be damned if I let Kerry turn the US into a universial health care system like Canada, I do not want idiots working on me in surgery like in Canada.

--------------------

War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better. - Joshua Chamberlain

U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

Quote (BGrugby @ 1st October 2004 21:14)

I know more about this stuff then most of you...

I do not want idiots working on me in surgery like in Canada.

I understand what you are getting at, but the way you are saying it makes you look uninformed. Canada has many leading surgeons, and pioneers a great many medical techniques. The only main downside is the waiting lists for some surgeries. There are various surgical techniques performed in the US which have a lesser recovery time, and the same is true for various surgeries practiced in Canada. The US does however have the better system in general, but it of course has flaws of its own.

If you want to point out the obvious flaws of such a system, that's fine by me, but they are not idiots by any stretch of the imagination. Please be more careful about your wording. Thanks.

This post has been edited by Endless Knight on 2nd October 2004 11:31

Quote (BGrugby @ 1st October 2004 21:14)

I give the slight edge to Bush since it is clear, and I know more about this stuff then most of you, Bush talked about the issues while Kerry just tried to rip on Bush.

There's no need to be condescending.


While Kerry didn't make any stupendous points, the way he spoke made it sound like he did. Most people picked up on that, and contrastly Bush sometimes stumbling for words. It was basically an image battle. Kerry has the "I know exactly what's best for the country, just elect me and I'll take care of everything myself". While Bush has the "Hey, I'm an honest guy trying to run the country the best I can. I'm a human too," image. Bush goes for that commoner appeal, though both of them are complete members of the economic elite.

In value to their campaign, I give the edge to Kerry. He made himself look alot more put together, and the debate helped his campaign more than Bush and his. We will see what happens with the other two, the next being on my birthday however, so I don't know if I'll watch it or not.





--------------------

The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Meh, both sides weren't playing at their best. I wasn't expecting Bush to be answer off the bat (thinking before you speak is human, though) but Kerry was a top debater in high school and at Yale, and I think he could have done a bit better than he did.

Like 190east said, the general format that was given to the candidates incited rushed answers. Good way to try out those 30-second extentions, eh?

This post has been edited by Shotgunnova on 3rd October 2004 06:31

--------------------

It's gonna be a glorious day
I feel my luck can change

I was wondering... I wanted to see the debate but missed it since I just moved and had to wait for the cable to get set up so I had no way of watching it. Does anyone know if there will be an encore presentation of the debate or will they just go onto the next one without showing this one again?

--------------------

Climhazzard is the timeless evil robot who runs some of the cool stuff at CoN (mostly logging chat, since there are no quizzes at the moment), all the while watching and waiting for his moment to take over the world. -Tiddles

You could probably watch a video of the debate online somewhere, like at some news sites or somethin'.

--------------------

Words of Wisdom:

If something can go wrong, it will.

If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.

If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. - Murphy’s Law

Boing! Zoom! - Mr. Saturn

Yes you can find it almost anywherebut remember there is another one coming up on Tuesday even though it is the vice-presidents but it is in my hometown, and I love the hatred I am getting. Haha keep bringing it, it fires me up.

Moderator Edit

Good, I'd just LOVE to warn you for being a troll. -R51

This post has been edited by Rangers51 on 4th October 2004 17:55

--------------------

War is for the participants a test of character; it makes bad men worse and good men better. - Joshua Chamberlain

U sir R a n00b >:-( - Cactuar

I give it to Kerry. He was just better prepared than Bush.

--------------------

The black wind howls again...
Say, can you hear that? It's the sound of the Reaper...
- Magus

I did not think that either Bush or Kerry won the debate. I think it was a tie. All Kerry did was bash Bush the whole time and all Bush did was avoid Kerry's questions and say something else, although sometimes he did give a straight answer. Overall, though, it really wasn't that much of a debate, it was just both sides trying to make the other look bad. Personally, though, I think Bush is more honest than Kerry based on the way they walk, talk, act, and carry themselves. Something about the way Kerry does things creeps me out. Anyway, I'm hoping that the next debate will actually have debating.

This post has been edited by eternalsphere on 4th October 2004 03:14

--------------------

Music is a mysterious thing... Sometimes, it makes people remember things that they do not expect. Many thoughts, feelings, memories... things almost forgotten... Regardless of whether the listener desires to remember them or not...

- Shitan, Xenogears

Ummm.....you forgot POLAND!


Though this doesn't really heighten my confidence of him winning the election, at least Kerry won the debate....

~E

--------------------

With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps

Yeah... that whole "You forgot POLAND!" line had me rolling in the floor....

It reminded me of a line from Lilo and Stitch, when Stich says "You forgot to mention FLUFFY!!!!!".

If I remember right, the second presidential debate will focus on domestic issues. I'm REALLY looking forward to their viewes on this. I'm sincerely hoping for both candidates to be put on the spot regarding outsourcing American jobs. That's one of the biggest issues of this election for me, aside from our involvement in Iraq.

Most of the answers they gave the other night were pretty much what we all expected to hear... but one thing Kerry said, and Bush didn't refute it, was that even though we are now "married" to Iraq in terms of we will always have a military presence there, I didn't realize that Bush is building 14 large military installations in Iraq. That's not long-term involvement... that's occupation. And I'm betting the main reason for it is black and thick and springs from the ground when ol' Jeb misses the coon he's shooting at.

And BGrugby, it's cool to be in the know, and it's cool to enlighten others.... but your wording just came across kinda asshole-ish. I've read your posts alot, and I don't think that's your style at all, man. Just word it better next time, k?

Peace Out.

--------------------

Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978