His wife was abducted last year.
Posted on 09/25/2004 4:06:41 PM PDT by MarlboroRed
Texas (Reuters) - President Bush prepared and practiced on Saturday for the first of three presidential debates with rival John Kerry that could be pivotal in the close election race.
Kerry, meanwhile, was at his Boston townhouse "resting and starting to get ready" for next week's debate, according to his spokesman, Phil Singer.
Taking the weekend off from campaigning, Bush retreated to his secluded Texas ranch where White House spokesman Scott McClellan said he would be able to "clear his head" before Thursday's televised face-off.
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg was playing the role of Kerry in the practice sessions. Gregg hails from New Hampshire, which neighbors Democratic Sen. Kerry's home state of Massachusetts.
Bush hopes to be able to "crystallize" his thoughts for the debate, McClellan said. "You obviously only have a limited amount of time to get your points across," he said.
The venue for the first debate, which focuses on foreign policy, is at the University of Miami in the crucial battleground state of Florida.
The debate comes as rhetoric from the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 2 election has become increasingly acrimonious, with Kerry skewering Bush's Iraq policies and the president taking aim at the senator's fitness to serve as commander-in-chief.
Bush led Kerry by 6 percentage points in a Time Magazine poll released on Friday. That was narrower than the 11-point advantage the president held in a similar poll two weeks ago.
I am pretty sure Gregg played Al Gore in the prep for the 2000 debates.
Good choice? Yes. Especially physically. He is tall and thin like Kerry, with gray hair.
Does Judd Gregg do pompous and superficial? Oh yeah, he already played Gore... OK this will work.
That was worked just fine. A little more comfortable. I thought some guy from NH might not be the best choice. Perhaps grab Weld or some other MA guy.
Sounds like Republicans think they have a chance of carrying New Hampshire.
"A New Hampshire native, Senator Gregg was born in Nashua on February 14, 1947. He was educated in Nashua public schools, Phillips Exeter Academy (1965), and Columbia University (A.B., 1969). He received his J.D. in 1972 from Boston University Law School and his L.L.M. in tax law in 1975. Upon graduating from law school, he returned to Nashua and became a partner in the law firm of Sullivan, Gregg and Horton. He is married to Kathleen MacLellan Gregg. They have two daughters, Molly and Sarah, and a son, Joshua. Senator and Mrs. Gregg are residents of Rye, New Hampshire.
On paper, the guy sounds perfect.
Is it my imagination or does Kerry take an enormous amount of time off? I thought he had to rest last week and was going to rest next week in Wisconsin.
Has the AP picked up on the Elian attorney being brought aboard the Kerry Campaign to help him with the debates? Or is that just a Newsmax exclusive? (sorry if that was answered in the AP article... I make it a point not to read them anymore)
His wife was abducted last year.
Limbaugh is first an entertainer, so if I were Kerry I'd be as afraid of Limbaugh's advice as Bush would be afraid of Kerry if he had Oprah Winfrey as his "official" advisor.
What?
Unfortunate Ted Cassidy has departed; he would have been the perfect foil.
"Does Judd Gregg do pompous and superficial?"
For Judd that comes natural...pompous and superficial. As a former NH resident and knowing Judd personally, there's a reason residents refer to him as "Dudd Gregg."
I was wondering, since they always have spinners on tv after the debate, why not have rudy give bush's summaries on the talking head shows after the debate since it is about foreign policy and terrorism?
Thank you. I'm assuming they found the creeps.
This is the hardest this guy's ever had to work in his life! Of course he needs time off. He's a softie!
"On paper, the guy sounds perfect."
After being in the Senate with sKerry lo these many years, Gregg is likely all too familiar with sKerry's arguments, style, and, dare I say, nuances. Probably does a great "cloakroom" imitation of him to boot!
Is Weld involved in any of these preparations?
I know he's been advising the Bush campaign on what Kerry is like in a debate, but I don't know if he's involved in the Crawford prep.
They need at least 8 just to cover all the positions he's taken on Iraq.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they were watching Weld's tapes with Kerry over and over again, and had talked to people, but it doesn't appear that he is involved in the preps.
I doubt he really will be, since in some recent articles, it sounds like the repubs think Weld basically screwed up on his own, and really shouldn't have ever had a lead over kerry in the first place (think over achiever, who eventually comes back down to earth).
N.H. borders Mass. I'm sure the pomposity bleeds across the border.
I'm surprised at your slamming Gregg. I've watched him on c-span and at different events and think he's really sharp. He responds well to Demonrats charges and I think he's great at helping Bush prepare for this.
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