Kerry has to avoid the trap Mondale fell for in '84

[rumguy]

I recently watched the 1984 debate on foreign policy. In spite of what I'd heard, Reagan wasn't unbeatable in that debate. Yeah, he had his little one-liner, but overall he wasn't anything special. Reagan was old, and it showed. But the dynamic of the debate was such that Reagan was saying we had to do this much to keep us safe, and Mondale was saying we had to do what Reagan wanted but just not as much. In other words, it was a battle of who would do more - and in that case, when it comes to war and national security....the one who wants to do more almost automatically wins the debate. Instead of saying that Reagan wanted to do to much - Mondale should have framed the debate in terms of Reagan doing the wrong things to win the cold war. He tried, but he didn't do that effectively. It came off mostly as Mondale just wanting to do LESS than Reagan for the cold war.

I hope Kerry and his team recognizes this - from what I've seen in the past week I think they have. God I hope so....

[Wickerman]

1. I think Mondale recognizes this, too

He is often on area radio talking about his run for office. Matter of fact he was just on talking debates.

check out this link:

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/programs/midday/

[geek tragedy]

2. Those debates were meaningless.

People thought Reagan won even though he had a full minute of dead air.

He was a senile, dottering old man, and people just didn't care.

[WI_DEM]

3. Mondale won the first debate with Reagan in '84

and even closed the poll gap a bit, everybody was thinking he needed to go for the knock out in the second when expectations were high because the issue was "Is Reagan too old to be president"--based on his fuzzy performance in debate one. But as it turned out, Mondale had a cold and didn't look at all well in debate two--while Reagan had the old sparkle back in his eyes (that he lacked in the first encounter) and had that one-liner ready to go. When Reagan said, "I won't make an issue of my opponents youth and inexperience." Mondale should have countered with something like, "I don't think the president is too old--only his ideas." But Fritz, didn't have the energy he had in the first debate, unfortunately. Not that he would have beat Reagan--no democrat was going to that year--but he might have closed the gap more and picked off a few states which narrowly went to Reagan like, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland and West Virginia.

[rumguy]

4. I'd like to see that first debate

I keep hearing that Mondale clearly won it. He was definetaly lackluster in this second debate.

[Fuzzy LaRue]

5. Mondale threw himself headfirst

into his grave at the Democratic Convention. Everything after that was just sticking his finger in the dike.

[sangh0]

6. You are 100% right

Kerry needs to make sure that he frames his position as "I will do more of what we need. Bush* will only do more stupidity and lies", though I'm sure that could be phrased better.