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The Snoozefest...er, Debate

2004-10-14 - 10:38 p.m.

Disclaimer

My opinion on the debate (like you care,) is that three debates is too many. There are just not enough carefully memorized sound bites on the most pressing issues from either candidate to fill out three debates without getting pretty repetitive:

Tax cuts for the richest 1 percent� heard it.

Three quarters of al Qaeda in jail� heard it.

Mary Cheney is a lesbian� oooooo, what now?� heard that one too.

No Child Left Behind� heard it to DEATH, thanks.

My faith blah blah blah� Do. Not. Fucking. Want. To. Hear. It. Criminy!

Self-deprecating joke about the infamous smirk� it was a little funny, the FIRST time.

Joke about Laura marrying George on the condition that she�d never have to give a speech ... Not EVEN funny the first time. Booooooring, and besides, isn�t he basically saying he broke that promise?

Bush wasn�t nearly as much as a spaz this time around, but that isn�t saying a whole lot, considering his histrionic demeanor in the previous debates. During last night�s proceedings, he looked oddly flushed and wore a constant goofy little half-smile like he was high. Every now and again he bared his teeth in what I think was supposed to resemble a charming grin but came off looking more like the result of a wicked gas pain.

Kerry I thought did a pretty good job. I think his answers were more on point, and I liked how he didn�t promise the moon on every issue. I�m much more inclined to believe the sincerity of someone who answers the question with some version of �we may not be able to fix this entirely, but I�ll do what I can and here�s my plan� than someone who keeps changing the fucking subject back to his one and only dubious accomplishment in four years as president. Kerry doesn�t say he can stop outsourcing, but he does say he�ll work to take away the tax incentives for companies to go overseas. Bush says people who have lost their jobs to outsourcing need to go to community college. Which, considering that the jobs that are currently going overseas are white-collar jobs, is absolutely ludicrous and pretty fucking insulting to boot. My husband has a four-year degree in computer science, and student loan payments out the ass to prove it. His last job was outsourced to India. So he and others in the software field are supposed to rack up thousands more in student debt to go learn a trade now?

All in all, I�d name Kerry the winner on content, but I don�t know if that is going to count for much with the unwashed masses who unfortunately also get a vote. I read that someone on Fox News commented that Kerry overplayed his grasp of the facts, as if trying to show up Bush. So knowing shit is a liability in a presidential candidate now? I think Kerry�s demeanor and personality are fine, but there are apparently those who don�t find him folksy enough, and I don�t think last night�s debate did anything to change that perception. Me, I�m just incredulous that there are people in this country who are intimidated by the idea of having an intellectual as president. I mean, wouldn�t you WANT the smartest guy to be the leader? Why would you want a dumb guy making decisions that are going to affect you?

And another thing� I realize that it was the moderator who implied this and not so much the candidates, but how the hell does Laura Bush rate as a �strong woman?� She has been the least visible of any of the First Ladies I can remember. Does anyone even know what her �pet cause� is? Nancy Reagan was all up in our faces with the �Just Say No� anti-drug stuff, Barbara Bush was all about literacy (for other people�s kids, anyway,) Hillary had her fingers in everything, including pushing for a national healthcare plan and advocacy for children�s issues. What the heck does Laura do? Up until the campaigning started this year, I don�t recall hearing much about her at all. And the Bush girls had to be smacked down a couple of good times for underage drinking in the not-too-distant past� not uncommon for their age of course, but I don�t exactly consider them achievers or role models or perceive them as having any particular strength. It was kind of a dumb question, really.

So bottom line, I got very little out of the last night�s debate except the material for this lame entry. Can I get my money back?








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Last Five
Crappy job crap, weird neighbor, and someone whose baby I apparently want to have - 2006-05-08
Live from the dump - 2006-04-09
Kind of like a muzzle for your brain - 2006-03-29
...and then she fell ass-first into my cereal bowl - 2006-03-28
Playing catch-up - 2006-03-27





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