DU-debate prep thread 02 - some picks so far

[irancontra]

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.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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.


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"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."

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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.


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"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?

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“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."

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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.


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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.

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"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"

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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."

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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.


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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.

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"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?"

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'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.

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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.

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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!

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*:"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."

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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?!?"


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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.

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"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."

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

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.

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[katusha]

1. response to #1

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: did you even read the IWR or did someone just summarize it for you?