DU Debate Prep: Let's get Kerry ready. Want to help? Click here.

[WilliamPitt]

Kind of a neat project here. Let's come up with as many things we think Kerry could get hit with in the debates, and then devise an appropriate response to that. Example:

Bush: I don't understand my opponent's position on Iraq. After all, he voted yes on the Iraq War Resolution. He was for it then and against it now?

Kerry: I voted yes on the resolution to give you the necessary strength with the UN and the Hussein regime to perform weapons inspections. Any weapons inspection regime in Iraq requires the threat of force. The Senate gave you the ability to disarm Iraq without going to war, and you catastrophically misused that power.

Go.

[hippiegranny]

1. how about this:

Kerry hammers the little war whore into a bloody pulp with every chance he gets. No more Mr. Nice Guy. The media is gonna call it for the Chimp no matter what, might as well knock him off balance to the point that the public will actually take notice.

[WilliamPitt]

2. That's the music

Now we need the lyrics.

[senseandsensibility]

3. I agree

hit him hard and hit him with everything. Keep it simple. Even the answer William posted above, while good and an improvement on previous Kerry explanations, is too long. Hit hard and simplify. That's my advice. Oh, and don't give a flying * what the media thinks. They work for *. What do you think they're gonna think?

[question everything]

133. Agree. Replies should be short and simple

and use them for the next topic attack.

We created chaos. We replaced a dictator with bands of terrorists that endanger our lives. We spend millions to rebuild a country while many Americans have lost their jobs and their access to health care. Some even went to Iraq to provide for their families only to be killed there.

[kori]

232. How about this

Give bush credit, he has done something no one has been able to do in a 1,000 years. Not since Richard the Lion Hearted has Muslims been so united in their desire to kill someone else.

On the 87 billion supplemental vote. It was not 87 billion for body armor for National Guard troops it was 67 Billion for troop support and 20 Billion for the likes of Haliburton. However, no one is asking the real question about that hurried vote. What in HELL were 40,000 troops doing in Iraq without appropriate armor to begin with???

[Cha]

53. "Music" to my Ears!

bush: .. I am not going to abandon the Iraqi People..

Kerry: No one said anything about abandoning the Iraqi People..we just want our Soldiers to come home safely ..Not in Box! I will bring the World into this coalition because after the Terrorist Hornets Nest that is Iraq now..it will be in the World's best Interest to help the People of Iraq and disolve the terrorist organizations.

And when you say "abandon"..I'm thinking the American People feel you have abandoned them..

And then go on to say the myriad of ways that bush has abandoned us..

1)National Security at Home!
2)The Environment
3)Education
4)medicare
5)Housing
6)Social Security(don't even think about privatizing it for your wall street buddies, bush!
7)Cutting Firemen and Policemen pay
8)Cutting Veterans benefits
9)Extending the ban on Assault Weapons(maybe Kerry doesn't want to touch this)

[Joe Turner]

134. Yep, that will do it

"Kerry hammers the little war whore into a bloody pulp with every chance he gets. No more Mr. Nice Guy. The media is gonna call it for the Chimp no matter what, might as well knock him off balance to the point that the public will actually take notice."

[hlthe2b]

4. On that question, I sort of like Randi Rhodes' short, sweet response:

I voted Yes to the IWR authority "because I TRUSTED my President."

I might add: I trusted him when he said that he needed this authority to preserve the peace and that war would be waged only as a last resort. I trusted the President, but he broke his word, and in retrospect, I was wrong to do so.

[grannylib]

9. Hey that's good.

[Nancy Waterman]

78. That is along the lines of what I was thinking too

"The one mistake I made was believing the word of my president. He promised to let the inspections proceed and he purposely derailed them in his rush to war. Saddam didn't throw the inspectors out. Bush did! Bush claimed Saddam was hiding weapons, but the inspectors all said they could find nothing and doubted anything was there. Bush broke his word to Congress and to the American people when he rushed us into war.

[Smarmie Doofus]

199. Good... simple.... and sure to echo through...

the media long after the debate itself. And it says a lot.

Paul

[Zhade]

218. Dishonest (unless Kerry is an idiot), but effective.

Considering b*sh stole the 2000 election, and his foreign policy is crafted with the help of people that Kerry investigated like convicted-then-pardoned Iran-Contra figure Michael Leeden, Kerry would have to have been a BLIND IDIOT to trust b*sh.

That said, I'm not above Kerry saying he trusted b*sh if it connects with the average voter. Unfortunately, it perpetuates a Big Lie - that no one at the time of the IWR could have known b*sh shouldn't be trusted.

Of course, millions knew not to trust him, real-time debunking of WMD rationale was rampant in respectable media sources, and many brave Dems (and a few Reps!) in Congress knew and voted against the IWR. But since I don't see Kerry honestly owning up to his pro-war vote anytime soon, might as well go with what works, since principle doesn't seem to be important anymore.

Still wish we had the 1971 Kerry.

[drbtg1]

234. Make it two birds, one stone

"Here's the mistake the media always makes. I, along with the rest of the Senate, didn't vote for war. The Senate voted giving the President the authority to go to war as a last resort. This was necessary to get the inspectors back in, to make Saddam think he would be crushed if he didn't let them back in. Anybody who has ever played poker should understand that.

Unfortunately, this President abused the trust the Senate gave him. This leads to the mistake I made: I trusted this President, that's my mistake. You see, unlike you, Mr. President, I can actually admit when I made a mistake. That trust I gave you was my mistake. Rest assured, I won't make that mistake again."

Actually with the slam on the media, make it three birds.

[kentuck]

5. He "flip-flops" more than a fish out of water..."

Flip-flopper. A very damaging charge which Kerry has not yet addressed and may be hurting him more than just about any ohter issue. He needs to do something to disarm those that make those charges. Without a doubt, that will be aimed squarely at him during the debates. He could say:

Mr Bush at first said he was against Homeland Security. When he saw it was inevitable, then he was for Homeland Security. At first, he was even against a 9/11 investigation to find out about what happened on 9/11. Then he was for it. A few days ago, he said we could not win the "war on terror" and then, the next day, he says we will win the war on terror. Then he has the gall to call someone else a "flip-flopper". The fact is, George W Bush is the master "flip-flopper" of the world.

[grannylib]

8. Exactly! And that has been the Rethuglican 'strategery' from the

beginning: find all the areas of Chimpy's weakness, and accuse Kerry of those flaws. And the media obediently cooperates.

Bush oughta be working at IHOP. Or maybe try out for the Olympics or something.
But mostly, he's just a FLOP.

[MuseRider]

21. Also in reply to the flip flop

criticism. It is not flip flopping when you change with the flow of the world and information. It is called being intelligent. Intelligent or belligerent, the people need to decide.

[poppabear36]

57. Is that a "chembow" in that picture?

n/t

[MuseRider]

59. No clue!

Had not thought of that. Hope not.

[mconvente]

27. shrub is the ultimate flip-flopper

I really think Kerry needs to get that out to the public during the debates. We have all seen examples of Bush floppin all over the place (per the above post). It hasn't been in the Kerry campaign's moves yet, but I think they should do it. Bush somehow in this crazy nation leads in honesty and decisiveness (even though all of his decisions are wrong) but if Kerry can respond to Bush's attacks on him as a flip-flop by using all those examples of Bush changing position, then I think it will be a key point for Kerry.

[kentuck]

I believe he has not talked about it because...

he might think it will only focus more attention on himself as a flip-flopper. However, if he does it at the right moment, as in the debate, it will be a headline in the next days paper. "Kerry calls Bush the Ultimate Flip-Flopper". That would be worth several points in the polls, in my opinion.

[goclark]

132. At the first mention of the word FLIP FLOP from *

Kerry needs to repeat the words of MMoore...

Kerry: It pains me to tell you this in front of the American people but you asked for it and I will give it to you.

Your Miscalculations and MisInformation to the American People have lead me to declare your administration...
A Flop on the War on Iraq
A Flop on the Economy
A Flop on the Patriot Act
A FLOP on Health Care

Add it all up and your FLOPS and "MISCALCULATIONS" have not served the American people well.

To "Flip, " or change course when given new information, is the trade mark of LEADERSHIP. To SIT and DO NOTHING, in times of grave danger,misses the mark.

[jayctravis]

136. isn't there a wise Chinese proverb...

about what survives in the gale force hurricane? The mighty unbending Oak, or the flexible Reed?

[Onlooker]

142. Also regarding flip flopping

What they call flip-flopping, most people would call negotiating. What they call flip-flopping is actually part of the process of finding a middle ground.

[ModerateMiddle]

195. My proposed response to the Flip Flop thingie

We live in a very divided country. There are good people on both sides of every debate. And each side has legitimate points. Rarely do the solutions and answers come from the extremes on either side.

What my opponent and his surrogates have alleged is that trying to find the answers in the middle, where the vast majority of not just Americans, but the whole world occupy - is flip flopping. Listening to both sides and hearing their legitimate arguments is "flip flopping".

I listen to all sides when I need to make a critical situation. I get all the facts and recognize the arguments on all sides. I take all of this in, and when it is time to decide, I can then make a wise choice - a choice that won't further divide this country or the world.

[Smarmie Doofus]

200. Makes total sense, and lets hope...

thats the way he thinks. Alas, I doubt that reason, sense and logic are going to predominate in this arena... i.e. a presidential campaign. In my experience, they NEVER have.

Sad to say... a good one liner is the way to go here. Making Bush's innumerable flip-flops the issue is a better idea.

Neutralizes an issue that has been... unreasonably... working for the other side.

Simplistic, sure. Opportunistic, I suppose so. But I'd rather Kerry be "president than right" at this point.

This is the way the game is played.

Paul

[grannylib]

6. I always thought it might be good for him to say something like this:

"Yes, I can see how my position on Iraq could confuse YOU. After all, it's been based largely on the information you have given the American people, and that changes every other time you open your mouth. 'WMDs - no WMDs. Osama dead or alive - Don't know, don't care. Iraq oil revenue will pay for the war - cough up more billions. Mission accomplished - lots of work still to do.'
Why don't YOU tell us the truth about Iraq, and then I would be happy to respond, if you can manage to encumber yourself with some facts."

But nicer, ya know what I mean?

Bush is such a fuckin' little liar. WHY can't people see how pathetically unfit he is for ANY office other than shit-scraper??

[senseandsensibility]

10. Good!

And it doesn't need to be nicer, just smoother.}(

[strategery blunder]

131. Change the word 'encumber'

Too intellectual, you know.:eyes: Keep in mind that people other than DUers will watch the debates. I had a freeper tell me that they were voting for $hrub* because Kerry is (in their words) an "elitist snob."

[Psst_Im_Not_Here]

164. HA! Know what you mean!

I challenged a former friend of mine on the "Pledge of Allegiance" email. She wrote me back and said she wasn't going to argue with me because I always talked down to her with big words.:eyes:

[SammyWinstonJack]

224. What the hell do they think bush* is?

Some regular Joe Sixpack? The bushes are total ELITIST SNOBS! Some people truly are too stupid to vote.

[Kahuna]

172. Great, grannylib!!! I like it!!!

:yourock:

[BootinUp]

7. Bush: My Opponent voted against armor and weapons for the soldiers

Kerry: You sent the soldiers into battle unprepared. Then belatedly you wanted to borrow money to do it instead of paying for it. I voted for the bill that would have paid for the cost, the bill you would have vetoed.

In protest, after it was clear my vote would not be a deciding vote, I voted against borrowing more money, and further harming the economy with an irresponsible bill. This irresponsible bill is the one you signed.

[mimitabby]

11. good!

[grannylib]

12. Nice! That is a very succinct way to put it. Bet even the sheeple might be

able to understand that.
Kerry needs to hit Bush RIGHT BACK with the flip-flops, and the debates are a great place to do that...lots of people will be watching. We need to remind them of all the Naked Emperor's lies and spin and idiocy.

[kentuck]

15. "My vote could not stop support from the troops...your veto could..."

My vote had no bearing on whether or not the troops got what they were supposed to get and what they should have had before they were sent into battle. Mr Bush threatened to veto the first bill to support the troops because he preferred to protect his wealthy friends rather than to ask them to pay their share. Eventually, the Congress put it on the credit card.

[Papa]

89. I would make it even simpler, and put it back on Bush

Sheeple have no clue that Bush threatned to Veto the 87 billion.

If Bush brings up the 87 billion, "i was for it b4 i voted against it" Kerry needs to hit back with this:

"Mr President, you know very well that you threatend to veto that same $87 billion. YOU WERE AGAINST IT BEFORE YOU WERE FOR IT.

Why don't you tell the American people why you threatened to veto that same $87 billion dollars. Could it be that you were against the troops and wanted them to fail? (said in a tone mocking Bush mocking him, yet making it clear that neither one of them want the troops to fail)

Mr President, I think it's shameful and disrespectful to the office of the Presidency and the people of the United States that you lower yourself to the gutter to falsely attack me and my patriotism. I know what war is like Mr President. Do you really think I would not support our soldiers in in their time of need? Do you really believe that Mr President? .......... Have you no shame sir?


I think Kerry should call Bush on the carpet and ask him for explanations that Bush wont be able to answer (which wouldn't be hard). and he should use logic, humor, and emotion to destroy Bush and belittle him....In the same way that Benson took out Quayle in the debates.. I would just die to see a moment like that.

[Zhade]

219. "YOU WERE AGAINST IT BEFORE YOU WERE FOR IT. " Very good!

It echoes b*sh's "you were for it before you were against it" meme.

[Lefergus70]

225. That's great: "...put it on the credit card"

Kerry would be better off using that term than "deficits". How about, "This government is putting the war on the credit card, and there's no money in the bank."

[grannylib]

19. Did anyone else hear that one of the reasons the soldiers in Iraq did not

get body armor is because it got diverted to Bro' Jebby's state so that the riot police would not suffer at the highly dangerous hands of the peaceful unarmed WTO protesters? I noticed on the coverage of that event that all the Florida cops were armored to the hilt.

[ReadTomPaine]

61. One for the body armor/planning question here...

“I don’t like people who don’t plan for things, Mr. President. In the Senate it’s our job to make sure that you do your job, especially regarding matters of war. When you shirk that responsibility, you can expect us to call you on your behavior regardless of your opinion on the matter."

RTP

[Pirate Smile]

119. Bush wanted to put it on our children's and grandchildren's credit card.

[Kahuna]

190. Good response, Jim..

:thumbsup:

[ModerateMiddle]

196. I voted for the money to support the troops

and against having our grandchildren pay for it.

[blondeatlast]

13. Bunny: "My opponent is soft on terrorism; we'll be less safe with him in

office."

Kerry: "I hit the terrorists where it hurts the most and is the most effective--I cut off their funding.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082704D.shtml

And my ooponent happily accepted a loan from the same source."

[tjdee]

22. Oh, snap.

Fantastic.

[Arkana]

14. How's this?

Bush: Well, if you had your way, Saddam would still be in power.

Kerry: When have I ever said this? Once again, the President is putting words in my mouth. As you yourself have already stated, I gave you the authority to disarm Saddam Hussein, but to use force as a last resort, and you hamfistedly misused it, Mr. President. It seems to me that you have had your way and that Osama bin Laden is still in power.

[BootinUp]

26. I like the Osama twist :)

[ReadTomPaine]

40. Here's an alternate...

"The 10,000 casualties of this war are not an acceptable price to pay to settle your family vendettas in Iraq, especially when the precious resource of our fighting men and women are so desperately needed for the greater task of capturing Osama Bin Laden and his followers."

RTP

[mzmolly]

149. Heyyyyy, were on the same page-o.

;)

[trueblew]

122. The President has enough trouble with...

the words coming out of his own mouth, that he should not be putting words in my mouth.

[Mortos]

187. Better response

Kerry: Well you have had your way for 4 years Mr. President and the architects of 9/11, Osama bin Laden and his henchmen are still in power.

[K. F. Gibbons]

16. Kerry's response to everything should be.

"every time I hear you speak I am more convinced that you have no idea what you are doing, that makes you a very very dangerous man."

[leftist.]

42. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Nice (n/t)

[senseandsensibility]

43. Genius!

:) If only...I would give a lot to hear that!

[kentuck]

51. The truth is so powerful !

:)

[Old and In the Way]

56. Concern for Bush's emotional well-being.

Kerry should suggest an early retirement might be in Bush's, as well as this country's, best interests.

Kerry should announce a major multi-billion plan to declare War on War-profiteers and terror financiers. Tell the American people that he will put the full weight of the federal government into serious investigation/prosecution. That should cause Bush to poop in his pants.

[Leilani]

17. How about Bush has not made us safer!

We are less safe under his reckless policies...he has alienated the world.

Bush has neglected homeland security...recent report shows explosives & weapons passing through airports...

How many successful trials & convictions have there been against terrorists?

Who gets held responsible for all the mistakes made in this administration?

Are we safer by stretching our military to the breaking point? Back to back tours? Using guard & reserve troops as active duty troops?

Why is the poverty rate rising? Why is the income gap rising?

Why are jobs at McDonalds counted as manufacturing jobs?

Why do people need to sign loyalty oaths to hear you speak? Are you President of EVERYONE or only those who agree with you?

You ran as a uniter, not a divider...why is the country so divided?

Sorry I went on such a rant...I didn t know we were being so strategic!

[kentuck]

54. We would have been safer if....

Mr Bush had went into Afghanistan and captured or killed Osama bin Laden and not permitted the terrorists to re-group. That would have cut off the head of the snake if he had not been diverted by Iraq and Saddam Hussein. It will go down in history as one of the greatest military blunders of recent memory.

[elsiesummers]

125. W=weaker at home: Bush outsourced Nat. Guard: US unprotected if attacked.

Since Bush has sent the National Guard overseas, either

(1) Bush believes there is no imminent threat of attack on the homeland and the orange alerts are a fear mongering political tool

or

(2) he has drawn down the National Guard to a point that the US is unprepared and unprotected if a large scale attack (chemical, biological, dirty bomb, nuclear power plant, power grid) were to occur - playing into Al Quaida's hands perhaps - leaving homeland unprotected by National Guard if needed on US soil.

[ReadTomPaine]

18. Here's another, shorter answer for the opening question...

Here's another :

"I voted yes because you asked me to trust you, Mr President. I won't make that mistake again and neither will the American People"

RTP

[tjdee]

20. EXCELLENT.

If Kerry said that I'd kiss my televion.

[BootinUp]

23. Yep, I LIKE it.

[blondeatlast]

28. BAM.

Perfect.

[More Than A Feeling]

31. Game, set, match!

If Kerry said that, it would be over. No question. It's succint, sharp, and there is absolutely no answer to it. None. Kerry would be carried off the stage on the shoulders of his supporters and Bush would be left stammering as the janitor quietly sweeps up in the background.

I love that mental image!

[bling bling]

39. Yes

And he could follow it up with a little jab by using the proper version of the old saying that Bush once butchered:

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

[Old and In the Way]

58. I like that.

Kerry has to work that into his answer....perfect!

[senseandsensibility]

48. OMFG

So perfect.

[senseandsensibility]

50. PLEASE, I beg you....

e-mail this to the Kerry campaign.

[blondeatlast]

64. BAM again. nt

[cheshire]

117. Yes and tompaine is great.

[goclark]

138. PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Short, sweer and to the P O I N T!

I also like it because it starts off not putting him down and then he zings it!

[Onlooker]

143. Making America safe

Bush: We have not had an attack on American soil since 9/11
Kerry: If doesn't matter if they attack us here or in Iraq. We lost 1,000 young men and women in Iraq. They are Americans to. Many Americans live in fear. Your failure to defeat Al Qaeda has meant the need to regularly call orange alerts, and there's no end in sight.

Bush: We saved the world from a madman, Saddam Hussein
Kerry: Hussein served a purpose for our security. His hatred of Iran help keep the Iranian military in check. His thirst for power made him an enemy of Al Qaeda. While no misses Saddam Hussein, replacing him with anarchy serves the interests of Al Qaeda.

Bush: After 9/11 I helped bring this country together
Kerry: You were slow to act, Mr. President. Your admnistration did not heed Mr. Clinton's advice about the danger Al Qaeda represented. You finished a photo op before dealing with the attack on America; rather than look terror in the eye, you and Mr. Cheney refused to return to Washington, D.C.; and you even waited 4 days before finally visiting New York City.

[VOX]

165. This one clears the fence by several hundred feet!

Nice! :thumbsup:

[Pobeka]

205. I trusted you to make a genuine effort to let inspections succeed.

Instead, you carelessly cast aside the inspectors, and started a war that continues to sap our military strength while the real terrorists grow stronger because of your historic mistake.

[Hamlette]

24. because Bush told me the IWR did not mean we were going to war

Bush lied because he does not trust the American people or congress. He thinks we are all idiots.

America's standing in the world: The rest of the world does not hate Americans, it hates Bush. They feel sorry for us and will forgive our mistake in letting him steal the WH once. If we vote him in again, the world may come to see all of us as war mongers, loose cannons, imperialists...

Why we need the rest of the world: I won't let anyone push me around but I won't go around picking fightes unnecessarily which Bush has done. Think about it, if there is a burglar in your neighborhood, you form a neighborhood watch group to fight the threat. You don't go out of your way to piss everyone off, start a fire down the street and then ask them to help you put it out.

I want to clear something up. If we knew then what we know now, and Bush had still asked for the IWR, we wouldn't have had a vote on it, we would have told Bush to adjust his medications.

Bush is steadfast alright. He has two answers. If it has to do with foreign policy, start a war. If it has to do with the economy, cut taxes. Look what a fine mess it has gotten us into.

[Kahuna]

173. Don't forget his LIE that he was going back to the UN for another vote..

before going to war. Instead he kicked out the inspectors and attacked Iraq. That one was a doozy.

[blm]

25. Bush: My opponent has no understanding of the war on terror.

Kerry: In fact, Mr. Bush, if you weren't such a drunken waste of skin during the 80s, you would know that I was the first lawmaker going after terrorists and exposing their criminal financial networks. If so many Republican thugs working in the Bush administration hadn't tried to protect the terrorists' banks and helped me bring them down instead of working against my efforts to expose them, then justice would have shut down the terrorists networks LONG before a 9-11 happened.

Here's a copy of a book I wrote in 1996, The New War, about global terrorism and its funding. You can read it or put it on a shelf right next to the Hart-Rudman report on global terror you were handed on Jan30,2001 and refused to read.

[camby]

36. In that same vein:

Bush: My opponent has no understanding of the war on terror"

Kerry: On the contrary, I would say that it is Mr. Bush who has no understanding of the war on terror. His father knew that starting a war in Iraq was sheer lunacy. The danger of getting embroiled in a quagmire that could only result in civil war should have been obvious to anyone with even a rudimentary grasp of history. Furthermore, fighting terrorists with conventional armies is not only ineffective, but it diverts valuable military resources, thereby weakening our defenses. Mr. Bush chose the battlefield of Iraq because his advisors misled him into thinking that it would be an easy victory - much easier than defeating the real culprits of 9/11. His only mistake was in thinking that the American people would be gullible enough to fall for the bait and switch.
(i hope!)

[bling bling]

29. This is all Kerry needs to say about voting against the 87 billion:

Quoted from Factcheck.org:

"For the record, the body-armor money amounted to just over 1/3 of 1 percent of the $87 billion supplemental bill that Kerry opposed."

http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=155

It's amazing that the media doesn't seem to ever point this out. Oh wait...nevermind, I fogot the media doesn't bother with the pesky details.

[BootinUp]

41. Good point

But does he not need to address the other 99.67%?

[bling bling]

67. He should put that ball in Bush's court

One of the major RW talking points is that Kerry voted against the 87 billion proposal to 'protect' the troops. When Bush brings it up in the debate that Kerry voted against money to provide body armor for the troops, Kerry can point out that only 1/3 of 1 percent was for the body armor. Then...he should put the ball in Bush's court by demanding Bush explain what the other 99.67% was for.

1 of 2 things will happen. Most likely, Bush will get the deer in headlights look and bumble nonsensically.

OR, by some miracle, Bush somehow manages to remember the highlighted items from the proposal such as those outlined in the following article from the WP:

"Of the president's request, nearly $5.8 billion would go toward rebuilding Iraq's electricity system. An additional $2.1 billion is earmarked for its oil infrastructure, $3.7 billion for water and sewer building, $800 million for telecommunications and transportation improvements, and $900 million to upgrade hospitals and health care."

Then....Kerry can slam Bush by saying. Well, I did my homework on your proposal, and the fact is that it was a rip-off for the American taxpayer. It (quoting Rep. David R. Obey (Wis.) -- "allocated $157 per Iraqi for sewage improvements, compared with $14 per American, for example. The administration is devoting $38 per Iraqi for hospitals, compared with $3.30 per American."

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A26677-2003Sep17?language=printer

[BootinUp]

70. You're a wealth of info bling. :-)

I could see Kerry piccking one of those stats to make a strong point in connection with the word Halliburton or Bechtel.

[blue neen]

30. A question about drilling for oil in the AWR?

Bush: My opponent here opposed drillin' fer more oil up in Alaska.
I say we open up those fields to help bring down the price of oil fer the amarrikun people.

Kerry: Ruining the environment and the wildlife habitat in Alaska will not produce the oil we need (HELP ME OUT, WILL! I need a short, sweet answer for this).

[WilliamPitt]

34. Destroying a natural treasure for six months worth of oil ten years

from now is the kind of short-sighted messy decision-making that has been the hallmark of the Bush administration to date.

[blue neen]

37. Excellent! Thanks.

[ReadTomPaine]

52. Here's one...

"Drilling every drop of oil from that region will only gain a few months of national oil supply, Mr. President. Then what? That resource and its pristine environment will be only a memory by that point. So shall we move on to the next national treasure and despoil that as well? When does it stop? When do we draw the line?"

RTP

[democrat_patriot]

153. Kerry: "If the y found oil under the White House, would you

drill there? The Grand Canyon? New York Harbor? Wouldn't it make more sense to look for alternatives? And end our dependency on the middle east? Let's make America Independent!!"

[hatrack]

105. 3% of the world's oil lies within the United States

97% of the world's oil does not. World demand for oil is insatiable and continues to grow. Drilling in the refuge would not alter our dependency on oil imports in any significant way. There's one chance in twenty that it might contain half as much as Prudhoe Bay did, and those odds aren't great.

But, Mr. President, I'll tell you what would make a difference. Raising fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks by (fill in figures/percentages here), as I have proposed to do.

Something else that might help - getting rid of a ridiculous tax deduction that allows realtors and florists to deduct $100,000 from their taxes for buying a Hummer as a "business expense".

Another thing that might help - actually funding mass transit instead of staging pretty little photo ops around Earth Day every year.

More to come later.

[jpgray]

That response to the IWR charge is weak

I would suggest bringing Roosevelt into it:

'We gave him the big stick so he could speak softly, and instead he bashed somebody over the head with it, sabotaging or snubbing every diplomatic solution to the problem. Bush said many times before that vote that he wished to use it for peace. Soon after the resolution passed, it has become clear that he was lying to us, and to the American people.'

Remember that during the runup Bush said that the IWR was a measure for peace, NOT for war. Of course we all knew it was horseshit and Kerry should have as well, but the public will want to know why Bush has changed his mind on the vote, calling it one for war these days.

[Carla in Ca]

32. Here goes...

Mr. President, please explain why you did not listen to the Generals and national security and others who told you the troop strength was inadequate, why there was no plan to seal the borders, and no plan to win the peace.


Well, we didn't order enough body bags, either, but I think we are doing extremely well, all things considered.

(I pray for him to 'lose it' right on national television)

[kodi]

33. answer to iraq question "are we safer off with saddam in prison or not"

we'd be safer with bin laden in prison instead of saddam, and going after saddam cost us getting the guy who killed 3,000 americans.

[blondeatlast]

35. Yep. nt

[leftist.]

38. Fun Thread!

B: In his time in the Senate my opponent voted some 13 times *against* defending our troops by attempting to cut the very weapons our military used to capture Saddam Hussein and bring freedom to the people of Iraq.

K: You know, I'm just about sick to my stomach of hearing you guys toss that around. I'd like to ask of you, Mr. Bush, since you have leveled the charge, if you can name one of these bills, or even one of the weapons, that I voted "against". We'll give him some time ...

Since you can't, I have some homework for you. After tonight's debate, call up your daddy *and* your vice president and ask them about that bill and the "cuts" we were making to the military in 1991, as they BOTH F'ING AGREED WITH ME.

(Well okay, soften that up a little.)

[BootinUp]

44. Hee hee

yeah F bombs might be too strong for live tv. ;)

[blondeatlast]

47. "...Effing agreed with me?" Otherwise, great stuff! nt

[democrat_patriot]

154. I don't believe they can address/approach each other

or ask rhetorical questions of each other.

I'll edit:

You know, I'm just about sick to my stomach of hearing you guys toss that around. If the president had done ANY research into that biased sound bite, he would know that Vice-President Dick Cheney, and George Bush Sr. BOTH supported those bills. In fact Dick Cheney went a step further, cutting (insert stats here) from the military budgets...

[Lancer]

45. Zingy analogy to Kerry's voting on

giving the President the authority to go to war, fearing he would use it as a blank check. I'd love to hear Kerry say this:

"The President is like the guy who reserves the hotel room, then asks you to go to the prom."

(He could credit Maureen Dowd's girlfriend, whom she quoted today.)

[jpgray]

46. 'Do you believe the world is safer with Saddam Hussein out of power?'

'No. And that's telling--only an administration with this level of incompetence could manage to remove Saddam Hussein and make the world a more dangerous place as a result.'

[blondeatlast]

49. WA-OW. That is brilliant.

I hope someone advising him reads that.

Brilliant!

[leftist.]

55. Nice, and also ...

K: No, and put me on record here - the world would and WILL be magnitudes safer with YOU out of power.

[gollygee]

76. fantastic response!! n/t

[CitySky]

157. THIS ROCKS

:)

[leftist.]

60. Jobs are neat!

B: Our economy is growing stronger each day. Already we've passed massive tax cuts that let hard working Amerikans keep more of the money they earn, and have helped business to create 2 million new jobs in the last six months alone.

K: That's one way of saying it. Another way is that you are the first president since Hoover to NOT create a single new NET JOB, and the first president EVER to not create a single new NET JOB in "war" time. But if net -1,000,000 jobs is okay with you, then its okay for Amerika.

(Something like that)

[theorist]

62. You should listen to RW talk radio and just pull all their talking points.

Kerry voted against (insert randomly generated number here) weapons systems. To counter this effectively, Kerry will need to bring up the reasons he did (government waste, etc.) and that cheney proposed many of these cuts.

Kerry wants to raise taxes. The response needs to be in the context of the rising debt. "We must roll back these irresponsible tax cuts on those making over $200k to ensure a healthy future for this country. (His diction must be very strong throughout; pull no punches.)

so many more...

[blue neen]

63. Moderator: Millions of Americans have lost their jobs since 2000.

Bush: Home ownership is at record levels. We're turnin' the corner.


Kerry: Under your administration, millions of Americans have lost their life's work, health insurance, hope, and their confidence in YOU!

[Rose Siding]

66. Foreclosure stats should be cited every time Bush mentions homeownership

[blue neen]

69. Absolutely.

That's his big talking point whenever someone questions the economy, jobs, outsourcing. It doesn't cut it.

[ReadTomPaine]

71. Here's a reply for the homeowner claim...

"Let’s see how well those Americans and their children will be doing when your war deficits and tax-cut loans come due in a few short years, Mr. President. Then there won’t be talk about the new homes, but about the new homeless. Driven out of the American Dream because the President’s debt to the Chinese government has come due"

RTP

[blue neen]

75. Ooh. That IS a good one.

Thanks!!!!!!!!

[alcuno]

65. Bush - "Leadership was called for and I made the decision that

Saddam could not be allowed to continue his WMD programs."

Kerry - "Leadership means more them going off in a direction and sticking to it. Real leadership means persuading people that you are right and that they should come with you. Clearly, the president failed to lead in that he was unable to convince the American people and the people of the world that they should follow his plan."

[liberal N proud]

68. On Jobs

Mr. President, can you please explain to me how outsourcing jobs that pay $15 - $25 dollars an hour and replacing them with jobs that pay $7 dollars an hour with no benefits is good for America? The way I see it when everyone is working at McDonald's and Wal-Mart, no one will be able to afford to shop at either thus causing them both to go out of business and leaving everyone with out an income.

[blondeatlast]

72. Best GD2004 thread ever. nt

[kentuck]

73. "Giving the choice between believing a dictator and protecting the ...

Amurcan people, I will protect our people everytime.." How many times has he said that?

Unfortunately, history has shown that the dictator was not a threat to us or our neighbors and now we have over 1000 yong Americans dead because of that decision and I don't think it is anything to brag about or to be proud of. It had nothing to do with "protecting he American people". Just another veer from reality.

[ReadTomPaine]

80. Here's a rebuttal for this...

"The problem is not whether anyone believes what Saddam Hussein says. No one believes him, Mr. President. The real question is whether we should believe what *you* say. I learned a long time ago that both sides can lie during a war, sometimes for the worst of reasons. I had hoped those days were over, but citizens and soldiers are being forced every day to learn this lesson anew."

RTP

[MirrorAshes]

216. You failed in protecting our brave young American soldiers from....

Mr President, you failed in protecting our brave young American soldiers from mistakes in planning which lead to their unnessesary deaths. You failed by sending them into harm's way for an "intelligence failure". Quite frankly, Mr. President, your entire administration has been an intelligence failure, and the American people and the brave young men and women who fight to protect them deserve better.

[gristy]

74. Well, I'm sick as a dog and need to go to bed, but I want to expand

on your example:

Bush: I don't understand my opponent's position on Iraq. After all, he voted yes on the Iraq War Resolution. He was for it then and against it now?

Kerry: I voted yes on the resolution to give you the necessary strength with the UN and against the Hussein regime to perform weapons inspections. On March 7 of last year your very own arms inspector Hans Blix filed his report to (you? Congress?) stating that the inspections were working and that "insert daming quote from report here". YOU, however, obviously had other plans.

[BootinUp]

77. Kerry on loss of credibililty with allies

I would like Kerry tell Zbigniew Brzezinski's story about how Dean Achison, during the Cuban Missile crisis, goes to de Gaulle and explains we are on the verge of invading Cuba. Then Achison pulls out the arial photographs, but de Gaulle stops him and says "Tell the President his word is good enough for me."

Then Kerry would say "Would any ally answer that way today?"

[blue neen]

79. "Do we have any allies left?"

[TheWebHead]

81. How to respond to Iraq flip flop

Mr Bush, let me put it in language that even you can understand:

Getting inspectors in Iraq, good...
Not getting a coalition to significantly share in the ground troops and cost, bad...
A swift military victory in removing Saddam from power, good...
Poor planning and continuing to snub our allies in the post combat occupation, bad.

[antigop]

82. Here's how Kerry can score LOTS of points with corporate employees

Bush:
'Many of our most fundamental systems the tax code, health coverage,
pension plans, worker training were created for the world of
yesterday, not tomorrow. We will transform these systems so that
all citizens are equipped, prepared and thus truly free to make your
own choices and pursue your own dreams.' (RNC speech)

Kerry:
Yeah. You'll legalize cash balance pension plans so corporate employees get screwed. I will not legalize these pension plans.

[John_H]

83. Why do I get the feeling Chimp will stay WELL away from flip flop?

Probably, the rethugs are scared to death over it. Why? The Flip Flop bit works in front of your invitation only crowds and when being covered by a lap dog media. Smart rethugs know as well as any of us that on a live debate stage a six year old could do the smackdown complete with dozens of examples, make Chimp look like not only the biggest flip-flopper on the planet but also the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

What I'm afraid of is that Kerry will be advised to not to bring it up himself if Bush or a moderater doesn't.

[kentuck]

85. I think Bush will definitely bring it up because..

He thinks that is one of his strongest arguments against Kerry. Kerry would be much stronger in responding than in bringing it up....and he should be ready. :)

[catbert836]

84. Deliver Many, Many One-Liners.

[ReadTomPaine]

86. More wood for the fire...

"We cannot reach the future by looking to the worst aspects of our past. We cannot drill ourselves out from Peak Oil problems. We cannot shoot our way to victory in the war on terror. Nor should we desire to. America will only rise above its troubles by being the best we can be, not the worst we can get away with."

RTP

[Guaranteed]

91. Yeah, but leave out the

"we can't shoot our way to victory in the war on terror" part. That's not gonna fly. The issue has to be that we have to shoot the right PEOPLE.

[bklyncowgirl]

87. If we are so much safer today because of the Bush Administration...

How did Cat Stevens,a man on the terrorist no fly list, a celebrity no less, manage to get on a U.S. bound airplane and nobody noticed until the plane was in the air?

[many a good man]

88. Role of government

bush*: I believe government should never try to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. Yet government can and should help citizens gain the tools to make their own choices and to improve their own lives. There is no greater force for good in this world than the energy of free people.

Kerry: Oh God, I think I'm gonna puke...

Millions of toilets across the USA flush simultaneously.

:puke:

[Guaranteed]

90. In response to the $87B

Kerry HAS to mention Bush's threatened to veto if the $20B for reconstruction was a loan, instead of a GIFT WITH TAXPAYER'S money. Bush was willing to have our troops go without if American taxpayers DIDN'T pay for the Iraq reconstruction straight up. Kerry could also mention the economic reasoning for that, if he chose- Bush wanted cheaper crude for Bush's oil buddies, at taxpayer's expense. AND, on top of that, EVEN THOUGH THE BILL PASSED, OUR TROOPS STILL DO NOT HAVE THE ARMOR AND SUPPLIES THAT THEY NEED.

[ClassWarrior]

95. Or try this one...

SEN. KERRY: "The $87 billion for the troops was never in question. We were going to give them what they need.

"The question was how to pay for it. I wanted to pay for it by making a loan to Iraq and by repealing Mr. Bush*'s tax cut for the ultra wealthy. That’s the bill I voted FOR. Mr. Bush* wanted to pay for that $87 billion with the hard-earned tax dollars of average Americans. That’s the bill I voted AGAINST.

"But the real question is why did George W. Bush* send our brave troops into a war without body armor in the first place??! And why hasn't he given it to them YET?!?"

23.

[kimchi]

178. I like that answer.

It fits Kerry's style.

[karlrschneider]

92. Mr. Prez, you opposed a cabinet level Dep't of Homeland Security for month

months that was proposed by the Democrats, then flip-flopped and brought it up as if it had been your idea. Can you explain this?
------------

Something along these lines...

[ReadTomPaine]

102. Here's one for the DHS

"I know that you’d like to take credit for the Department of Homeland Security, Mr. President and I’m not surprised that you do. One of the hallmarks of your policymaking seems to be taking good ideas from the Democratic side of the aisle, putting your name on them and making them worse. Well you couldn’t have made this proposal any worse that you already have, Mr. President. You say you want credit for this agency, I contend that you must accept the blame for its failure."

RTP

[Gregorian]

93. On leadership and ability to unify

After 9/11 the whole world was with us. The whole world was American. You turned that unity into schizms. Now, even our alies aren't with us, and our enemies are even stronger.

[yowzayowzayowza]

94. Cool thread.

When * deposits a pile of his nonsense talking points, Kerry should "dress him down" as he would a junior officer attacking * as formulatic and uncaring. At some point Kerry must overtake the * high and mighty moral high ground.

[Sparkly]

96. I so suck at starting threads

I tried this a few days ago and the thread got cobwebs.

Anyway, I'd love it if Kerry turned the "flip-flop" thing around somehow, such as:

"If you call adjusting the steering on the ship of state away from failure and toward success a 'flip-flop,' I think the country is desperate for you to 'flip-flop.'"

Or, "Does that make you a loafer?"

It would also be great if he could put a stop to the phony "He has so many different positions, we're soooo confused" thing, such as:

"Do you really not understand that there are different bills for the same issue? Did you not know that much about how Congress works, or are you just pretending you don't know?"

[blondeatlast]

98. I feel your pain, Sparkly.

I suck at starting threads too. Sink like rocks every time.

:hi:

Now, back to the thread topic...

[ClassWarrior]

151. We don't have brand names.

23.

[Kahuna]

191. "The country is desperate for you to flip flop" BRILLIANT!!!!!!!

Home run. Game, set, match. If that doesn't make chimpy lose it and get snippy, I don't know what will. :D

[blue neen]

97. Bush: My opponent's runnin' mate is a slick Trial Lawyer.

Kerry: What is slick is your denial that millions more Americans are without health insurance under your administration. In PA alone, that number has risen by 40% since 2000!

[ClassWarrior]

152. Senator Kerry: My running mate is a Public Protection Attorney.

He protects average Americans from the Enrons and Halliburtons of the world.

23.

[genius]

99. The $87 billion didn't go to the troops. Halliburton squandered much of

it while Bush is letting troops in Camp Pendleton and their families live in moldy, rat-infested housing. (He should get pictures from Mike of the housing)

[genius]

100. The trial lawyers are the ones defending your rights and benefits.

[genius]

101. Bush probably has 50 sound bytes prepared. Prepare one-hundred

Short catchy things the news can play over and over again. Watch for phrases that can be taken out of context.

[ClassWarrior]

103. Kerry should consider going off-script.

Screw the rules. The candidates aren't allowed to address each other directly? Screw it! Get in Junior's face. Demand answers. Say that the American people DEMAND ANSWERS. Ask him, "George, do you answer to the American people?? Huh? Do you?..."

They're expecting us to be civil little pink tutus. Think Sun Tsu. Throw 'em off balance and go in for the kill. Make Junior blow a gasket.

23.

[ReadTomPaine]

104. Agreed - they should keep Bush off balance...

Get them off the game plan.. goodness knows there will be one scripted to the smallest detail.

RTP

[Guaranteed]

114. That's right.

Kerry HAS to DIRECTLY ADDRESS BUSH, and shame him.

It's part of taking the leadership of the country from him. Kerry has to intimidate Bush, very directly.

[TheDonkey]

106. Bush: Is it not good that Saddam is in a jail cell

Kerry: I'm very glad Saddam Hussein the brutal dictator is locked up for good. But that in no way gives anyone a "pass" to lead a reckless and rushed war, and follow it up with a disaterous post-war operations. Saddam is in jail, we shouldn't debate on whether to let him go or not but how to let our troops go home, and Iraqis live in peace.

[hansolsen]

107. Now is the time to make Bush's character issue one in this election.

Kerry needs to make a fundamental decision on how to deal with Bush on Iraq and other topics.

He must choose whether or not to make character an explicit issue.

Option A: Take character off the table and treat this election as if Bush were Ike, but dumb.

Focus on George Bush being a bungling incompetent idiot who has made the wrong choices at every turn, but acknowledge the conventional wisdom that Bush is still a good hearted, God fearing, patriotic, all American good guy everyone wants to have a beer with. Keep everything civil at all costs. Don't get angry.

This option always begins with this clause, "I like George Bush, but --"

Option B: Make character issue number one, name names, and get angry because rightous anger is warranted. Start by saying, "I don't like George Bush, let me tell you why."

Call Shrub out for what he is: George Bush, the boy Emperor, is Caligula in training pants. He is evil incarnate. He is the Prince of Abu Ghraib. He deliberately lied about WMD and approved torture of detainees he denied protection under the Geneva Convention. The war in Iraq is a personal vendetta, planned years in advance. Bush misused both the flag and religion for partisan political purposes. And about ten more things that 80% of the Dem base can quote chapter and verse.

This option starts with speaking for the Dem base and calling a spade a spade. These sentences could all begin with this clause, "George Bush is the least Christian man who ever served in the Oval Office; for example -- ".

I recommend option B.
I am begging for option B.
Actually, I demand option B.

Option B has the great redeeming value that it is true.

[Name removed]

108. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Princess Turandot]

109. Ask him to define..

a 'catastrophic success".

[bush equals idiot]

110. Mr President you have made wise choices. America is more safe if you're

the President? You would like America to believe that you are the person who can lead the most effective war on terror and you ask them to re-elect you to continue your wise decisions? Are you familiar with the name Al Zarqawi? That's the man who is on our televisions every night as the single most sought after terrorist in the world except for Bin Laden. In fact there is a 25 million dollar reward for his capture. Even further, it is believed that he personally cut off the heads of the hostages we saw on our televisions pleading for their lives just weeks ago.

As reported by NBC news in their prime time broadcast, would you tell the American people prior to invading Iraq, why you rejected THREE plans drawn up for you by the Pentagon when they knew they could destroy him and you refused to act on any of the three because unbelievably you did not want to spoil your chances of GOING TO WAR WITH IRAQ? And now the second most wanted terrorist on the earth is in Iraq orchestrating killing every single day because you refused to act. Or do you deny that now in front of All of America?

[bagnana]

111. Bush: Mr. Kerry's criticism do little for the men and

women in uniform. The last thing they need is to have their performance criticized when they are putting their lives on the line for this country. What plan is he offering?

Kerry: We have tough problems in Iraq and our men and women in uniform need more than a cheerleader in chief, cheering them on to hold the line and try harder and perservere. They need leadership.

[ReadTomPaine]

129. Here's a response for the soldier critique...

"The men and women in uniform aren’t serving our country to enforce the whims of a single political party, Mr. President. They are an instrument of force designed to protect this nation, all of us, from imminent threat. A last resort.

Nothing is more demoralizing for a soldier than fighting for the wrong reasons, than fighting for a lie. This is something I learned from experience Mr. President. It’s a lesson that escaped you 30 years ago, and it still escapes you today."

RTP

[Pobeka]

206. It's a lesson *you* escaped from 30 years ago... n/t

[mzmolly]

112. Question: Are we safer without Saddam Hussein in power Senator Kerry?

Answer - something like this:

I'd feel safer if we had Osama Bin Laden in custody, and for the same "price" we paid to go into Iraq and pull Saddam out of a spider hole, we certainly could have ... if only we had the right leadership. This President, decided to distract our nation from the actual War on Terror to pursue a personal agenda. Simply stated, I think our resources should have been spent fighting the WAR ON TERROR, not on a costly distraction in the middle east.

[ReadTomPaine]

116. I like this reply!

It's important to mention the price that has been paid in lives and what else could have been gained by that sacrifice. (see #40)

RTP

[Thrill]

113. Cut down on the long answers

.

[Guaranteed]

115. Long answers are alright because they have a minute or two, BUT-

Kerry needs to wind up all of his answers with a VERY SUCCINCT tying-together of everything that he's said. He really does need to fit everything into one POWERFUL, descriptive, emotive, damning sentence.

[misterphelps]

118. I voted "Yes" because I trusted you

But later discovered you mislead me and all of America to join you in this adventure to hell. When I realized that I had been lied to about your justifications for war, of course I was opposed.... Now tell me and the rest of America, why did you lie to us?

[KBlagburn]

120. ISSUE: Trial Lawyers

If bush brings this up Kerry should respond that without trial lawyers, bush would not president.

[ncteechur]

123. Freakin' exactly!! eom

[ReadTomPaine]

127. One for trial lawyers here...

"I’ve heard for years from the President’s side of the aisle about how legal ‘technicalities’ make life so difficult for prosecutors & law enforcement, how they stand in the way of corporate profits, how they ruin our ability to compete.

As a person who has dedicated his life to the legislation and rule of the Law, I’m disgusted by the lack of respect I’ve seen from this administration for the institutions of our democracy. Those ‘technicalities’ the President complains so bitterly about are the very civil rights on which this country is based, bought at incalculable cost. The rights that he has sworn to protect. And make no mistake- this attack on the law is nothing less than a direct assault on those civil rights. Without lawyers protecting citizens, there is no law, no justice."

RTP

[ClassWarrior]

183. Furthermore, see post #152 - not a trial lawyer...

...a public protection attorney.

23.

[ncteechur]

121. Mr. Kerry, don't you think the world is safer without Saddam in power?

No Mr. Bush--I think the world would be safer without you in power!!

[Hailtothechimp]

124. Follow up on the "what is your biggest mistake?" inquiry

This is the one that totally tongue-tied him at the last press conference. He couldn't admit to making a single mistake. So lead in with something like "You've no doubt talked to Karen Hughes and Karl Rove and all the others about this, so what have they decided is your biggest mistake?" Watch him squirm.

[TankLV]

126. "Are you better off now than 4 years ago?"

Mr. bush*,

you have replaced 8 years of PEACE, HOPE AND PROSPERITY

with

WAR, FEAR AND DISPAIR.

That is a record EVERYONE, including Mr. bush* should be ashamed of!

[AP]

128. Bush is going to act like success is something you achieve with nobody's

help, and failure is the fault of women, immigrants and minorities.

Kerry needs to make the point that government does have roll to play in society: it's the netural referee between competing interests, whether those interests are consumers and corporations, or employers and employees, or labor and consumers. Government makes sure there's a level playing field so that what hapens on the field is fair and productive.

Bush has has a government which sides with one team: very large businesses which want to destroy small businesses, and which wants to tilt the field totally in their advantage vs. consumers and labor. Doing that destroys people's ability to maximize their potential.

[Gyre]

130. Be nice, but firm

I'm a prosecutor, and whenever I've had a particularly pathetic specimen (ie, bush) as my target, I get visibly concerned about the defendant to the jury at times, because I know that some of those jurors just see a poor pathetic specimen with the power of the government arrayed against him. While I see a serious criminal history, they see some poor smuck who they can sometimes relate to.

When you're assumed to have the power to demolish (ie, Kerry vs. bush in debate), and that's what you have to do, you need to do it with humanity and compassion. Otherwise your audience will turn against you. Just a thought if bush comes across as "aw shucks, I'm just a country boy". A distinct possibility in my mind.

Gyre

[goclark]

139. Excellent point!

The responses from Kerry have to be kind yet powerful!
The shorter the words the better.

We are in an uphill battle with the Spinsters from CNN and Fox and all the rest.

People will only remember the compassion and TRUTH from Kerry.

[Joe Turner]

135. William, Great Thread with Great Ideas...My Two Cents

We all know that the Shrub is an infantile basket case in the absence of his managers; prone to flying off the handle when someone pushes his royal buttons. This is especially so now that he is a president in Way over his Head. Notice how Shrub almost lost it when David Gregory asked him a series of tough questions about Iraq.

So, knowing what we know about the Shrub I think the key strategy in the debates is for Kerry to find something to say to Shrub to get him unglued, and stammering like the simpering incoherent idiot he is. I would study every comment, challenge put to him in the last 4 years that Rocked him or threw him into a fit and examine why it had that effect on him. With those insights Kerry might find a zinger or two that he can launch out of the blue on the Shrub in the debates. It has to be a surprise; something his handlers don't think Kerry will bring up. To be sure this all is standard debate practice but my point is to focus heavily on the things that "Shake up Shrub" and the psychological factors that relate to it.

Bottom Line: Kerry's primary objective of the debates especially the first one is to pop Shrub's protective bubble and expose "The Boy" before the world. If Kerry can do that, he will win hands down.

[Andromeda]

137. I think the questions are going ...

to be formulated to embarrass Kerry. Just my feeling, that's all. I believe they will bring up Kerry's medals, possibly his anti-war activities and some of the other negative, mean and low down dirty tricks that have been the content of all these anti-Kerry ads.

There will be questions about his Senate votes, particularly his vote, or non-vote of the $87 billion. They will try to humiliate Kerry and continue to question him on his "flip-flops."

If Kerry comes well-prepared he won't have any trouble but they will try to trip him up. He needs to avoid over-stating or going into very detailed answers because they'll try to make him say something they can use against him.

John Kerry is a good debater and I trust him to know the right thing to say.

[DeepModem Mom]

140. Be READY for BIASED, SMART-ASS "MODERATORS" --

Remember Judy Woodruff? Remember Peter Jennings?

[eridani]

141. Bush going after Kerry already on 'national health care'

This one's easy. Kerry just asks Shrubby when he's planning to give up HIS OWN taxpayer-supported national health care. Why shouldn't everyone have access to the same plan they pay for government employees to have?

(Actually, the reason is that the private insurers involved would pitch a hissy at the prospect of contaminating the precious bodily fluids of their healthy employed risk pools with a bunch of goddam sick people. But that's beside the point. This is the time for sound bites, not policy wonkery. Let's get the guy elected before starting to push him on real universal health care.)

If Bush brings up lawyers, Kerry can bring up how expensive it is to pay a bunch of people to tell you "That's not covered" instead of using the money on actual care.

[daydreamer]

144. Don't want to give them any ideas

This is a open forum. Anybody can read what's going on here. If you do have some good ideas, would it be better just fax to Kerry campaign. I don't know.. just a thought.

[kentuck]

145. They are gonna believe what they are gonna believe....

or whatever Limbaugh and his kin tell them to believe. I would not be too concerned about them stealing any ideas from us. They don't give us that much credibility. :)

[eridani]

146. Bush lives in an imaginary fantasyland

Kerry should say something like this as often as possible.

[CitySky]

161. yes, at least 10 times

"Unfortunately, that's just not true."

"That's not what (insert reliable source) would tell you."

"I'm not sure where the President is getting this information."

"Someone has been lying to the President, apparently."

"That doesn't reflect reality."

"That's a nice fantasy."

"It seems the President has been misinformed again."

"Perhaps the President is getting his 'facts' from the former Iraqi Minister of Intelligence."

[WilliamPitt]

147. Great thread, everyone

Thanks!

[MrBenchley]

148. He's going to get sandbagged with an outrageously insulting question

like Dukakis was...he needs to get quietly angry at the questioner....and insist that the questioner stick to real issues.

"This is a deliberately inflammatory and unfair question. It's no different than asking my opponent if his brother fixed the election results in Florida. I'd like to think that we can stick to real issues of importance and avoid this petty sniping."

[WilliamPitt]

150. .

[Qutzupalotl]

155. "Criticizing the President demoralizes the troops."

On the contrary, rushing to war against a country that didn't attack us is demoralizing. Inventing six different reasons to go to war is demoralizing. Sending our troops into harm's way without body armor is demoralizing. Forcing troops to interrogate civilians for information about weapons they don't have is demoralizing. Being placed in a shooting gallery with no exit strategy is demoralizing. Hearing your President say "Bring it on" is demoralizing.

"Intelligence failure"
When the intelligence community tells this President what he wants to hear, he says it's "darn good intelligence." When they don't, he says they're "just guessing". He only hears what he wants to hear, and dismisses everything else. My question to him is, if you're going to go ahead and do what you want anyway, why even have an intelligence community? The real "intelligence failure" is President Bush himself!

[Kahuna]

192. I love this response!

:yourock:

[gulliver]

156. Now this is what I call a "Kerry should" thread!

I'm ambivalent about it though. A thread like this can be oppo research for Bush.

After listening to Kerry's big speech, I think he has the right mindset and people when it comes to taking on Bush's rhetoric in the debates.

I actually don't want to "dig for zingers" in public. I want Kerry and his people to develop zingers and spring them on Bush in situ. Let's let Bush and tens of millions of debate watchers be the first to hear them.

[napi21]

158. Kerry to Shrub: How can you even hope to get the co-operation

of the UN, France & Germany, the only countries who actually have large enough militatries tohelp us with Iraq, after you dismissed them as irrelevant and already said you didn't need them? It's going to take someone NEW to approach them without prejudice, don't you think?

[mbee]

159. Kerry should say Bush abused the trust he gave him on behalf of the

American people by putting their children in harms way for oil!

[CitySky]

160. The Only Thing The Current Administration has to Fear

is the END of Fear Itself.

[Awsi Dooger]

162. Bush was determined to invade Iraq long before 9/11

Bush: 9/11 changed everything, the world as we know it. The enemy of this generation is terrorism and you need to be on the offensive to prevent it. Saddam Hussein was capable of producing weapons of mass destruction and therefore was a threat to the United States of America.

Kerry: Agreed, 9/11 changed everything. But in evaluating President Bush's rationale for invading Iraq, and when he decided it was necessary, I was struck by this comment from debate #2 in 2000, the foreign policy debate -- much like this one -- with Al Gore. Then-governor Bush said of Saddam Hussein, "He better not have weapons of mass destruction, or there will be consequences should I be president." That was October 2000, a full 11 months before 9/11. Jim Lehrer, I wonder if you could ask President Bush what he meant by "consequences", and why we shouldn't conclude he had intentions of a war with Iraq long before 9/11, or even before he became president? Also, this administration now tries to downplay weapons of mass destruction as a rationale for war, since they haven't found any, but it was the only criteria George Bush mentioned in that debate from 2000.

[liberalpragmatist]

163. "In Dec. 2003 HOWARD DEAN Said Capturing Saddam Did not Make Us Safer"

You criticized him, saying "nobody who believes we are not safer with the capture of Saddam Hussein is qualifed to be commander-in-chief. How do you square this with your current statements that the war in Iraq has made Americans less safe and less secure?"

Answer:

"Well, Jim, first things first. The war in Iraq has NOT made us safer. George Bush recklessly launched a war that was not necessary and engaged in the most incompetent planning of any wartime administration in my lifetime. Americans are less safe because of George W. Bush's mistakes.

"Even so, it is my belief that if we had not caught Saddam Hussein in December 2003 the situation in Iraq would have been even worse, for without his capture former loyalists would have been more emboldened to attack American forces. So while the war as a whole has clearly made us less safe, we would have been even less safe had Saddam Hussein not been captured."

[peacetalksforall]

166. Kerry should target Rice, Rumsfeld Ashcroft,

Wolfkowitz or whoever as often as possible - for one giant reason - a good per cent of those leaning right think * is an embarassment, but may still believe in his 'staff'. We know what we think - there are blunderers, thieves, traitors, and liars. The truth should be stated where possible in context of policy blunders, contradictions, flip flops, retractions.

[WiseMen]

167. GREAT IDEA Mr. Pitt. You Already have good material here. Any way

help otherwise give me a ping.

[Onlooker]

168. The world is safer

Bush: We have made the world safer. We have not had an attack on American soil since 2001.

Kerry: We lost 3000 people in 2001, 100 in 2002, 500 in 2003, and 500 more so far in 2004*. Losing a soldier is no less a loss than losing a civilian.

* I don't know the actual numbers. I can't believe I can't find them on the web.

[kentuck]

169. Who you gonna believe - Dick Cheney or your own lying eyes ??

Let's just go straight to the top and bypass George W Bush, the middleman...

[Kahuna]

170. * and most of his posse were on a month long vacation during ..

"The Summer of Threat," as it is now ominously called. The 911 Commission report has concluded that there were no meetings by bush officials pursuant to the 8/6 PDB. :wtf:

[Kahuna]

171. Another: Remind * that he KICKED the weapons inspectors out of

Iraq so that he could get his war on,. But has been claiming ever since that Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors do their job. Just another example of living in a fantasy world.

[Kahuna]

174. We need a thread about the idiotic shit * will throw at Kerry...

We need to anticipate his lies and obfuscations.

[Kahuna]

175. Kerry needs a succinct statement about how * has mischaracterized..

his positions daily on the campaign trail. Then he needs to tic off examples. I think Kerry is going to try to characterize the chimp as a lying, out of touch, SOS. Of course he won't come right out and call him a lying sos, but he needs to paint the picture very clearly. So clearly that * will lose it and get snippy.

[Kahuna]

176. "We went to war based on intel from someone named, 'Curveball.."

That would get laughs and embarrass chimpy. The repukes continue to howl about how the Dems weakened intelligence by not allowing recruitment of assets with dubious reputations. But * relied on Chalabi, "Curveball" and a host of other assets with dubious agendas, and we are now reaping the rewards caused by trusting bad actors.

[Pirate Smile]

177. Bush: You embolden the enemy by criticizing the War on Terror

Kerry: You, Mr. Bush, love to talk about freedom and democracy but when we practice it you want to shut it down, whether it is debating your handling of the mess in Iraq or counting votes in Florida.

[Kahuna]

184. Great. Not to mention how in 2000 * consistently downplayed our

military strength. He used that as a campaign issue. No wonder OBL felt emboldened to attack us. * told the world that our military was weak and that we could not fight a war on more than one front. And by the way. Isn't that what we're doing NOW???

[AgadorSparticus]

179. about creating jobs:

bush: i created 7.8 billion, katrillion jobs.

kerry: put the jack daniel's down. 1.3 million jobs were created and 4.7 million jobs were lost while you were watching your drive. surely, even with your fuzzy math, you can see that we're 3.4 million jobs in the red because you DID NOTHING.

[Qutzupalotl]

180. "Stay the course."

In Iraq today, new terrorists are being recruited five times faster than we can kill them. We cannot win with our current strategy. It is time for new leadership. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. Ladies and gentlemen, this president is insane.

[Qutzupalotl]

181. "The world is better off without Saddam in power."

Saddam Hussein is irrelevant to the war on terror. The truth is, the world would be better off without Bin Laden. This president let Bin Laden get away, then diverted troops to start a new unnecessary war in Iraq. In the meantime, al Qaeda has had a chance to regroup. That failure alone should be reason enough to fire him.

[Qutzupalotl]

182. "Do I forget the lessons of September the 11th, and...

...take the word of a madman?"

There you go again--trying to link Saddam with 9-11, even though you KNOW there's no connection. You should be ashamed of yourself, trying to mislead the public like that. Say it with me--Bin Laden did 9-11, I should try to get Bin Laden...

[Qutzupalotl]

207. "You disrespected the Prime Minister of Iraq."

I think refusing to let him speak for himself and feeding him lines borrowed from your party's daily talking points is about as disrespecttul to him as you can get.

You disrespected the United Nations, then had to go crawling to them for help. Instead of letting Iraq employ Iraqis for its own reconstruction, you forced American taxpayers to pour money into companies like Halliburton. Meanwhile millions of young men there are out of work, and are being recruited by the international terrorists.

Our soldiers can defend themselves, but our contractors don't need to be there getting kidnapped or shot at. Let Iraqis bid for their reconstruction. It will stabilize the oil revenues sooner, when more Iraqis are invested in their own future. This will stem the tide of new terrorists being created every day under this president's plan. Because as it stands now, America owns this mess that George Bush created.

[Qutzupalotl]

208. "I don't have to ask anyone's permission to defend America."

You have pretty strange ideas if "defending America" means attacking countries that don't attack us, and can't. Maybe you SHOULD seek an outside opinion once in awhile.

There is no honor in staying a foolish course.

[Kahuna]

185. Best line yet!!! I like it!!!

:thumbsup:

[SoCalDemocrat]

186. Bush changed reasons for the war 23 times

The Bush administration has had 23 different reasons for the war on Iraq. Kerry can slap him with that if he reaches for the flip flopper bit and make a joke out of it.

BUSH: "How many times did you change on Iraq Mr. Kerry? "

KERRY: "I dunno George, how many reasons for invading Iraq are you up to now, 23 is it?"

[ClassWarrior]

188. 23 excuses for invading Iraq.

23.

[Kahuna]

189. On unemployment: Chimp says that his unemployment number is

lower than when Clinton ran for reelection. The difference is, Clinton's numbers were LOWER than when he took over from bush's father. Bush's numbers are HIGHER than when he took over from Clinton. That's not exactly a trend to be proud of.

[Kahuna]

193. On dividing, not uniting.. * wants to represent only 50% of the country..

that agrees with him. He ridicules and derides the rest of the country that doesn't agree with him. When Kerry is president, he will represent every citizen and never deride whole swaths of the citizenry based upon where their geographic location is.

[Kahuna]

194. On his preSelection education promises. Before the election in 2000,

* vowed his very first legislation would, "No Child Left Behind." In fact, that wasn't his first priority. His first priority was his massive tax cuts for millionares.

[vetwife]

197. Well, America is not better off than 4 years ago although you are !

[vetwife]

198. Mr. President I am turning that boat around...Not staying your course !

[farmbo]

201. "Sorry Mr Bush.You can't run against Saddam.You have to run against Me"

Retort for when Bush levels the accusation that, if Kerry had his way, Saddam would still be in power...and how Saddam was a mass murderer...blah blah blah.

[WilliamPitt]

202. .

[ruggerson]

203. My opponent is a Massachussetts Liberal

"Massachussets liberal" is right up there in the far rightwing top ten hit parade of phrases meant to scare the American people and divert the attention from the issues at hand.

Massachussetts, as you all know, is one of the primary birthplaces of democracy and freedom in our country and, in a sense,in the world at large. The Founding Fathers, courageous progressives, and, yes, revolutionaries, exemplified all that is good and just and valiant about the American way of life and the American ideal.

I'm sorry Mr. Bush and his minions seek to diminish and disparage the Founding Fathers, everytime they use one of their childish names. I am proud to be from the cradle of liberty, I am proud to stand on the side of the Founding Fathers and their progressive, hopeful, optimistic view of the world. I honor their legacy and share their vision.

[drbtg1]

235. Countering the Taxachusetts stuff

somewhere I read or heard that 34 states have a higher per capita tax burden than Massachusetts. If this can be proven, this could be useful.

[Pax Argent]

204. The Dems supported Regime Change in Iraq

Numerous Democrats over the years have cited the need for regime change in Iraq, often times decrying the continued threat of a WMD-armed Sadam Hussein.

Now, the Democratic establishment seems (to the victims of the media) to have changed its mind as to whether eliminating the threat of Sadam Hussein should have been a goal of US policy.


My answer:
The goal of regime change in Iraq did not change. It was acknowledged that Hussein was a regional threat to peace. It was also acknowledged by the Bush Administration's State Department in early 2001 that he was largely contained.

What changed was that this administration willfully ignored the probable costs of a mostly unilateral ground invasion of Iraq. Costs in lives, both American and Iraqi, costs in treasure, and costs to the reputation of the US.

I recall the words of another President on this very issue:

“Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different--and perhaps barren--outcome. “

-- George Bush Sr. and Brent Scowcroft – Time Magazine March 1998

Prescient and timely words regarding our current situation in Iraq. The current Bush Adminstration ignored these words and the wise council of many others, and the our brave soldiers and the American people continue to pay the price.

The American people are not safer, nor is the world safer due to the actions of this Administration in Iraq. The ideal of a free Iraq is a noble one, but the War in Iraq as executed was a mistake, and I have made my views on good men and women dying for a mistake well known.

[Kahuna]

209. On Iraq. If we are attacked by a real terrorist country... How are

we supposed to respond if all of our troops are deployed in Iraq? In 2000 * said repeatedly that we would be unable to fight a war on two fronts. So, why would he choose to use our precious resources in a country that was not involved in the terrorist attacks?

[Onlooker]

210. Bush: No attacks on American soil

Bush: There have been no attacks on American soil.
Kerry: But we've lost over 1,000 Americans since 9/11. Your policies have failed to stop the killing of Americans, and my all counts the War on Iraq has made Iraq a haven for terrorists.

[eridani]

211. Clinton did better than that

After the first WTC attack in 1993, there were no attacks on American soil (at least by foreigners) until 2001. Under Clinton, the Millenium attack was thwarted. Bush failed to stop 9-11.

[eridani]

212. Instead of wasting $144.4 billion in Iraq, we could have spent the money--

--on REAL security. (Not that the math has to add up for the debates, or anything.)

$30 billion to secure the world’s nuclear weapons-grade material. This would be used to improve the material security of such material in the former Soviet Union, aid weapons dismantling, and help remove fissile material from the most vulnerable sites world-wide.
$2 billion to expedite the work of the Nunn-Lugar Threat Reduction Initiative. This would double the program’s budget for 5 years. The program has already deactivated 6000 nuclear warheads in the US and the former Soviet Union, and has plans for the destruction of chemical weapons stock as well. Bush cut its funding, but $450 million was added back by Democrats in Congress.
$7.5 billion to safeguard our ports. According to the Coast Guard, this is what is needed over 10 years to implement the 2002 Maritime Transportation Security Act. Since 9/11, Bush has allocated less than $500 million to counter terrorist threats to out waterways.
$4 billion to upgrade the Coast Guard fleet. Over 5 years, this investment would cut the 20 year replacement and upgrade timetable in half.
$2 billion to improve cargo security. This would cover costs associated with the Cargo Security Initiative, which deploys customs inspectors to ports around the world to screen cargo before it goes to the US.
$10 billion to protect all US commercial airliners from shoulder-fired missiles. Systems based on existing military technology could help reduce the danger from the estimated 100,000 shoulder-fired missiles circulating in the world’s black markets.
$5 billion to purchase stat-of-the-art baggage screening machines. Congress has mandated this for all airports, but only 8 of the nation’s 440 airports have the new machines. Bush has requested only $250 million for such equipment this year.
$240 million to equip airports with walk-through explosives detectors. According to the 9-11 Commission, it is still very easy for passengers with hidden explosives to make it through airport security.
$7 billion to put 100,000 more police officers on the nation’s streets. This would fund the 1996 Community Oriented Policing Services program for 5 years. Bush has cut the funding to $97 million.
$2.5 billion to increase funding for fire departments. This would double the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for 5 years. Bush reduced current funding from $750 million in 2004 to $500 million in 2005.
350 million for integrating emergency radio systems nationwide. This would patch together all existing police, fire and other public safety radio systems.
$3 billion to secure major roads and rails. This would secure all the major roads and railways in the nation’s largest metropolitan areas by improving surveillance, training railway workers, and deploying new explosive detection equipment.
$25 billion to fund the Apollo Project for one year. This would be the first down payment on a 10 year, $300 billion project which will put the US on the road to energy independence, create 3 million new jobs, and improve air and water quality.
$15 billion to double the number of troops in the Special Operations Forces. This type of fighting unit is by far the most useful in tracking down terrorists. Doubling the 25,000 troops now in the Special Operations Forces would cost $7 billion, and maintaining the force for another 5 years would run $8 billion.
$8.6 billion to rebuild Afghanistan. To date, Afghanistan has received only $2.9 billion of the $19 billion pledged by the international community to rebuild infrastructure and fund health, education and disarmament programs. The government of Afghanistan estimates that it will need $27.6 billion over 7 years for reconstruction activities.
$11 billion to buy Afghanistan’s entire opium crop for 5 years. Drug trade in Afghanistan brings in a profit of $2.3 billion a year, much of which funds terrorism. The funding would provide subsistence aid for farmers, and assistance in switching to other crops and/or microenterprises.
$10 billion to increase US development assistance to the neediest countries. The US current foreign assistance budget of $19.3 billion includes the State Department’s operating budget and is heavily dominated by military aid to Israel, Egypt and Pakistan. The additional funding would be non-military assistance to countries other than to Israel, Egypt and Pakistan.

[eridani]

213. Outsourcing is a security issue

If China ever wants us to not have JDAMs, they quit sending the parts.

http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair10252003.html

Magnequench is an Indianapolis-based company. It specializes in the obscure field of sintered magnetics. Essentially, it makes tiny, high-tech magnets from rare-earth minerals ground down into a fine powder. The magnets are highly prized by electronics and aviation companies. But Magnequench's biggest client has been the Pentagon.
The neodymium-iron-boron magnets made by Magnequench are a crucial component in the guidance system of cruise missiles and the Joint Direct Attack Munition or JDAM bomb, which is made by Boeing and had a starring role in the spring bombing of Baghdad. Indeed, Magnequench enjoys a near monopoly on this market niche, supplying 85 percent of the rare-earth magnets that are used in the servo motors of these guided missiles and bombs.

But the Pentagon may soon be sending its orders for these parts to China, instead of Indiana. On September 15, Magnequench shuttered its last plant in Indiana, fired its 450 workers and began shipping its machine tools to a new plant in China. "We're handing over to the Chinese both our defense technology and our jobs in the midst of a deep recession," says Rep. Peter Visclosky, a Democrat from northern Indiana.

[eridani]

214. Bush = Peter Pan

Won't ever grow up or take responsibility for anything. Lives in Fantasyland. Spoiled brat.

[SoCalDemocrat]

215. Mr President, why didn't you take out Zarquawi when you had the chance?

Mr President, why didn't you take out Zarquawi when you had the chance? The Pentagon went to the white house three times with plans to kill him and wipe out Ansar Al Islam, the terrorist group you claim linked Saddam to Al Qaeda. ABC reports that Zarquawi's group is now responsible for most of the terror related deaths in Iraq. You had a chance to take them out, and you refused? Not once, but three times?

Why, Mr. President? Why have you failed to protect our men and women in uniform?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x909236

[loudsue]

217. FIRST off, DON'T CALL HIM "MR. PRESIDENT"...Mr. bush will do.

Kerry would be able to subtly level the field by NOT referring to him by the stolen title, but by Mr. instead. It pisses bush off when people don't call him Mr. President (or your highness...or whatever).

Next...AND THIS IS BIG TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!! Talk about how Americans are paying their tax dollars to build roads, schools, hospitals, electric grids, etc. in Iraq. How we were paying Chalabi something like $300,000 a month, and he turned out to be a suspected spy.

If Kerry just starts talking about the Billions and Billions of dollars OF OUR MONEY that are paying for ANYTHING BUT our troops, Kerry will take bush out.

In fact, Kerry could ignore everything else bush says, and just come back to that one topic, repeating it over and over, and the American people's blood pressure will go up by 50 points each. That is one thing that zillions of Americans are really, personally stingy about. They don't like paying taxes to begin with. So when they think someone else is getting 'goodies' that should rightly be 'ours' -- and we're not getting anything to show for our hard earned tax dollars -- it's pretty damn personal.

There are MILLIONS of Americans who are hurting financially right now.... worrying about every penny, and where they're going to pay for their next car, emergency, hurricane home repairs, medical bills, or if they're going to have a job next week (think about all the corporate wage earners in this country who are being "downsized" every few months: it's a national epidemic! People are NOT feeling secure in their jobs, and they're hearing that jobs are hard to find elsewhere, should they get "out placed".). People are looking at the price of gas and food going up, and security of jobs going down. So the thought of bush pissing our money away on some other country -- that most uneducated freepers refer to as "rag heads", and tell those freepers that their tax dollars are going to buy goodies for those "rag heads" that WE DON'T GET, you'll see American's heads exploding.

Even the Nascar Dads, the Libertarians, and all the flag-waving Khristian Koalition members are going to get really pissed at bush when Kerry appeals to their stinginess, when it comes to their tax dollars. Bush TRULY IS pissing away every penny this country will ever have, and we really are going lacking.

AND IT'S TRUE!! The media pundits can talk Kerry down after the debates all they want to, but that issue right there will nail bush with the average American wage earner, from WalMart to IBM. It'll even piss off some of those that HAVE money, because they're still paying taxes, too.

Kerry can come at the same topic from all sides. When bush starts trying to say that Kerry's plan is going to cost even MORE money, then Kerry can come right back with bush not being prepared financially or militarily for what he decided to do in Iraq. Osama could have been hunted down by special ops guys, instead of bombing a bunch of innocent citizens and chunks of desert. Those people's and our soldier's blood being spilled, and that land being destroyed, have NOTHING to do with "19 guys with box cutters" that have managed to throw America into a panic-driven tail spin.

If bush had gotten Osama right away instead of sending our soldiers into Iraq, Al Qaida would not have had 3 1/2 long years to spread their message and grow into a bigger movement. They were manageable 3 1/2 years ago, and the financing COULD HAVE EFFECTIVELY been traced down and cut off, if bush had not been so tight with the Saudis, and so intent on going into Iraq.

Bush should have been able to keep that "19 guys with box cutters" thing in perspective, if he expected to be a world leader. World leaders also don't tell their citizens to "go shopping" after a national tragedy. With bush, it's support business even if it breaks the American family....EVERY SINGLE TIME! Even in our hour of grief.

Kerry can also bring up the record number of bankruptcies and foreclosures under bush's economic policies.

Another thing that Kerry can sting bush on is "faulty intelligence". Kerry can point out that bush kept talking about WMD's until it's part of America's every-day language now. AND THERE WEREN'T ANY!! What kind of a LEADER does that make bush???

Americans know enough that bush lied to them, but they need someone to keep telling the lie is/was a LIE...not the truth. And if bush had all this "faulty intelligence".... it's already been proven that he also had the CORRECT intelligence, from long-time members of the intelligence community, and chose to ignore it in favor of the likes of Ahmed Chalabi, who has since been outed as a potential Iranian spy. That kind of action DOES NOT qualify bush as a world leader.

But Kerry needs to keep drumming home that the American people's hard-earned tax money is being spent in Iraq on schools, roads, electricity, etc., but there's none left for us at home, under bush's budget!!

Kerry needs to get his figures on those budgets. If he does that,
#1 Bush will get REALLY pissed, and (he hates the truth)
#2 The American people will get REALLY pissed at bush. They'll realize he really IS their economic problem.

Kerry can also go into how much money Halliburton is making off the deal. Watch bush's head explode.

:kick::kick::kick:

[VOX]

220. "We are not made safer here by fighting 'terrorists' in Iraq..."

"There are very few terrorists in Iraq. We are fighting farmers, shopkeepers, former soldiers, peasants, children.

"Real terrorists -- Al Qaida and similar groups -- form a broad network around the globe, ranging from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan to Malaysia to the Philippines.

It's childish to believe that the world's terrorists are all congregating in one small country, and we are not safer here at home by ignoring that fact."

[Qutzupalotl]

221. General advice.

Short and sweet. Drop the endless tangential phrases. Just finish the damned sentence already.

Say "I BELIEVE" frequently and clearly. "I BELIEVE America is strongest when it is respected not just for its strength, but for its WISDOM."

Smile. Laugh at your opponent. Belittle him. Refer to him as "Mr. Bush".

[Qutzupalotl]

222. There are more terrorists in Iraq now than when we went in.

If that's not a failure of staggering proportions, I don't know what is.

I strongly believe that America should be a voice of reason and sanity in the world. Mr. Bush's failure to lead with common sense has destabilized the region.

[yaledem]

223. "Is that your final answer?"

Rumor has it that Bush is going to frequently mock Kerry by asking "is that your final answer." Here's my response:

Bush: "Is that your final answer?"

Kerry: "Yes it is, and come November 2nd, the American people will decide you are the weakest link. Goodbye."

[daydreamer]

227. I don't know, How about this?

This is presidential debate. No matter how ridiculous your opponent is I think Kerry should maintain a presidential cool. If Kerry was mocked by Bush like that,Kerry should smile and tell Bush:"Mr president, it all depends if this is your final miscalculation" A ridicule should be answered with a embedded attack without showing too mean which, of course Kerry can't even he Tris to.

[Lefergus70]

226. How about God?

"This president claims that God is on his side, that he's acted on divine inspiration. He's implying that God approved his war on Iraq and that we should shrug off all this death and destruction and chaos as a plan made in heaven. Well, I can tell you that's certainly not God he's listening to; Jesus Christ was anything but a warmonger; he was a man of peace and negotiation - the opposite of what this fundamentalist government is displaying to the world."

[strizi64]

228. What about his iraqi puppet aka Allawi?

Some facts about the Puppet of Bu$h in Iraq.

First, Allawi is a former supporter to Saddam Hussein. He was a former member of the Baath Party underground movement, and was in Saddam's regime unti1 1979. His wealthy family was close to the royal family that ruled before Saddam Hussein took power. Later he earned money for his studium in London by working for the Iraqi Secret Service in London. he spent his time dealing with assassins doing the dirty work for the Iraqi government, until his time was up and he became their target.

Second, after falling out of favour with Saddam, Allawi sought exile in London, where he developed a relationship with Britain's MI-6 intelligence service during the 1980s, and eventually he also formed a relationship with the CIA. Allawi and Chalabi are related by marriage, have been alternately rivals and allies.Allawi and his Iraqi National Accord (INA) organization have solid relationships with the CIA and State Department. In 1991, Allawi with Salih Omar Ali Al-Tikriti founded the INA as an opposition to Saddam's Baath Party. Both were ex-Baathist and former supporters of Saddam's regime.

Third, he is the person through whom the controversial claim was channeled that Iraqi weapons of mass destruction could be operational in 45 minutes. We all know that this was nothing else than a big, big lie. He was paid by your taxes for over 20 years now. For false informations.

IF Shrub attacks Kerry about Allawi in the debates, Kerry should adress this facts very hard. Allawi never was a man of democracy, never a man to trust, always working for the one who paid more than the last one. Allawi has blood on his hand, Allawi is even accused of murdering six P.O.W.'s in Iraq 2003 and never said anything about it. Allawi is definitly not the man for a democratic future in Iraq but the right man, better said puppet, for Bu$h and the administration in Washington.

[GreggDem]

229. 23 different reasons

Bush has given 23 different reasons for the Iraq war,Kerry mentioned it during his NY speech.

I hope Kerry keeps hammering Bush on that issue,will convince voters that Bush is a liar on the Iraq war.

[Onlooker]

230. We are safer without Saddam in power

Bush: We are safer without Saddam in power
Kerry: I'm not so sure we're safer. 1,000 Americans have been killed in Iraq. If he was still in power those 1,000 Americans would still be alive, and we'd have the resources to defeat Osama bin Laden, not to mention $150 billion to use for anything from tax cuts to health care.

[RollergirlVT]

231. I'm sorry

you don't understand Mr. President. Let me make it simple for you. When I voted for your having the authority to go to war I gave you too much credit for your intellect. I thought you were smart enough to listen to your military advisors and the other UN leaders that have years more experience than you in dealing with world affairs. I'm sorry America. I thought a US President had to have some smarts just to get the job.

[WilliamPitt]

233. .