what do you think BUSH will do in the debates ?

[JI7]

please give all of your thoughts on what you think bush will do in the debates. one thing i'm pretty sure he will do is when criticized on things he did wrong he will bring up saddam.he will try to make it seem that anyone who criticizes him is someone who supports saddam.

another thing he will do is try to make himself into a leader with straight talk who "stays the course" and "says what he means" unlike "the other guy who flip flops". and he probably wont outright accuse kerry of being a flip flopper or changing his mind, but he will keep hammering the point that he means what he says or whatever other shit and in it will be implied that kerry is a flip flopper.

what other things do you see him doing or saying ?

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. "the world is safer without Saddam"

"I made the right choices, we are fight the terrorists in their region"

This will be the gist. He will try to make it look a though Kerry was soft on Saddam. It's the same old cold war arguments dusted off for the 2000's

[Union Thug]

2. fear, paternal authoritarianism and..

over-ripe, pithy one liners designed to appeal to the average american schmuck that wants to drink beer with a spoiled rotten frat boy who never worked a day in his life.

Nothing will be new, nothing should surprise anyone, it will be the same bs, different day, same press fawning over the stupid jingoism.

[Bozos for Bush]

3. Lie and smirk a lot

No doubt those used car salesman skills are gonna come in handy for Bush - he'll stand there lying through his teeth like he always does, smirking and joking and probably even throw in a few God things. He'll spout over and over how he is against all independent ads and check off a list of all the terrible things that liberals have said about him, and probably convince half the people watching that he's the greatest thing since Moses.

Scary.

[madaboutharry]

4. I hope he starts to cry and

curls up in a little ball and pees on himself. Afterwards, Candy Crowley will tell us how well he performed.

[Nightjock]

33. LOL!

[cheshire]

5. Deny, lie, blame, smirk, lean on podium. Twitch his eyes,

He is famous for doing something and say that the other persons doing it.
I hope he developes a sever twitch in his jaw, saw it in his Dad at RNC.

[freesqueeze]

6. "Failure in Iraq is Kerry's Fault"

I think they are working up to this in their up is down campaign. They are starting to make noises that Kerry, by finally speaking the truth about Iraq, is supporting the Iraqi insurgents. I look for Bush in the debates to make a thinly veiled claim that it is Kerry's direct fault that our people are getting blown up over there. Never mind that this is Bush's war plain is simple. Black is white and a war hero is a coward in the Roveian universe.

[JI7]

11. oh, yes, he will play the "patriotism card"

try to claim things are bad because people are criticizing him. and turn criticism of bush into being against the troops and anti american.

[Leilani]

7. He will probably go after Kerry on not being tough enough

to lead the country...might bring up votes Kerry cast against weapons systems.

He will accuse Kerry of pessimism; he does that often.

He will try to portray himself as a down home average guy, while Kerry is an out of touch elitist.

He may congragulate himself on choosing Cheney as Veep, cause he is tough, too. He may question Kerry s choice of Edwards...because of his lack of natl security credentials. But Bush considers Cheney an asset, so he may use him.

He may raise intelligence budgets, & try to make it look like Kerry was against spending.

If Kerry brings up the failure to build a coalition, he may attack Kerry for voting against Gulf War I, when Bush Sr built a coalition.
He may try to use that vote to show Kerry is not only against this war, but ANY war.

He may use Kerry being a Senator against him. He may say Kerry is just 1 vote, & doesn t need to make tough decisions, like he has.

Just a few things he may use, IMO.

[JI7]

10. WOW

that's a lot of things i never thought of especially how bush could use the gulf war I vote against Kerry when he criticizes bush. but i can see them preparing bush for the debates with those talking points.

i hope kerry is ready to respond to these things right away in a short time while coming off as strong.

one reason i asked this question was to find out what things Kerry will have to deal with and should be prepared for. especially the specific things.

[WI_DEM]

8. He will be in "Compassionate Conservative" mode

and even try and act humble.

[Bozos for Bush]

9. My Fantasy

Maybe he'll snort a little cocaine and drink a few beers before the cameras, and tell the audience this is who he really is, and if they don't like it, tough shit, he's gonna win anyway.

Then the network cuts away for a commercial from Diebold.

[ronnykmarshall]

23. and then throw up like Poopie did in Japan.

[LunaC]

32. I have two fantasies

1) He'll be so overly medicated that he'll spontaneously start "speaking in tongues", pausing periodically to wait for the applause that never come.

2) He'll be so overly medicated that he'll nod off and his head will crash onto the podium with a resounding thud.

[feistydem]

12. Bush will repeat "Remember 9/11; Bad Saddam" and "I'm a plainspoken guy"

He's going to twist Kerry's words into a unrecognizable form and LIE LIE LIE, and since Kerry can't even ask him a direct question in the debates, we the viewers have to rely on the media whores to set the record straight.

Good luck with that.

[joanne]

13. The "debates" are going to be a farce

And I can tell you right now the media will declare Dumbya "won" them even if he wets his pants (which he probably will do).

Not sure if I will watch or not. I'll be to mad.

[sofa king]

14. He won't color outside the lines, that's how you can stick him good.

Going solely from my recollection of the 2000 debates, Bush never deviates far from the same points he makes in his campaign speeches. Hopefully Kerry's team has gone through whatever the President memorized last week and created sufficiently interesting responses. But they have a chance to really hurt Bush right out of the box.

Bush doesn't really debate. He makes sure that the debate structure is set up in such a way that he can repeat his memorized campaign platitudes. He also tosses in a handful of really powerful smears and hides behind the format. Bush used the debate structure to fairly great effect in the October 3, 2000 debate between Gore and Bush with his "phony numbers" line near the beginning of that debate.

John Kerry has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something similar right back. He can open up by saying: "Almost everything the President says tonight is going to be dishonest, distorted, or flatly untrue. The President has to be dishonest because you wouldn't elect him if you really knew how poor he is doing his job. The President may lie, but I promise you I will do my best to tell the truth to you tonight." Then he can challenge the press to check his and the President's statements and print them in the papers the following day--read the box scores, if you will.

That would knock Bush completely on his ass, because he can't improvise, and everything he has memorized really is bullshit. He'll have to tell his lies just to stay in the game. Kerry, on the other hand, can afford to stick to the boring truth, give the complex explanations, and still win the post-debate judging by forcing the papers to say, "yep, he was right" even if they shamelessly stump for the President.

[Tweed]

15. Sadly, I think he will smash Kerry

Bush is a wonderful debater.

[Julien Sorel]

16. Let's hope he says something like this:

BUSH: Look, this is a man who has great numbers. He talks about numbers. I'm beginning to think not only did he invent the Internet, but he invented the calculator. It's fuzzy math. It's a scaring -- he's trying to scare people in the voting booth. Under my tax plan that he continues to criticize, I set one-third. The federal government should take no more than a third of anybody's check. But I also dropped the bottom rate from 15% to 10%. Because by far the vast majority of the help goes to people at the bottom end of the economic ladder. If you're a family of four in Massachusetts, making $50,000, you get a 50% cut in the federal income taxes you pay. It's from $4000 to about $2000. Now, the difference in our plans is I want that $2,000 to go to you, and the vice president would like to be spending the $2,000 on your behalf.

A classic little Bush cheap shot. I've been looking at the analysis for this debate (their first), and not seen a single "pundit" call Bush on his "invent the internet" bullshit. This response, which was supposed to be about Medicare, is just rambling nonsense that runs away from the topic.

He's the "president" now, whereas before he was just the challenger. That suggests he might try to act presidential during the debates. But I doubt it. Nasty cheap shots are part of who he is, and in the current journalistic environment, nasty cheap shots are seen as a sign of toughness and character. "If you're willing to behave like an ass during debates, you'll behave like an ass towards terrorists!" seems to be in line with what passes for journalistic logic these days, so there is little to rein in his behavior.

[George W. Dunce]

17. Democracy, Freedom, Values,

9/11, 9/11, I know it was my fault but 9/11 anyway.

That is about what he'll say.

[Peanut Gallery]

18. Debate rules

I'm trying to find a link, but I heard this morning on the radio that there will be strict staging rules for the first debate. The camera will only be on the candidate who is speaking and not on the audience or other candidate; the questions are pre-screened, and if the moderator doesn't stick to the script the candidate has a right to not answer the question (or something like that); the candidates will not address each other... etc.

So this first "debate" will be more like a press conference than anything else, which will allow Bush to work within a carefully controlled format and arena. Because of this, no matter what Bush says or does he'll be propped up by the the stage managing and probably the media. What a farce.

It's extremely disappointing (though not surprising) that they can't just put both men on the stage and let them have at it - no earpiece, no script, no stage managing. It would be a slam dunk for Kerry.

[The Zanti Regent]

19. It doesn't matter because the PRESSTITUTES will say Bush Won

He could even drop a turd on the floor and the Broder/Kristof/Dowd types will STILL fawn and slobber all over him.

Kerry needs to go after the Presstitutes and tell them that if he is elected their whoring for the Nazis is over. PERIOD!

[Onlooker]

20. No attacks on American soil since 9/11

Bush's key point is, I kept you safe since 9/11, so why in the heck would you want to change course now?

I think the answer to that is several fold:
- Soldiers are just as valuable as civilians, and the fact that we've lost over 1,000 means we're not safe. Americans are still dying.
- You may have prevented attacks, but many Americans live in fear. That means you have not made them feel secure.
- 9/11 occurred 8 months into your Presidency. As Harry Truman said, "The buck stops here'; as Ronald Reagan said, I am responsible if it happened on my watch.

[Onlooker]

21. Some other thoughts

He'll probably use some vague religious reference, since that's who Karl Rove feels will win the election for him. I think the response to the religious should be about a society that helps it's poorest members. I think liberalism and the Christian right actually have some common ground here.

The moment Bush gets the chance, he'll talk from the heart about the brave men and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kerry should beat him to the punch. Kerry should sum up all his activism by saying he only wants to protect American lives, and that includes soldiers.

Where possible, he'll try to force Kerry into giving complex answers. For example, Bush will say in his whiny voice, "Saddam was a danger to America. Now he's gone. We're safer." Kerry needs a pithy answer. (Maybe, "Saddam's weapons are probably all over the world now. We're in a lot more danger.")

[Lerkfish]

22. everyone in the thread has good predicts...mine are:

just to keep it simple, these are the points/concepts he will need to get across (and will therefore use them repeatedly, even if they are only tangentially related to the question):

1. WAR ON TERROR:
B/C = Safer, K/E = inexperience, lack of resolve to be tough, will allow the terra-ists to win....(this has been their mantra for the last several weeks, they think its working, so they will keep on it)

2. 9/11:
(related to above, but worth its own category), Bush will shameless exploit the 9/11 victims, bring up heroic firemen, etc. Never mind that it was his biggest failure to keep us safe..oh no, that never occurs to the repugs.

3. Ad Hominems:
bush will spend a great deal of time on direct and indirect personal attacks against K/E -- I expect to hear "flip flop" at least five times, and "trial lawyer" at least three times. he will try to portray kerry as being a traitor at least three times under these umbrellas: Vietnam/fonda, that terra-ists want him to win (thereby implying he is in their pocket or vice versa), That his criticisms undermine the "war" effort in Iraq.


4. Stay the course.

5. support the troops (by not criticizing me)

6. "WE're positive about america's future, and don't buy into Kerry's negativity"


its all crap, passive aggressive bs and dodges of real answers.
Since the shrub cannot think on his feet, a list of talking points will be drilled into his head (or his nose), so you can expect tedious repetition of talking points. the word "terror" will be spewing out of his mouth like pez dispenser, and he'll be smirking and swaggering the whole time.

The only thing I'd advise Kerry to do is somehow p!ss him off. When he's angry, he forgets the talking points and can't speak coherently (ok, worse than usual), The whole "soverignty means you're soveriegn" flap came about because he was visibly ANGRY at being asked an unscripted question. If Kerry can find SOME topic or question that has not been ruthlessly rehearsed, that would be a watershed moment in the debates, because Bush will not be able to react on his feet, and will either NOT be able to answer coherently, or will fall back on the talking points that will be disastrously unrelated.

At this point, that's all I can hope and pray for, because as we saw in 2000, the media will tout him as the winner as long as he doesn't defecate on himself while talking.

;)

[Nancy Waterman]

26. I agree Kerry needs to pin him as dishonest early on

Give numerous examples of Dub lying to America, of which his lies about Kerry are only one subset. Then every time Dub says soemthing, Kerry can say: There he goes again!"

He also needs to point out the fear mongering as a tactic and remind America of FDR's words about the only thing we need to fear is fear. The GOP has its entire campaign built on it!!

In other words, move to a larger paradigm. The lies and the fear mongering rather than get caught defensively arguing the facts or he said/he said. Tell America they are being lied to and manipulated.

[bluedog]

24. All of the Above

Add to this............* will be his usual goofy self to appeal to the "ordinary guy"....he'll giggle.laugh.smirk.......appeal to the public who think they can bring him home for dinner........he'll bite his cheek......try to answer..........but skirt around the issues at hand.....9-11 will be main theme.......As well as Saddam being a bad man.....thats about all this man has.........

[goddess40]

25. Repeat what the voice in his ear piece says

There should be a way to jam the frequency so bush is all alone to figure out his own answers.

What will he really do? Bluster and Bullshit, if he says it forcefully and with enough nastiness his bushbots will give him the win, no truth is needed.

[Rose Siding]

27. He'll do that sick-sweet, faux-magnanimous, mimic-of-a-smile a lot

The earth could be quaking around him, but he'll stay on his assigned message. Buzz words: steady, leadership, faith, even "aw shucks" wouldn't surprise me.

He pays attention when his "fans" (citizens who've abandoned their obligation for a cheezy icon) compare him to actual people of merit, so every favored cowboy, matinee idol and literary figure mentioned will probably get a moment, as long as he doesn't have to crack a book to learn anything about them.

Image, posturing, image.

[Kahuna]

28. I inherited a recession and an a woefully neglected military..

I'm a wartime president... blah blah blah. Blech.. :puke:

[Leilani]

29. I forgot a Rupug oldie but goodie

Kerry wants to turn over our foreign policy to the U.N.

Because Kerry wants more international help in Iraq, Bush will twist it to appear that Kerry will put Kofi in charge of our foreign policy.

Bush will assure Americans that no ferrigners will run our FP.

[Lerkfish]

31. unless their names are Chalabi, Alawi, Sharon, or related to the Sauds

I mean, you gotta choose your furrin benefacteeers carefully!

[HEIL PRESIDENT GOD]

30. "Soft bigotry of lowered expectations"

"judges who believe in a strict interpretation of the law"

"God has endowed every human being with the desire for freedom"

"Americans of Faith need to get involved"

[moondust]

34. Recite his memorized sound bites.

Whether they address the question or not.

[genius]

35. Come up with surprise info that there is no time to check out

It will either be about terrorism, Iraq or about Kerry.

[cheshire]

36. I want him to laugh hard that white powder blows out his nose.

[depakid]

37. Spit out canned rhetoric

full of broad platitudes, misrepresentations and few promises he has no intention of keeping. Same thing as last time.

Hopefully, Kerry will get good advice and respond to Bush, putting him on the defensive about the many things he lied about in the last debates (the implication is that if he lied then, he's lying now).

But I'm not counting on it.