1 (to Kerry): Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?
Q 2 (to Bush): 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?
Q 3 (to Kerry): "Colossal misjudgments." What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?
Q 4 (to Bush): What about Senator Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going after Usama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?
Q 5 (to 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?
Q 6 (to Bush): What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq?
Q 7: (to Kerry): 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?"
Q 8: (to Bush): 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?
Q 9 (to Kerry): 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.
Q 10: (to Bush): Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost of American lives, 10,052... uh... 1,052 as of today?
Q 11: (to Kerry): Speaking of your plan, new question, Senator Kerry. Can you give us specifics, in terms of a scenario, time lines, et cetera, for ending major U.S. military involvement in Iraq?
Q 12: (to Bush): Does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?
Q 13(to Kerry): What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?
Q 14 (to Bush): 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.
Q 15 (to Kerry): Senator Kerry, 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.
Q 16 (to 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?
Q 17 (to 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?
Q 18 (to Bush): 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?
i was as mad as GWB. The whole thing is a setup. I wanted to punch Kerry and Lehrer in the nose. There were no questions to invoke the vision of GWB only attack questions. i thought Bush got him on the Coalition of the Bribed and coerced" and the Allawi issue, the North Korean issue- (Kerry wants to bribe them) and the Iranian nuclear issue-(test their trustworthiness). Get Weld on the phone, this is Kerry's irratic style.
Q 2 (to Bush): 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?
Same as quesiton one but loaded. To say you can do better at preventing an attack than the other guy is the same as saying the other guy would make it more likely that we would be attacked. It's just much harder to say it as bluntly as Q2, so it was unfair to phrase it that way.
Q 3 (to Kerry): "Colossal misjudgments." What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech about what a schmuck Bush is on this issue.
Q 4 (to Bush): What about Senator Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going after Usama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?
Translation: Try and defend yourself against Kerry's valid charges.
Q 5 (to 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?
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech about what a schmuck Bush is on the issue of Homeland Security.
Q 6 (to Bush): What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq?
Translation: How do you plan on getting us out of this Iraq mess?
Q 7: (to Kerry): 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?"
That's a question?
Q 8: (to Bush): 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?
Translation: List all the mistakes you have made, in hindsight, planning for post-war Iraq.
Q 9 (to Kerry): 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.
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech about what a liar Bush is on the issue of Iraq.
Q 10: (to Bush): Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost of American lives, 10,052... uh... 1,052 as of today?
Translation: Do you still beat your wife?
Q 11: (to Kerry): Speaking of your plan, new question, Senator Kerry. Can you give us specifics, in terms of a scenario, time lines, et cetera, for ending major U.S. military involvement in Iraq?
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech about how you are going to get us out of the mess Bush got us into.
Q 12: (to Bush): Does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?
Translation: Are you planning to make similar messes in the future?
Q 13(to Kerry): What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech on the issue of preemptive war. )Note that Bush was asked this same question in loaded version. Kerry voted for the war, too.)
Q 14 (to Bush): 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.
Translation: Are you planning on attacking the other members of the Axis of Evil?
Q 15 (to Kerry): Senator Kerry, 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.
I would have to look into this one further.
Q 16 (to 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?
Translation: Say nice things about Kerry or look like a jerk. Then I will let Kerry say rude things about your character in defense.
Q 17 (to 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?
Translation: Give us your standard stump speech on the issue of national security.
Q 18 (to Bush): 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?
Translation: For a last impression to our audience, tell us what a schumck you were in dealing with Russia.
He underhanded nerfballs to Kerry.
Meanwhile, Bush got high and hard fastballs.
Can we expect the same of the next two moderators?