Posted on 10/14/2004 5:32:41 AM PDT by NotchJohnson
WHY I THINK THAT JOHN KERRY WON THE DEBATE You have to judge the winner of a debate on policy based on the expectations and desires of the people observing the debate. If you're debating the pros and cons of abortion before a room full of Catholics, it doesn't matter who does the best job of defending a woman's right to control her own body. The person with the anti-choice position will be the winner ... period.
Last night, as in previous debates, John Kerry did a magnificent job of appealing to people who believe that government is the answer to every problem they face in their lives, whether that problem relates to their job, their health care, or just paying their bills. I believe that the majority of Americans, a slim majority perhaps, but a majority, look to the government for either help or a solution every time. The very idea that they are responsible for solving their own difficulty, and that government's job is to get out of the way so that they can do so, is anathema to the majority of voters. John Kerry appealed to these people last night. That makes him the winner.
Last impressions count the most. Kerry absolutely stunk talking about Dick Cheney's daughter and his non-response about his wife.
You have to admit, it's hard to out-pander the party that holds the patent on pandering.
Most Catholics I know are libs (not me, and I am RC) and toss the Church aside on election day. I wouldn't count on them. They've been brainwashed that to be a patriotic American you have to forget the teachings of your faith. V's wife.
Do you guys even listen to Boortz? I have to say that I am a Libertarian that votes Republican. I believe life starts at conception, period. I also believe God gives us free will and if someone choses to abort their child given the current laws they can. I think it's wrong and would love to see laws change. What I am for (and I think Boortz is too) is States rights on this vs. a Federal law. Also, the premise is get Government out of day to day lives.
There is a small minor detail also, if you believe govt can't tell us how to live (even if we do some things wrong like have an abortion or take drugs...) then you also believe NO TAX dollars should fund these things either.
I hope that makes sense and that I have a clear understanding on Boortz's beliefs. Unfortunately, he's right. Kerry won the debate with the mindset that the sheeple heard a convincing arguement. I thought Bush really won on substance and style.. however, look at the polls out there.. we live in two Americas... the stupid ones that actually believe Kerry and the normal ones that think more like I do.
It's a very sad time in history. My own parents are sending me letters to get me to vote for Kerry.. they hang up on me now when we talk Politics. These are Regan democrats and they are buying every thing the MSM is selling them.. It is indeed a sad sad time for our country. Bush should win slam dunk...
I think its his long held belief that most everyone in this country has been conditioned to believe that the government is there to provide them whatever they cannot provide themselves, whether it be security, employment, health care, etc. I think he's mainly talking about the focus of the debates, those so woefully uninformed that they need a debate to decide.
DITTO -- all of you criticizing Boortz miss his point - he is totally against gov. handouts and totally against the Poodle. Read what he says again.
Sheesh!
Yeah, I think that Morris fell pray to the same logic that Neal seems to be using.
I do agree that we need to do something about the post debate spin. It has killed us all four times this year. The strategy going in was, "Let the DUmmies flood the MSM flash polls and when they start registering absurd results, even the MSM will have to admit that they're bogus." WEll this has not worked. We underestimated the MSM's integrity. THey report these polls with breathless excitement, mentioning under their breath that they are of course "unscientific."
We should have freeped all of the polls and at least the MSM would have to explain them away rather than use them as part of their spin.
I know many Protestants are voting against the Catholic liberal. These are folks that really aren't political or overly religious. Just the thought of a Catholic has stirred these folks to go vote. Seems very silly to me. Just vote against John Kerry because he sucks--not because he's Catholic.
I live in Virginia and if you aren't a Southern Baptist..FORGET ABOUT IT. There's a Southern Baptist church on almost every corner. There's a McDonald's, Rite Aid or Walgreens, 7-11, and a Southern Baptist church. Hehe!
(My mom thought I was kidding until she came down here.)
Hey Neal, we are in a war and people are dying and being maimed. Do you really believe that debating points are of any significance?
Ditto Texas. Anyone not Baptist is viewed a bit suspiciously.
I agree it was pretty weak, but then I'm not looking towards Neal to defend America. The lightweight in this contest is promising everything in the galaxy and beyond. And there are segments in America that were ready to vote for him as much as they could.
What are the results (if any)about how many watched the debates and did they change anybody's mind?
I know nothing could change my mind about Kerry's lack of fitness for office, the guy's an outright phony and traitor to my way of thinking, but I also think Bush is a not very good speaker and doesn't articulate some things well. I'm voting for policy and a way of thinking about defending America and freedom. I'm voting for Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice.
I think Islam is at war with America, freedom, modernity and the Jews of course. I think Islam wants us all dead and they're not going to stop until we kill enough of them to make them stop killing us. I think the Muslims will nuke NYC and Washington DC the first opportunity they get. I hope our government has a policy and plan in place for retaliation when the Islamic nuke decapitates our government. I hope we have a plan to totally obliterate the Middle East and any other Islamic strongholds or cities if the Islameo fascists nuke us.
For me, this is the only salient issue in this election. We can survive all else and all the other issues can wait if necessary.
Ask yourself, what would Kerry or the Dims do if Islam nukes us? Nothing probably. They would probably talk them to death to see if we could reach "a closure".
Unfortunately I think the left is winning the hearts and minds of most of the world. Conservatives are doing a poor job of dealing with the left's hegemonic control of the worlds culture and media.
The amount and vociferousness of anti-Americanism, anti-semitism and anti-freedom in the world and even among our own citizens is extremely depressing and discouraging to me.
Excellent article. And I suppose he is right that kerry appealed to all of the voters who feed at the government trough. But that's not necessarily a majority of the voters. There are some voters who will vote for what they think is right, not for what's in it for them.
So maybe kerry won the giveaway war. Democrats always do. Yet how many Democrats have the American people elected to the presidency since Harry Truman left office? Not a whole lot of them. And Bush beat kerry on just about every other point.
On the abortion issue, Neal didn't say he approved of abortion. He just said that when you are speaking to a room full of abortion lovers, the pro-choice candidate is bound to win. That's true, obviously. On the other hand, I am firmly convinced that the majority of Americans are NOT pro-choice. Relatively few people are comfortable thinking about abortion, and their numbers grow smaller every year.
Exactly. Neral also thinks that it is only some Catholics who do not believe in abortions. Hell, Kerry (says he's Catholic), Kennedy and I bet MANY other prominent politicians are Catholic and believe in abortion. I could not beieve he brought up Cheyneys daughter. If this was in closed quarters Kerry would have got a broken nose, same with Edwards.
My reaction was similar to yours. Bush rarely attacked the basic premise of every Kerry assertion ie that he had a plan to make "government work for the people". I realized that, however, at some point one must have some faith in the electorate. If at least 50% of voters think it's odd that Kerry never once championed the concept of individual initiative, then I think we're ok.
Reading this article I smelled sarcasm to it's fullest extreme.
YES if you believe Government and the President is responsible for all your successes and failures then SURELY Kerry is your man.
If you believe success or failure is your own doing then I believe those voters see Bush as their man. That's just common sense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.