QandO
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January 22, 2004 The Democratic Debate Generally speaking, I find political debates and speeches somewhat tedious. They're less about substance, nuance and education than they are about effective rhetoric. In other words - "why educate when you can incite". And yes...that goes for the Republican side of the aisle, too. So, I'm a bit suprised that the Democratic Debate - or what I've seen of it so far - has been somewhat more interesting than usual. They've toned down the ridiculous rhetoric a bit. Certainly, Howard Dean has. A few comments: * John Kerry was asked about the Vietnam demonstrations and the incident in which he threw a medal over a wall. I thought his explanation was fairly good. * Clark has been running commercials that are very focused on the war, his opposition to it, and his ability to "get us out of this mess". Tonight, he's making that point again. I wonder if he's going for Dean's anti-war mantle? * It's too bad Joe Lieberman has such a charisma deficiency...he'd make a good candidate. * I enjoy Al Sharpton in much the same way that I enjoy the San Diego Chicken. Neither of them are players, but they certainly make the game more amusing. * Howard Dean said people have been having fun at his expense....and it's justified. Well, good for him. He didn't apologize - and he didn't need to - he just admitted it was a bit....goofy. * Wesley Clark just said Congress needed to get Ashcroft to testify about the "use and abuse" of the Patriot Act. What abuse? Democratic Senator Feinstein asked the ACLU to cite ONE example of abuse and they could not provide one. * Clark was asked about his "guarantee" that no 9/11 type event would happen if he was President. His response? "I never said 'guarantee'. I never used that word". Well, ok....what did you say? "If I'm president of the United States, I'm going to take care of the American people. We are not going to have one of these incidents. ... Nothing is going to hurt this country - not bioweapons, not a nuclear weapon, not a terrorist strike - there is nothing that can hurt us if we stay united and move together and have a vision for moving to the future the right way."Well, I guess he's right. He didn't actually say the word "guarantee". It's sort of a "simon says" clause....apparently, it doesn't count unless Clark says he "guarantees" it. Natch. |
Jon, Jon, Jon. How soon we forget. Who noodged Clark into the race? Does the quote "It depends on what the meaning of the word is is" ring any bells? What else would you expect. (Well, I do suspect Clark was not getting a Monica behind that podium when he said it, but . . .)
Posted by: JorgXMcKie at January 24, 2004 02:27 PM