Does This Guy Ever Answer A Question?

[Tigermike 3,426]

Does This Guy Ever Answer A Question?

Source: CNN

In South Carolina for a debate that could prove critical for the Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry was asked about his ability to lead the nation. His response was to answer with a political talking point. It is becoming incredibly clear that Kerry has an inability to answer direct questions, something that should scare the hell out of the American people.

Kerry’s reply to the question about his leadership was to criticize President Bush about his. How this answers the question of his ability remains to be seen. Responding to published questions about his leadership abilities by Republican Chairman Ed Gillespie, Kerry said Bush broke his promise that he would "build a legitimate global coalition" and go to war only "as a last resort." "He did not go to war as a last resort, and I think he fails the test of the commander in chief." But what about answering the question?

As I have watched the coverage of the Democratic primaries it has become evident that when faced with legitimate, tough questions about him Kerry turns to pre-scripted talking points that really have nothing to do with the question being asked. During the New Hampshire primary he was asked about the state of small business in the United States and he answered by reciting a litany of endorsements by other elected officials. Then, just after the bell rang indicating that his time was up he said that they all endorsed him because he has common sense and that he would approach small business in America with common sense. There was no answer to the question, just his droning voice reverberating throughout the hall saying absolutely nothing.

By contrast, when President Bush speaks some say that he is to blunt and too much to the point. Personally, I enjoy someone who doesn’t mince words. It gets the point across in a much more direct and certain manner; it gets the job done.

Kerry’s “Kennedy-style” political positioning, a tactic that always sounds pretty but lacks any substantial substance, would be a complete disaster if employed in the position of president. We saw it with Bill Clinton. The country doesn’t deserve another question manipulator.

http://www.therant.us/campaign_2004.htm#Do...%20A%20Question

[Donutboy 0]

Unfortunately, that can be said of ALL politicians. A debate moderator or a reporter on the campaign trail can ask a candidate a question about taxes and the candidate will hit it lightly and move directly to one of his talking points.

Example:

Debate moderator: Mr. Smith, if you're elcted president, would you raise taxes?

Mr. Smith: My opponent, Mr. Jones, can tell you all about raising taxes. When he was Governor of Nebraska, he raised taxes 87 times. He's never met a tax he didn't like. His state has one of the highest taxes in the Midwest. With all of the taxes that he collected, he did nothing about that state's infrastructure. Nebraska bridges are falling apart. Their roads are chocked full of potholes........ Mr. Jones has already shown he can't run a state government. Why would you trust him in Washington?

[Tiger Al 0]

Unfortunately, that can be said of ALL politicians. A debate moderator or a reporter on the campaign trail can ask a candidate a question about taxes and the candidate will hit it lightly and move directly to one of his talking points.

Example:

Debate moderator: Mr. Smith, if you're elcted president, would you raise taxes?

Mr. Smith: My opponent, Mr. Jones, can tell you all about raising taxes. When he was Governor of Nebraska, he raised taxes 87 times. He's never met a tax he didn't like. His state has one of the highest taxes in the Midwest. With all of the taxes that he collected, he did nothing about that state's infrastructure. Nebraska bridges are falling apart. Their roads are chocked full of potholes........ Mr. Jones has already shown he can't run a state government. Why would you trust him in Washington?

I'll tell you why, Mr. Smith. Because the state legislature of Nebraska is chock-full of republicans and they've lost the ability to handle money. As a Democrat, Mr. Jones has the ability to prioritize the needs of the people over those of the right-wing special interest groups.

[Tigermike 3,426]

As a Democrat, Mr. Jones has the ability to prioritize the needs of the people over those of the right-wing special interest groups.

And as a democrat he knows what is best for you. Just trust the democrats and we will take care of you from cradle to grave. Just trust the democrats. Just trust the democrats. Just trust the democrats. Because we hate Bush.

[Donutboy 0]

As a Democrat, Mr. Jones has the ability to prioritize the needs of the people over those of the right-wing special interest groups. 

And as a democrat he knows what is best for you. Just trust the democrats and we will take care of you from cradle to grave. Just trust the democrats. Just trust the democrats. Just trust the democrats. Because we hate Bush.

Well, we WERE a lot beter off when there was a Democrat in the White House. A majority of Americans polled agree!!

[TitanTiger 20,708]

Well, we WERE a lot beter off when there was a Democrat in the White House. A majority of Americans polled agree!!

Yeah, even though the recession that boosted his chances of winning was over 21 months before he took office. And even though the current recession began a mere 2 1/2 months after he left (and the economic slowdown began 9 months before his departure). Oh, and that crazy dot-com bubble that flushed the stock market with cash that he had nothing to do with.

C'mon Donut, don't keep throwing this tired old crap around. Clinton presided over good economic times that were mostly not his doing.

[Tiger Al 0]

Well, we WERE a lot beter off when there was a Democrat in the White House. A majority of Americans polled agree!!

A majority of Americans who VOTED agreed, too!!!

[Tigermike 3,426]

Well, we WERE a lot beter off when there was a Democrat in the White House. A majority of Americans polled agree!!

A majority of Americans who VOTED agreed, too!!!

We seem to have come full circle. The democrats are still harping on the election that was won fair and square and they tried to steal but 3 1/2 years later are still harping the same tired BS.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

Not to mention that the concept of an electoral college seems to still be eluding them. They should know by now that raw numbers from the popular vote don't mean beans if they are concentrated in a few states (read: California, New York and Illinois, for instance).

[Tiger Al 0]

There is not a single error in what I said. I said "A majority of Americans who VOTED agreed." Looking over the election results you'll find that more people did, indeed, vote for Gore than did Bush. I'm not sure how pointing that out makes it BS. It's a fact.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

You're right, it is a fact: an irrelevant fact.

[Tiger Al 0]

You're right, it is a fact: an irrelevant fact.

You see, that's the same mistake that Dubya has made. He rules like he won by a landslide and he obviously forgot that more individual voters preferred someone else. The question will again be, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" He'd better hope he gets a lot of mileage out of those tax cuts because without them, I don't think nearly as many people who voted for him in 2000 are going to buy into his "compassionate conservatism" schtick, myself included.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

Did I miss the part in the Constitution that gives the President more or less powers depending on his percentage of the popular vote? Dang, I guess he should have figured that when they elected him...then handed the Republicans the Senate back two years later (after Jeffords defection), that he should walk on eggshells and push a Democrat agenda.

And how would this new revelation on presidential powers affect your view of the Clinton years...since he never got a majority of votes cast and actually lost seats in Congress during his tenure?

[Jenny AU-92 0]

He rules like he won by a landslide and he obviously forgot that more individual voters preferred someone else.

What YOU seem to forget is that Bush only lost the popular vote by 500,000. Even if Gore would have won, he wouldn't have had any more of a "mandate of the people" than you are accusing Bush of pretending he has. And don't tell me Al would have been more conciliatory or more bi-partisan than Bush.

[Tiger Al 0]

Titan, you're trying to dance around the elephant in your living room!!! I didn't say Gore or Clinton got the majority of votes cast. That would mean that they received at least 51% of the votes cast. That's not what I said. I said "A majority of Americans who VOTED agreed." Not a majority of the percentage of total voters but a majority of people who voted did so for Al Gore and not Dubya.

That the DEMOCRATS lost seats in Congress doesn't affect my opinion of Clinton at all. Implying that Democratic Senators and Representatives not getting elected or re-elected because of Clinton is innacurate. Voters evidently didn't like the Democrats enough to elect them. Clinton had a 71% approval rating on the day of his impeachment hearing. THAT more directly correlates to Clinton than unelected Congressmen in my opinion.

[Tiger Al 0]

He rules like he won by a landslide and he obviously forgot that more individual voters preferred someone else.

What YOU seem to forget is that Bush only lost the popular vote by 500,000. Even if Gore would have won, he wouldn't have had any more of a "mandate of the people" than you are accusing Bush of pretending he has. And don't tell me Al would have been more conciliatory or more bi-partisan than Bush.

I don't know why he wouldn't. Hadn't he and Clinton been forced into doing that since 1992??? They had become pros at working both sides into compromise even when the odds were against them. Gore wouldn't, however, have been in a position to ram distasteful legislation down the throat of republicans like they've done. What he'd do if he were in that position is a whole other argument. Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know.

[CCTAU 3,369]

Titan, you're trying to dance around the elephant in your living room!!! I didn't say Gore or Clinton got the majority of votes cast. That would mean that they received at least 51% of the votes cast. That's not what I said. I said "A majority of Americans who VOTED agreed." Not a majority of the percentage of total voters but a majority of people who voted did so for Al Gore and not Dubya.

That the DEMOCRATS lost seats in Congress doesn't affect my opinion of Clinton at all. Implying that Democratic Senators and Representatives not getting elected or re-elected because of Clinton is innacurate. Voters evidently didn't like the Democrats enough to elect them. Clinton had a 71% approval rating on the day of his impeachment hearing. THAT more directly correlates to Clinton than unelected Congressmen in my opinion.

What you and doonut boy keep saying over and over is the equivilent of an electronic jerkoff. The mo times you say it, the better you feel. Better wear glasses.

[Tiger Al 0]

What you and doonut boy keep saying over and over is the equivilent of an electronic jerkoff. The mo times you say it, the better you feel. Better wear glasses.

And that's the same supercilious attitude I hope all of the republicans have in November. It'll make the shocked look on your faces even more enjoyable.

[TitanTiger 20,708]

What you and doonut boy keep saying over and over is the equivilent of an electronic jerkoff. The mo times you say it, the better you feel. Better wear glasses.

And that's the same supercilious attitude I hope all of the republicans have in November. It'll make the shocked look on your faces even more enjoyable.

And I'm collecting these quotes for a really fun retrospective of your and Donut's predictions that day after.

[Tiger Al 0]

Ahh, yes, that's right. You're the archivist!!!

[TitanTiger 20,708]

Yep...don't say anything you don't want to haunt you later!