Any possibility Shrub will give us a "Captain Queeg moment" in the first

[yellowcanine]

debate? I was reading about the Allawi press conference and it sounds as if Bush is beginning to crack under the pressure. I am waiting for the first reported sighting of the little steel balls.

[RobertSeattle]

1. Let us hope

Some pundit thought the reason Gore did his "hover" near Shrub during the 2000 debates was to get Bush to crack - but unfortunately it didn't work.

[On the Road]

10. Actually, Bush Did Crack

He flinched and kind of cowered, but no one in the media picked up on it.

[Carla in Ca]

22. It was noticed.

He was having problems with his ear piece. He was wired! I have already notified Kerry Camp.

[deckerd]

24. Bush Did Crack?

Bush is the Music Man. He's a Flim-Flam Man. Take us to war, he says, and I promise you we'll be greeted by a parade featuring 76 trombones, 6 reconstituted divisions of the Iraqi Army, and 9,000 weapons of mass destruction -- deliverable on the day before the US election.

[othermeans]

2. I know the democrats stole the strawberry ice-cream nt

[displacedtexan]

8. It was John Kerry! He acted alone! (eom)

[dave123williams]

3. If he's begining to crack...

Let's TURN IT UP A NOTCH.

[ncteechur]

18. I think smokes Crack!!?? Delusional and hallucinatory!!

[gordianot]

30. Not now

He is strongly medicated, they have probably eliminated most of his narcotics. I am of the opinion (there are competing diagnosis) he has a Narcissistic Personality disorder, and is delusional - which is a hold over from his ongoing history of substance abuse. His behavior has become very erratic lately. Most of the other adults in his life are either in denial or know the truth. You can bet someone is in control, or that there is someone close with whom he can rely on. Answering questions with Cheney in the room (9-11 Commission) was no accident there were real reasons he needed that.

This man is not well and has not been well for a long time, he is being used and is not in control.

[punpirate]

4. If you see 55-gallon drums...

... of industrial-strength Xanax going in the back door of the White House, you'll know how they're going to keep him under control.... :P

[Kierkegaard]

5. Y'know, I believe he's beginning to lose it.

In one of his screechy responses to a Kerry attack yesterday, he sounded reaaally side-tracked and defensive. His voice cracked and he sounded MORE like a blithering idiot than usual.

I'm sure there are going to be many more moments for the highlight reel before it's over...

[MnFats]

6. I have been predicting & expecting this.

something far worse than "Poland" was for Gerald Ford.
(look it up, youngsters.)
something appalling and ruinous.
it's almost guaranteed.
then * will chuckle and sneer, not even realizing he has trashed his chances......

[Rooktoven]

7. I think the debate fix is in--

They can't question each other OR respond directly.

[speedoo]

11. Kerry can still attack him in the debates.

He can simply rebut his assertions and say again and again "this president continues to mislead the American people.... he cannot fix these problems if he does not even recognize the truth"

This is now a well established attack line, one that the shrub is having a very difficult time dealing with. Because it's simply the truth.

If he keeps hammering away, the coWard will realize he is in way over his head and crack. A very real possibility.

The more aggressive the shrub tries to be, the more powerful Kerry's counterattacks and the more likely the coWard will implode.

[belle]

15. Right; think Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly on that C-SPAN2 show, remember?

Kerry can find all kinds of ways to send *'s blood pressure skyrocketing without directly speaking to him. Obviously he'll have to be more subtle than Franken. Still, * is very VERY nervous these days...i don't think it'll take much to send him over the edge...

[dave123williams]

13. That's OK.

Debates are moderated discussions. Keeps everything civil, hopefully.

[jean]

19. will they shake hands? If so, we'll have some good screen shots

Kerry's large hand will likely swallow bush's in that handshake. That, alone, should rattle the little rooster.

The RNC controlled media will jump on Kerry/Edwards immediately following each debate - and probably prior to them also.

I hope our side has some good ads to crank out to thwart the blanket media coverage/smear.

[Neshanic]

9. Chimp has Xanax salt lick blocks at the ranch.

"Ya know our leader shure can make purdy shapes from licking those things".

[Paradise]

12. That's * ! n/t

[belle]

14. Any one of the debates would do, and yes, that's what I've been hoping.

I suppose I wouldn't count on it--I'm sure they'll have him prepped and medicated to a fare-thee-well--but it certainly seems within the realm of possibility, doesn't it?

[skrunch]

16. Kerry needs to Poke him with Poppy

"Well. Mr. President...if the world is better off without Saddam, why did your father...(leave him in power, sell him WMD ad nauseum)?".

"Isn't your father responsible for the Kurdish massacred after he urged them to overthrow Saddam?"

"If Saddam was such a terrorist mastermind, who's running the show now?"

"Why do you constantly denigrate the reports from the George Bush Center For Intelligence?"

[grasswire]

25. yes......this is his achilles heel

Poking his old man carefully will bring meltdown. It has to be careful so it doesn't make him look victimized. It has to be on the issues, not personal.

[goclark]

27. That is his weak spot!

Put his father right out there with the sale of the WMD.

Most Americans are not aware of that fact.

[Doctor_J]

17. if queeg had had lithium available...

he could have fought off Van Johnson and Jerry Paris. Bush will be well-medicated for the debates.

[K8-EEE]

20. Kerry = Yale Master Debater, Bush = Fraternity Hazer

Ooooh my big fantasy is Kerry needles him JUST right and he cracks like Humpty Dumpty!

He looks about half way there already -- that Q&A today was hilarious!

[Bucky]

21. Is everyone in this thread falling for Karl Rove's spin? Seem to

Rove & company have been "managing expectations" for months now. That's what the whole elaborate dance about the debate format was about. Make like Bush is reluctant to debate against this smooth Yankee egg head coz, ya know, Dubya's jus' a good ol boy from Crawford who don't have no $5 words like Mister FancyPants Gone to Yale, Gone to Harvard Grad School from Taxachusetts.

Then Bush does his usual barely competent shtick thru the debates and everyone says, "wow, Bush held his own against Mr FancyPants Gone to Yale, so the debate's a "moral victory" for Bush. Gentlemen, spin your engines.

The fact is, Bush has been declared the winner of every debate he's ever been in. That line, "Jesus Christ is my favorite philospher, because he changed my heart" is farkin' brilliant. He always wins because everyone treats him like a special little kid and never plays rough with him. Then he's free to redefine the debate by making it about values, which he can parrot plenty good, rather than about, say, running the government and defeating terrorism, which he can't do for shit.

Repeat after me: Bush is a master debater. He's won every debate he's ever been in. He's much more likeable than Kerry. He needs to prove a command of the facts in order to win this debate. This is the meme we need to start repeating everywhere (meaning go off DU and get non-democrats and press monkeys thinking this way).

[aquart]

29. Bush is a master debater. He's won every debate he's ever been in.

Bucky, you speak true.

[Morning Dew]

23. I hope Old Yellowstain loses it.

"They were all disloyal. I tried to run the ship properly by the book, but they fought me at every turn."

[NightOwwl]

26. Remember his reaction

when a reporter asked him to compare Cheney with the new good-looking, charming and charismatic VP nominee? How he walked off the stage in a fit when questioned about his acquaintance with Kenny-Boy? When he kept telling that woman reporter to "lemme finish!" All examples of Bush in pure panic mode.

I would love to see Kerry get the same reaction from him within the 1st 5 minutes of the debate.

[radfringe]

28. how many errrr's and ummmm's?

bush* is in debate prep time, but will it be enough to un-learn the errr's and ummm's?

BTW - would someone post the bush* drinking game rules? I have a feeling we are going to need it