[Recovering_Democrat]

Wow. First the DEMOCRAT NATIONAL COMMITTEE doesn't want to count Democratic votes in Florida:

DNC, candidates disapprove of Florida straw poll (Florida Dems fighting National Dems!).

Now the Democrat big shots don't want to debate the issues--they're eschewing free publicity!!

Gosh. I wonder why.

I think it is because ALL of them have peaked early. Things ain't gettin' better for 'em folks. The President's approval ratings are getting better. The economy is growing. We're not in a quagmire: we're killing terrorists left and right. And on a personal level, people like G.W.--even if they are worried about his policies.

So the fear in the eyes of the 'rats is real: and it should be. They offer nothing to America but despair, anger, and paranoia.

I'm very glad to be a
Recovering_Democrat.

[chicagolady]

(Libs Afraid To Debate Issues)

NEGATIVE!

They are just running out of LIES!!!

[xzins]

Sounds like the Rev Al is smokin' Kerry, and Johnny boy's got hisself in a snit.

Surely it can't be his ideas.....:>)

(Definitely not his french coif...)

[upchuck]

"I think the crowded field allows the most shrill, conflict-oriented, confrontational voices to be heard," Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said Thursday in Iowa

What iz ya jivin' about, Frenchy? All o' y'all iz shrill, conflict- oriented an' confrontational. None o' y'all gots uh monoply on dis here. you know das right!

Technical help come from here ^.

[upchuck]

The heart of the problem, officials at many of the campaigns say, is that a debate of nine people hobbles candidates from standing out above the amusing wisecracks of stragglers in the polls like, say, the Rev. Al Sharpton.

THAT is a racist remark. And the is The when you're writing about a reverend.

[etcetera]

Don't stop the Demo Debates! I don't watch them personally, can't stand to see these bozos faces for THAT long a time. But the debates show how dumb the Demo candidates are and that is absolutely priceless.

[KC_Conspirator]

"I think the crowded field allows the most shrill, conflict-oriented, confrontational voices to be heard," Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts said Thursday in Iowa, "and not necessarily the person who might make the best candidate or the best president."

Of course. And if there was a candidate in the democrat party who had a schred of self respect they would have skipped these silly debates. I remember when Dubya skipped the first of the GOP debates. Some people complained but the reality was that people like Gary Bauer and Pat Buchanan (before he broke up the Reform party) had no chance of getting elected. So why demean yourself on a stage with Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton?

[Chi-townChief]

Maybe they should have a gas-passing contest instead.

[Arpege92]

According to Kerry, these debates are superficial....then why doesn't he not just participate?

[OESY]

Some Democratic Hopefuls Question Value of Debates (Libs Afraid To Debate Issues)
Interestingly, this posting from the Times' website is a truncation of the original NY Times newspaper article that ran on the same date under the above-the-fold headline "Debates Lose Allure for Some in Democratic Field." The full article has since been deleted from the Times website if it ever had been posted. The abridged version (above) deletes all references to the low ratings the Democrat debates have garnered. In point of fact, the debates have been pulling in ratings below the worst-rated of competing shows.

Their nearly weekly debates have been the biggest events of the season for the Democratic presidential candidates.... Their aides devote hours to coming up with catchy retorts.

And now we know why their ratings are so low: Forum over Substance. As the poster suggests, the candidates are afraid to debate issues and are trying to mimic Dean, even if they have to contort their own positions and records to do so.

Even so, many of the top candidates and their aides are at their wits' end over the televised jousts. Some openly contend that the events are simply a waste of time.... But the campaigns fret that they have no way to escape the conundrum because the alternative — viewers spotting an empty chair in their stead — is politically untenable.

They used to call this "an empty suit" and viewers are spotting nine of them -- little wonder why so many Democrats cannot name a single Democrat hopeful.