Strategy for the debates

[neomonkey]

As we have learned, George W. Bush is the master of low expectations. His handlers have manipulated reality to such a point that he is presumed to have succeeded or done well or been the victor as long as he isn't reduced to the bumbling, flummoxed, brain-damaged idiot that we know he is.

This will once again play itself out during the next series of debates. As much as we may try to take solace in the fact that John Kerry is truly more presidential, more authoritative, that he is light-years ahead of Bush in the areas of eloquence and cerebral power, the truth is that if he is not careful, he will find himself in the same no-win, frustrating ambush that Al Gore found himself in 4 years ago.

I think much of the reason for this is the simple structure of the debates. They are genteel, processed, media whitewashed events - all of which works to Bush's advantage. Four years have passed and I think we've learned about this man who would call himself president. In the structured environment of scripts and rehearsed Q&A's, he can certainly hold his own. But we've all seen the pile of half-thoughts and dim-witted expressions he is reduced to when he is confronted with the need to speak extemporaneously. And more importantly, we have seen that when confronted with unexpected skepticism and criticism he is quite capable to blowing his top, and these are the moments when he is his worst.

Undoubtedly, during the practice sessions leading up the debates, Bush will be exposed to many of the usual attacks on his record - the economy, jobs, Iraq, the state of health care, maybe even OBL. When John Kerry brings these points up, Georgie boy will seem unflustered and the media will laud his excellent debating style.

As I see it, John Kerry's task is to push George W. Bush's buttons. Actually, I think he only needs to do it a couple of times to completely unravel the idiot king. Unfortunately, this might require that he "breaks from tradition", the tradition of debates as we know them. That is one factor which the Bushies can't account for...the off-the-wall, unexpected charges and/or accusations. It's risky - the possibility of alienating the voting public is there, but in my opinion it is the only way to defeat George W. Bush in the upcoming debates.

I've been vague regarding these "off-the-wall" subjects, but here on DU we've seen and heard them all...many of them seem to warrant further attention and consideration. Where there's smoke...

[mzmolly]

1. Good analysis.

:toast:

[MrBenchley]

2. Let's see first we have any....

They've already ducked out of one....My feeling is that Kerry should begin saying that the GOP is ducking debates and make Junior Flyboy have to DEMAND them.

[neomonkey]

5. Ha ha, I thought of something...

If Bush somehow ducks out of all the debates, a hilarious ploy would be for the Kerry campaign to create a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Bush which he can debate on a stage. They could play Bush's usual canned responses over a speaker. You're either with us or against us as an answer to every point Kerry makes :silly:

[MrBenchley]

7. Watch out....that could backfire...

Mario Cuomo walloped an idiot named Lew Lehrman in New York in 1982 who was trying that very thing with a cut-out of Mario Cuomo....

Cuomo was asked about the "debate" and said "I expect the cutout will win." The next time Lehrman tried it, he got laughed off the stage.

[rfranklin]

3. I heard about Bush's tendency to go ballistic and hoped that Gore would

"push his buttons" as you say. I thought it was absolutely necessary to show what a conniving asshole Bush is. Alas, it never happened. It would be so gratifying and beneficial if the news cycle was dominated for a week about Bush losing his cool.

If you saw his expression when that woman interrupted his acceptance speech and yelled at him, it looked like he was about to hightail it to the hills like he did on 9/11.

That's the Bush we know and love. We need to see more of him.

[neomonkey]

6. I think "pushing those Duh-bya buttons"

is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The risk is that John and Jane middle-America would think John Kerry was being mean and disrespecting the Commander In Chief.

[agingdem]

4. I think

Kerry has to laugh (a good belly laugh!) at the verbal diarrhea that Bush espouses. He has to ask him what all that crap coming out of his mouth means...basically make everyone see bush for the buffoon he is.

[against all enemies]

9. Great, The canned response from gore lost him the debates. It

looks fake and the public resents it.

[agingdem]

12. No...

Gore sneered and snickered. And the media was anti-Gore...they spun the debates in Bush's favor. They defined his inability to string words together to make a sentence as charming and self-effacing.

[kentuck]

8. Lower expectations...

and declare victory immediately thereafter. Do not accept a tie or Bush did very well comments..

[oldtime dfl_er]

10. good but...

the more I think about it, the more I think Crashcart Cheney is the chink in the armor. We can rail and rant all we want about W's shortcomings but people LOVE this idiot, for reasons I will never understand. Cheney is the weak link and that's where we need to put a lot of resources. Do people out there in the heartland know the evil this man has perpetrated in his life? The fact that he opposed the freeing of Nelson Mandela? The whole Halliburton issue? the secret energy commission, Valerie Plame, and on and on. This makes John Edwards a lot more important than many vp candidates have been in the past, and the vice presidential debates could be where this thing is won or lost.

These are just scattered early morning Sunday thoughts, and I admit I don't know much about Cheney, Im just saying that we do need to focus some energy on his evilness, concentrate some of our efforts on exposing his record, force him "into the light".

[neomonkey]

11. Good point

Cheney is in fact the keystone of the Bush Syndicate's agenda. I just fear that if he is ultimately discredited, they may have a fall-back strategy whereby he is dumped and replaced with a very palatable moderate Republican while Cheney The Puppet Master continues to call the shots from his secret bunker.