Massachusetts DU'ers, give me an example of Kerry's "closing" skills

[PlanetBev]

Can I expect some zingers? I'd like to see him coil up and strike like a cobra during the debates.

I miss that Bush "deer in the headlights" look.

[ikojo]

1. I am hoping that Kerry and * show up for Oct 8

debate at Wash U in St Louis....I am sure there will be many deer in the headlights look...I HOPE Kerry wont be like Gore and say "I agree" over and over again.

[phaseolus]

4. My memories of the first 2000 debate --

Gore, while not particularly "cuddly", had an amazing command of the facts. Bush was inarticulate and surly, blinking like Clouseau's crazy boss whenever he got mad. One commentator on the network I watched said that Gore was the clear winner for the same reasons I just listed, and was never heard from again. EVERY OTHER commentator heard in the following days said Bush was the clear winner ... presumably because he didn't wet himself in public.

I'm expecting pretty much the same thing this time -- Kerry being logical, commanding, and devastating; the supposedly liberal media using some bizarre metric & telling everyone that Bush was better.

:mad:

[ikojo]

5. My memories of the 2000 debate in St Louis was of being outside

Wash U in the protest pit. I live near Wash U and it was as close to a police state as I have ever seen. Never have I had to show my ID in order to go down the street on which I live.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. He destroyed Bill Weld in the debates during the '96 Senatorial race

I think Kerry has some aces up his sleeve. Weld was a well-liked Governor and can definitely debate. I have confidence in Kerry.

[sallyseven]

3. Kerry tells the truth Bush doesn't

So you can expect Kerry to smash hi. The debate against Weld was great. I was there. I fully expect to be saying President Kerry. If only the gd press would stop trying to bad mouth him we would be ok. Bush is bankrupting the country, selling out the environment, losing the war in Iraq, and he is insane. Where is the press while this is going on?

[WilliamPitt]

6. Kerry v. Weld 1996

http://www.time.com/time/international/1996/961007/senate.html

http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/DFPArchive/cityscope/1108962.html

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/september96/kerry_weld_9-19.html

[PlanetBev]

7. Thanks for the info, guys

Can't wait for the debates

[pacalo]

8. These two passages reveal similarities between Weld & the coWard-in-chief

If Kerry can sometimes sound like a scold, Weld always seems on the verge of poking fun. When he moved into the statehouse, Weld replaced Dukakis' portrait of Revolutionary hero Samuel Adams with one of James Michael Curley, the notoriously corrupt Boston mayor who once campaigned from prison.

His affability helps sugarcoat fiercely conservative fiscal policies that might otherwise be a tough sell in a state where only 13% of the voters are registered Republicans. Weld cut benefits to the poor, hiked tuition rates at state universities and passed an austere welfare-reform plan a year before Congress caught up. All but two of his tax cuts have benefited businesses rather than individuals, and his decision to accept money from political-action committees looks all the worse since Kerry turns down those contributions.

[nancyharris]

10. I think

"His affability helps sugarcoat fiercely conservative fiscal policies that might otherwise be a tough sell in a state where only 13% of the voters are registered Republicans."

is a telling remark. In a national race Kerry does not have the luxury of running against a 13% Republican base of Republican voters like he did in MA. Nor does he have the friendly Boston Globe or the friendly Boston TV stations to support his effort. This will be a much harder deal to close. I hope he is up to the task.

[KoKo]

9. Thanks for posting this Miss_Bevey...and those of you who gave info...

I've been hoping for a thread on this and it's great to have the links in one place for those of us not in Mass.

[cheshire]

11. I want Kerry to get smirky to say death so everyone can see his smirk.

I swear he get a woody over death.

[liberalpragmatist]

12. Um - remember the Primaries?

Virtually sweeping the primaries after being dead, dead, dead just a month before was quite impressive. (Now, I realize that his SWEEPING the primaries probably had something to do with the compressed schedule, but methinks that even if it had been spaced out, Kerry would've won, albeit after a more competitive race with Edwards or Clark and a narrower majority).

Remember that EVERY SINGLE PUNDIT, EVERY ANALYST, EVERY DONOR, and virtually EVERY POL had written Kerry off completely! The guy came in behind Sharpton in a national poll. He trailed Dean by over 30 points in NH and Clark overtook him thereafter. He was in distant third in Iowa. He had no press coverage, except for a lot of negative coverage after his late November campaign shakeup. EVERY SINGLE esteemed political pundit wrote him off, declaring that he was an "also-ran" - they weren't using bad judgement either. The fact is that Kerry's comeback in the primaries was the biggest primary comeback in modern political history - even more spectacular than Bill Clinton's, who never fell as far and never made up so much ground so quickly.

I think that's a pretty good sign of Kerry's often-underestimated political skills.