Web logs are for political commentary, or what's America for?
All right, all right, that's really streeeeetching, but anyway. I watched the debate, I discussed it at lunch today, I actually overhead a half dozen freshmen discussing it in the library today, the Hubs even watched it and we talked about it, and I've been reading diary entries here and there. All that's left is for me to put my two cents in.
I don't know, first of all, if anybody can actually "win" such a performance, even though they call it a "debate." It was not a debate. But it was interesting. I admit freely that I did not come into it with an open mind, and that I would have been very happy if Bush had said "Iraq? Where's that at?" but he didn't. In fact, he was not as buffoonish as I hoped/expected him to be. He didn't put on that infuriating smiley-smirky thing until it was almost over, which is good, because I really can't look at him when he does that. So I was not as upset and angry as I anticipated, because Bush was very well coached and didn't trip over his own feet in a terribly obvious fashion.
Here's what he did do that bugged the shit out of me. He brought up that whole "Kerry as flip-flopper" thing, which is apparantly what his team enjoys flinging at their opponents most, and then when Kerry explained his position, laying it out pretty clearly, one, two, three, later on Bush just said it again. No! Your opponent cleared this up! Let it go! Again, it is a Bush/Cheney/Rove/Rumsefeld tactic to say what they want people to believe, no matter how far removed it is from the truth, and say it again and again until no one can tell the truth from a lie anymore. But it's still a lie. You can't just say something, that doesn't make it true. It's got to be true to be true.
Kerry's voting record: Bush and Cheney have criticized him for votes he cast that agreed with them. How f--ed up is that? They don't like him for supporting them, and then when he gets more complete information than they gave out originally and he re-evaluates his position, they criticize him again? How can Bush possibly take Kerry to task because Kerry voted in favor of the war that Bush wanted to start?
And I thought, btw, that Kerry was very natural up there. It's been said before, but at least he didn't look as if he didn't know what to do with himself while the other guy was speaking. I've noticed that politicians seem to be coached to use very few gestures and movements, and it makes them look like statues. Clinton, a powerful speaker, limited his body and arm movements, and I always thought that looked artificial and coached. But Kerry gestured normally, like a human being, and didn't smirk at all. Yes, he's a little odd looking. But Bush looks like -- and it's been said before -- Alfred E. Newman. Hey, I don't want to sleep with these guys, I just want one of them to be our president.
I stayed up late to watch the debate and then I stayed up later to watch the Daily Show. And I'm not even a stoned slacker, Bill O'Reilly! (Talk about your freaking fascist morons.) Honestly, I get better commentary from Jon Stewart than I do from MSNBC.
I'm looking forward to the VP debate on Tuesday. I mean, how can Cheney look like anything but Satan? His smirk isn't even a bewildered amused smirk, like Bush's. It's more like a vicious sneer. I hope he doesn't bite Edwards on the leg like a rabid dog.
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I'm watching Degrassi is ten minutes!
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