DID JIM LEHRER WINK AT KERRY?

[itsinthebag]

Was just listening to Steve Malzberg's radio program. He said Jim Lehrer winked at Kerry as he (Kerry) was leaving the podium. Did anyone see this?

[tkathy]

I wonder myself if there was interchange of questions between the Kerry camp and that awful Lehrer.

[rintense]

Kerry's whole nuclear materials in Russia line was so way off base. Kerry slams the President for going to war with a non-threat in Saddam, and slams him again for not securing nuclear material in ANOTHER COUNTRY???? The man should be called Sybil.

[Just mythoughts]

"Kerry's whole nuclear materials in Russia line was so way off base. Kerry slams the President for going to war with a non-threat in Saddam, and slams him again for not securing nuclear material in ANOTHER COUNTRY???? The man should be called Sybil."

I agree, a satanic possesed "Sybil".

[eeriegeno]

John Kerry's last sentence at end of first question: "All of these, and especially homeland security, which we'll talk about a little bit later."

Notice that John didn't say, "probably talk about"? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????

[SE Mom]

IMUS has Jim L. on now...listening...so far..blah..blah..

[snooker]

I have the debate on TIVO> A slow-mo digital replay shows nothing 'funny' just a cordial handshake and a few words exchanged.

I would move on, there really is nothing to this IMHO.

[Toespi]

What better time to expose a wink, during the Rathergate debacle.

[surrey]

I mentioned last night that I thought Kerry knew the questions in advance. He was so scripted ,right down to his reference to the military guys who are supporting him(Eisenhower etc.) Nothing seemed off the cuff. He even threw in a George Wll quote. I'm sorry but he was just too prepared and I don't think it's because he's a genius debater. I put NOTHING past the Liberal press and Lehrer is certainly one of them.

[IamConservative]

"SEE I am not the only one to think this kerry knew the questions before time."

The thought crossed my mind 15 minutes into the debate. Kerry's answers setup the next question too many times to be coincidence. It could be Lehrer had questions that he was going to ask in extemporaneous order and determined the order by the candidates response, which in my view only underscores the bias.

[SE Mom]

"But newspaperman Michael J. Howley, the debate moderator, and the panel of questioning journalists so fear the consequences of Meredith's impending presidency that they conspire to ruin him by dispensing with the set debate format and ambushing Meredith "

I find this revealing as to the mind-set of Lehrer...unbelievable.

[blake6900]

He said Jim Lehrer winked at Kerry as he (Kerry) was leaving the podium. Did anyone see this?

Who cares? I wink at people. Even those I don't like. So does GWB. I've seen it numerous times. I don't understand why so many folks around here are wasting time whining about an obvious bias on Jim Lehrer's part. This shouldn't be a surprise to any of us.

The more important fact is it doesn't matter. Kerry won the debate. The polls will show it. So what. Already Bush and Co. are pounding on Kerry for many of his answers. His performance was strong. But an actor's job is to give a good performance and do it by saying things he doesn't mean. That was John Kerry last night. Fence sitters may have been impressed. But they still don't know how he's gonna deal with Iraq. And his statement regarding a "global test" will be his death knell. He's opened himself to interpretation again just like he did with his statement about fighting a more "sensitive war".

Kerry's a good speaker. His problem is when he speaks, he usually speaks too much. And he gets himself in trouble. He's done it time and time again throughout the campaign. And last night was no exception.

Kerry won the debate based on style points. Bush will still lead in the polls and will win in November based on substance.

[Osage Orange]

Lucky you. I was listening to Savage and he said he would be back at the top of the hour but our station switched over to some ABC crap coverage. I was counting on hearing Savage's comments.

Same here.........

[Otta B Sleepin]

I just watched the replay, too, and Lehrer definitely closed his left eye. But he appeared to be looking down or off to the side and not at Kerry when he did it.

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

Lehrer claims HE didn't share the questions with anyone in advance

I believe Lehrer is telling the truth. Probably, Kerry's people gave him a list of 20-30 questions, and asked Lehrer to pick any 10 of them. Since Lehrer didn't tell Kerry which of the 10 he was going to ask, he could truthfully say he didn't show Kerry the list ahead of time.

Also, it looked like Lehrer had more questions prepared than he had time for, and chose some of them based on topics brought up the candidates in their answers.

[The_Macallan]

(Taken from the Debate Transcript)


"Impartial" Moderator Jim Leher's "predetermined questions"

"The umbrella topic is foreign policy and homeland security, but the specific subjects were chosen by me, the questions were composed by me, the candidates have not been told what they are, nor has anyone else."


1. Senator Kerry. You have two minutes. Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?
Mr. President, you have a 90-second rebuttal.

2. New question, Mr. President, two minutes. Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?
Ninety second response, Senator Kerry.

3. New question, two minutes, Senator Kerry. {Referring back to Kerry's comments} "Colossal misjudgments." What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?
Ninety-second response, Mr. President.

4. New question, Mr. President. Two minutes. {Referring back to Kerry's comments} What about Senator Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going after Usama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?
Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.
Let's do one of these one-minute extensions. You have 30 seconds {to Bush}.
Thirty seconds, Senator.

5. We'll come back to Iraq in a moment. But I want to come back to where I began, on homeland security. This is a two-minute new question, Senator Kerry. As president, what would you do, specifically, in addition to or differently to increase the homeland security of the United States than what President Bush is doing?
Ninety-second response, Mr. President.
Yes, let's do a little -- yes, 30 seconds {to Kerry}... (then another 30 to Bush).

6. New question, Mr. President. Two minutes. What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq?
Ninety seconds, Senator Kerry.
All right, go ahead. Yes, sir? {Bush asks for follow up} We can do 30 second each here. All right.
Senator Kerry, 30 seconds.

7. All right, new question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry. {Referring back to Kerry's comments} Speaking of Vietnam, you spoke to Congress in 1971, after you came back from Vietnam, and you said, quote, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?" Are Americans now dying in Iraq for a mistake?
Ninety seconds {to Bush}.
Forty seconds, Senator. {Why ten extra seconds for Kerry???}
Thirty seconds, Mr. President.

8. New question, Mr. President, two minutes. You have said there was a, quote, "miscalculation," of what the conditions would be in post-war Iraq. What was the miscalculation, and how did it happen?
Ninety seconds, Senator Kerry.

9. New question. Senator Kerry, two minutes. You just -- you've repeatedly accused President Bush -- not here tonight, but elsewhere before -- of not telling the truth about Iraq, essentially of lying to the American people about Iraq. Give us some examples of what you consider to be his not telling the truth.
Ninety seconds, Mr. President.
Thirty seconds. We'll do a 30 second here. {to Kerry}
Thirty seconds, Mr. President.

10. New question, Mr. President. Two minutes. Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost of American lives, 1,052 as of today?
Senator, 90 seconds.
All right, sir, go ahead. Thirty seconds. {to Bush}
Senator Kerry, you have 30 seconds. You have 30 seconds, right. And then the president.... {Bush never got that 30 second time}

11. Speaking of your plan, {Referring back to Kerry's comments} New question,
Senator Kerry. Two minutes. Can you give us specifics, in terms of a scenario, time lines, et cetera, for ending major U.S. military involvement in Iraq?
Ninety seconds. {to Bush}
Thirty seconds. {to Kerry}
Yes, 30 seconds. {to Bush}

12. Mr. President, new question. Two minutes. Does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?
Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.
Thirty seconds. {to Bush}
Thirty seconds, Senator.

13. New question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry. What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?
Ninety seconds. {to Bush}

14. New question, Mr. President. Do you believe that diplomacy and sanctions can resolve the nuclear problems with North Korea and Iran? Take them in any order you would like.
Senator Kerry, 90 seconds.
I want to make sure -- yes, sir -- but in this one minute, I want to make sure that we understand -- the people watching understand the differences between the two of you on this. You want to continue the multinational talks, correct? {to Bush}
And you're willing to do it... {to Kerry}
And you're opposed to that. Right? {to Bush}

15. New question, two minutes. Senator Kerry, {Referring back to Kerry's comments} you mentioned Darfur, the Darfur region of Sudan. Fifty thousand people have already died in that area. More than a million are homeless. And it's been labeled an act of ongoing genocide. Yet neither one of you or anyone else connected with your campaigns or your administration that I can find has discussed the possibility of sending in troops. Why not?
Ninety seconds. {to Bush}

16. New question, President Bush. Clearly, as we have heard, major policy differences between the two of you. Are there also underlying character issues that you believe, that you believe are serious enough to deny Senator Kerry the job as commander in chief of the United States?
Ninety second response, Senator.
Thirty seconds. {to Bush}
Thirty seconds. {to Kerry}

17. New question, two minutes, Senator Kerry. If you are elected president, what will you take to that office thinking is the single most serious threat to the national security to the United States?
Ninety seconds, Mr. President.
Just for this one-minute discussion here, just for whatever seconds it takes: So it's correct to say, that if somebody is listening to this, that both of you agree, if you're reelected, Mr. President, and if you are elected, the single most serious threat you believe, both of you believe, is nuclear proliferation? {to both}

18. All right. Mr. President, this is the last question. And two minutes. It's a new subject -- new question, and it has to do with President Putin and Russia. Did you misjudge him or are you -- do you feel that what he is doing in the name of antiterrorism by changing some democratic processes is OK?
Ninety seconds, Senator Kerry.
Thirty seconds, Mr. President.
{Leher interrupts Bush} Well, but when he {Referring back to Kerry's comments} used the word "truth" again... talking about the truth of the matter. He used the word "truth" again. Did that raise any hackles with you?
{Kerry 30 seconds follows}

19. All right, that brings us to closing statements. And, again, as determined by a coin toss, Senator Kerry, you go first, and you have two minutes.
Mr. President, two minutes.

And that ends tonight's debate...



So at least FIVE of Jim Lehrer's "prepared" questions and ONE of his follow-up questions were DIRECTLY referring back to comments made by Kerry immediately prior during the debate and NONE were referring to anything said by Bush during the debate.

Never Forget: He who frames the question wins the debate - and apparently Kerry's ideas and statements were constantly being used to frame these questions.

---

It's Not Just A Gun...

It's My "HOMELAND DEFENSE RIFLE"!!

[Pres Raygun]

Good catch! I wondered about the inconsistency between Lehrer's opening statement that he wrote the questions (note the past tense), yet several of his questions dovetailed off of something Kerry had said. There are three explanations I can think of, 1) Collusion between Kerry Campaign and Lehrer, 2) Lehrer did not stick to his original questions he says he wrote, but made up new questions during the debate, or 3) Lehrer slightly changed his questions in response to something Kerry had said. 3) is the only legitimate explanation, but if it is the true explanation it suggests that Lehrer was at a minimum choosing his question based closely on Kerry campaign themes, thus making the questions biased towards Kerry.

[peekaboo]

Did anyone see Susan Estrich on Brit Humes' show, when she said, "Kerry was doing real good. He has all of the questions down to two minute answers. He WILL do just fine. This was earlier just before the debates. I wondered then just how she knew, that he could do this without prior knowledge.

Did anyone else see this segment. Susan was her usual giggley self, almost too gleeful.

[Saundra Duffy]

I thought the camera kept showing Bush's reactions to what Kerry was saying while they didn't show Kerry's reactions. I thought it was agreed upon in advance that they would not show the other candidate's expressions while the other was talking.

[hershey]

You connected some very suspicious dots. The only part missing in the nuclear worry question was Kerry's promise to hand over nuclear fuel capability to Iran. When analyzed, doesn't the entire debate have that Microsoft wordwrap look for Kerry? Meanwhile, GW looks like a 1971 typewriter. In other words, GW and the country were had.

[hershey]

I noticed Lehrer's look of distaste at some of GW's replies. Really, we need to expose this fraud.