Friday, October 01, 2004
The First Debate
We're sure by the end of the weekend the press will have spun last night's "debate" into a Bush victory--or at least into something other than the total Kerry success that it was--but for the time being let us bask in the warm feeling of what it would be like to have a strong, articulate, intelligent president.
The feigned media surprise at the initial positve poll results to Kerry's performace brought smiles to those of us familiar with the Senator; we knew, as did they, that he would impress America once America actually got to see and hear him. But it tells you all you need to know about the state of political news coverage that the true character of the Democratic nominee for president would surprise so many people mere weeks before the election.
Sadly, the buzz won't last. Within minutes the hacks had received their talking points and began what will surely be a weekend's worth of "readjusting" to the public opinion. It was amusing, however, to watch CNN's Candy Crowley struggle to get a coherent thought out in the moments between the end of the debate and before being handed the GOP script. Unable even to form a grammatical sentence, she looked like a player piano in a sequined pink blouse, bad wig--and no music roll.
George Bush was something else. We're told his great strength--besides his vast army of poop-throwing media monkeys--is his ability to "stay on message". There's surely no arguing that, although we'd have hoped that somewhere along the line those paid to report the news would point out that most of what he says is meaningless or inaccurate. But his defeat was so total last night that the best they could do--until the poll results came in--was pretend it was kind of a draw with Bush maybe looking a bit out of sorts.
To us he looked like a man struggling to remember his lines. He'd clearly practiced reciting several statements, and did so--repeatedly--simply ignoring the questions he'd been asked in favor of getting his message out over and over again.
And this is where we have an issue. Given the seriousness of the situation that Mr. Bush's gross incompetence has put the country in, John Kerry needs to suggest to the American people that a president who simply says the same thing over and over and over and over again in direct contradiction to known reality is not "being resolute".
Mr. Kerry did mention Mr. Bush's odd, unfathomable "certitude", and in our opinion this aspect of the president's character deserves further consideration. Mr. Bush has often been very, very certain of things even as his opinions and positions change.
For instance, George Bush was certain, we've learned from his Harvard Business School professor, that the poor were lazy and that the New Deal was "socialism". He was certain he was in favor of the Vietnam War even as he was certain he didn't want to fight in it. He was certain he did his full duty in the Texas Air National Guard.
As a youth he was certain, we're told, that the rules that applied to others didn't apply to him. Presumably he was certain that consumption of alcohol and who knows what else wouldn't harm him.
He became certain it HAD harmed him right about the same time he became very, very certain about Religion.
He was certain he'd filed the required SEC forms when he sold his Harken Oil stock--though he hadn't. And he was certain the SEC had cleared him of wrongdoing in the matter--though they didn't.
He was certain he wouldn't endanger Social Security, or plunge the country into budget deficits. He was certain he hadn't been warned about impending terrorist attacks. He was certain the White House (or Air Force One) was a 9/11 target.
He was certain he didn't want an independent 9/11 commission. Then he was certain there should be one.
He was certain Osama bin Laden was public enemy number one, a man who could run but couldn't hide from us. Then he was certain bin Laden didn't matter in the grand scheme of the "War on Terror".
He was certain Saddam Hussein had WMD, had tried to obtain yellowcake uranium from Nigeria, had ties to al Queda, and was a "grave and gathering threat" to the US. He's just as certain now that those things didn't really matter.
He was certain the the Mission in Iraq was Accomplished. Then he was certain his people hadn't put that sign up. Then he was certain he'd never said those words. Now he's certain democracy and freedom are just about to flourish in Iraq despite the fact that his own intelligence agencies have told him otherwise.
He's certain that John Kerry "saw the same intelligence" on Iraq that he did. Though of course what John Kerry, the Senate, and all of America saw was the intelligence Bush's White House showed us.
He's certain that a vote for the Democratic nominee for president--a man with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts--is a vote for "the terrorists". He's probably certain he won the debate last night.
One thing about George Bush: he never loses his certainty. And he can certainly say the same thing over and over again.
Last night the refrain, in case you were on Mars, was that John Kerry "voted for the Iraq War" and sends "mixed signals" to our allies. This is also in direct contradiction to reality, of course, because, in the first instance, Kerry voted not "for the war" but to give the Mr. Bush the authority he said he needed and subsequently manifestly mishandled, and in the second, everyone--including Mr. Bush and our allies--knows that Mr. Bush has no credibility left anywhere they don't get Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, and that Kerry will be able to go back to the table and negotiate with our allies the deals for Iraq oil contracts in exchange for troops and money that Mr. Bush--because of who financed his election--could not.
But...we expect that not long after the GOP talking points have begun to bubble up in Murdoch-owned newspapers and Clear Channel-owned radio stations across the map, the public will be concerned not about the fact that George Bush grossly misled them into war, and continues to grossly mislead them about how that war is going, but rather about the fact that John Kerry said Osama bin Laden was in Afghanistan when "everyone knows" he's waaaaaaaaay over in Pakistan.
Wait a minute--how do they know where he is? Oh, nevermind.
The feigned media surprise at the initial positve poll results to Kerry's performace brought smiles to those of us familiar with the Senator; we knew, as did they, that he would impress America once America actually got to see and hear him. But it tells you all you need to know about the state of political news coverage that the true character of the Democratic nominee for president would surprise so many people mere weeks before the election.
Sadly, the buzz won't last. Within minutes the hacks had received their talking points and began what will surely be a weekend's worth of "readjusting" to the public opinion. It was amusing, however, to watch CNN's Candy Crowley struggle to get a coherent thought out in the moments between the end of the debate and before being handed the GOP script. Unable even to form a grammatical sentence, she looked like a player piano in a sequined pink blouse, bad wig--and no music roll.
George Bush was something else. We're told his great strength--besides his vast army of poop-throwing media monkeys--is his ability to "stay on message". There's surely no arguing that, although we'd have hoped that somewhere along the line those paid to report the news would point out that most of what he says is meaningless or inaccurate. But his defeat was so total last night that the best they could do--until the poll results came in--was pretend it was kind of a draw with Bush maybe looking a bit out of sorts.
To us he looked like a man struggling to remember his lines. He'd clearly practiced reciting several statements, and did so--repeatedly--simply ignoring the questions he'd been asked in favor of getting his message out over and over again.
And this is where we have an issue. Given the seriousness of the situation that Mr. Bush's gross incompetence has put the country in, John Kerry needs to suggest to the American people that a president who simply says the same thing over and over and over and over again in direct contradiction to known reality is not "being resolute".
Mr. Kerry did mention Mr. Bush's odd, unfathomable "certitude", and in our opinion this aspect of the president's character deserves further consideration. Mr. Bush has often been very, very certain of things even as his opinions and positions change.
For instance, George Bush was certain, we've learned from his Harvard Business School professor, that the poor were lazy and that the New Deal was "socialism". He was certain he was in favor of the Vietnam War even as he was certain he didn't want to fight in it. He was certain he did his full duty in the Texas Air National Guard.
As a youth he was certain, we're told, that the rules that applied to others didn't apply to him. Presumably he was certain that consumption of alcohol and who knows what else wouldn't harm him.
He became certain it HAD harmed him right about the same time he became very, very certain about Religion.
He was certain he'd filed the required SEC forms when he sold his Harken Oil stock--though he hadn't. And he was certain the SEC had cleared him of wrongdoing in the matter--though they didn't.
He was certain he wouldn't endanger Social Security, or plunge the country into budget deficits. He was certain he hadn't been warned about impending terrorist attacks. He was certain the White House (or Air Force One) was a 9/11 target.
He was certain he didn't want an independent 9/11 commission. Then he was certain there should be one.
He was certain Osama bin Laden was public enemy number one, a man who could run but couldn't hide from us. Then he was certain bin Laden didn't matter in the grand scheme of the "War on Terror".
He was certain Saddam Hussein had WMD, had tried to obtain yellowcake uranium from Nigeria, had ties to al Queda, and was a "grave and gathering threat" to the US. He's just as certain now that those things didn't really matter.
He was certain the the Mission in Iraq was Accomplished. Then he was certain his people hadn't put that sign up. Then he was certain he'd never said those words. Now he's certain democracy and freedom are just about to flourish in Iraq despite the fact that his own intelligence agencies have told him otherwise.
He's certain that John Kerry "saw the same intelligence" on Iraq that he did. Though of course what John Kerry, the Senate, and all of America saw was the intelligence Bush's White House showed us.
He's certain that a vote for the Democratic nominee for president--a man with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts--is a vote for "the terrorists". He's probably certain he won the debate last night.
One thing about George Bush: he never loses his certainty. And he can certainly say the same thing over and over again.
Last night the refrain, in case you were on Mars, was that John Kerry "voted for the Iraq War" and sends "mixed signals" to our allies. This is also in direct contradiction to reality, of course, because, in the first instance, Kerry voted not "for the war" but to give the Mr. Bush the authority he said he needed and subsequently manifestly mishandled, and in the second, everyone--including Mr. Bush and our allies--knows that Mr. Bush has no credibility left anywhere they don't get Fox News or Rush Limbaugh, and that Kerry will be able to go back to the table and negotiate with our allies the deals for Iraq oil contracts in exchange for troops and money that Mr. Bush--because of who financed his election--could not.
But...we expect that not long after the GOP talking points have begun to bubble up in Murdoch-owned newspapers and Clear Channel-owned radio stations across the map, the public will be concerned not about the fact that George Bush grossly misled them into war, and continues to grossly mislead them about how that war is going, but rather about the fact that John Kerry said Osama bin Laden was in Afghanistan when "everyone knows" he's waaaaaaaaay over in Pakistan.
Wait a minute--how do they know where he is? Oh, nevermind.
