How are the debates going to go?

[bryant69]

I mean by all accounts President Bush and Rove have been running one of the dirtiest most negative campaigns in history; how is he going to look Kerry in the face? I know President Bush has no shame, but i would guess it would only take a few statements from Kerry to make explicit how dirty this campaign has been, and then President Bush has to answer it.

My guess is that they are doing everything they can to take that off the table; because that is where it might blow up for them. On the other hand they could be planning on a complicit media and a spinless Kerry to never ask the obvious questions.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[xray s]

1. I hope they plan on Kerry being spineless

because they will be in for a BIG SURPRISE!

[ClassWarrior]

3. Yes, haven't you heard?

Dubya is going to clean Kerry's clock. Since Kerry is such a stiff and Dubya is such a folksy, plain-spoken man.

(pass it on...) ;)

[Walt Starr]

2. Bush will win hands down. Kerry will be wiped up by him

That's the meme that should be pushed by us, anyway.

[bryant69]

6. Well I'm sure; but there is also the Credibility problem

I mean if people seeing the debate can see President Bush's lack of composure or his anger or his shallow thinking or whatever, it's going to be hard to spin.

[NewJeffCT]

8. Agreed

Bush will win folks over with his charming, down-home patriotic platitudes full of empty slogans, while Kerry will give long, fact-based, thoughtful answers and will come across as an aloof, intellectual elitist that is out of touch with mainstream America.

[Spinzonner]

4. Counterproductive: SOunds whiney and weak

There are bigger fish to fry. Let the voters decide that for themselves. Many studies have shown that voters tend to be turned off by negative campaigning. I'd speculate this is more true of independents and fence-sitters than those already ideologically committed, and those are exactly the voters that Bush needs to woo.

SO while a lot of negativity may juice the committed to them and enhance turnout, it might antagtonise the opponents into the same and lose the swing voters.

Hence, at a certain point it risks becoming an inneffective if not counterproductive tactic.

[sallyseven]

5. All Kerry has to do is point out that bush

is incompetent and watch bush blow up. Point out his mistakes in a round about way. bush is so nervous and unsure that he is going to win that anything to make him lose his cool is a good thing. He is depressed and the medication will make him expose himself as a dope.

[NewJeffCT]

9. sorry

Negative ads have been proven effective over many years of study. While people claim they dislike them, they leave an impression and are what people remember.

[Wheelie_Alex]

7. Kerry could do bad in the debates,

if Bush sticks to what he has been saying all along and ropes Kerry into having to define himself, voters are just waiting for Kerry to give drawn out convoluted answers with an out. The Bush camp has done this one thing well, the have made the general public see Kerry as a waffle and flip flopper and hopefully they won't get this impression from the debates.

[BillZBubb]

10. Kerry will win on all factual content; Bush* judged the winner.

The media and a majority of polls will say Bush* won. Bush* will be proclaimed more "presidential", more at ease, more straightforward. Kerry will be seen as more thoughtful, and therefore the loser.

Only in America!