Runester

AHH! Kerry just pushed one of my hot buttons, when he claimed that
“women’s equal pay is going backwards.” I’ll post a much longer and more
detailed critic. The short version: this is crap, it’s always been crap,
and anyone who uses this number is full of crap.

Interesting, when asked about his mistakes, the Prez says that war
with Iraq and the big tax cut were NOT mistakes. What he did say, was
some of his appointments were mistakes but that he wasn’t going to name
them on national TV.

Closing Statements

Nothing particularly new from either candidate. Bush was much more
forceful and spoke to Kerry’s Senatorial record several times. Kerry was
much more polished, but repeated the points made in the first debate.
Again, I’m not sure if this will change votes, but we honestly got to
see both men and heard them speak frankly. What more could anyone really
want from a debate?

[Another debate? I thought there would only be three total, including
the VP debate. Apparently that's not the case, and this was only debate
two with one more. Well, let's see if I can keep my record going and
live blog all of them!]

Thanks! President George “Freedom is on the march” Bush and Senator
“I’ve got a plan!” Kerry.

On answering a question about the Patriot Act, Bush almost seemed
surprised that anyone would feel threatened by it. That’s going to be a
tough sell … whether accurate or not, it’s a common perception.

Kerry is being very careful in how he answers on Embryonic Stem Cell
Research. He needs to be careful, because his position is pro-choice
but he still needs their vote. His interpretation of Bush’s policy is
unfair. Bush was the first President, ever, to federally fund Embryonic
Stem Cell Research. Claims that he is somehow preventing such research
is plain unfair. The most he can claim, is that he would encourage even
more research - a much slimmer claim.

[hehe ... Kerry just said, "eye-dear" instead of "idea" ... his
Massachusetts influence is showing. That's cute!]

Bush is on “speed” or something. He is jumping out of his seat to
rebut Kerry before the moderator can respond. It’s almost a little
scary to see him like this.

Kerry is doing a good job of remembering peoples names, including
those that are asking the questions. He’s also reciting numbers -
something I generally, like. Bush is doing much better he did, but he’s
not as calm or collected as Kerry, and he’s not as ready at naming
names.

John “I’ve got a plan” Kerry - funny, funny.

Bush just said, “Like I told this lady, over here …” he didn’t
remember her names.

Kerry just looked into the camera and unequivically that there will
be no tax increase for those earning less then $200K.

Kerry is repeating himself, some of the same points he made in the
first debate. It makes sense that he would, but many of those numbers
(like the 90% casualities) have been clarified or debunked.

The Prez is holding his face, immobile. It looks a little odd, but it
is almost certainly an attempt to avoid the “sour” look he was
criticized for before. This is his “poker face” … and it may work, but
it is certainly odd looking.

I’m glad someone brought up Iran, but I really want to see if Kerry
can produce a real plan, or just a criticism.

[Hey, I just saw the Prez wink at someone! I swear, I did! ... I'd
love to know who.]

Bush’s response to Kerry, on the issue of Iran and N. Korea was
fantastic. He was clear, forceful, pointed in explaining why Kerry’s
plan on N. Korea is old and busted (Clinton did that already, and they
cheated!) … Anyway, so far, this is a good debate.

Draft! Finally, an answer to the rumours. Or, something.

I missed some of the opening comments, I had something important to
complete here, at work. But, now that I’m back … I notice that Bush is
“hollering” and is being much more forceful. I fear, though, since he is
answering ‘normal folk’ and it may seem like he is directing his
forcefulness at them. That wouldn’t be so good.

On the other hand, he’s not being whiny or making sour faces. I just
hope that he doesn’t come off as desperate or angry. Further, no matter
what anyone else says about Kerry, he’s a fantastic speaker!

Hey, guess what? Yup, I’ll be live blogging the third and final
debate. I figure, what the hell … I did the first two, and I find
myself here at work with both a high speed ‘net access as well as a TV.
Also, like the last two, I’m watching on CSPAN so that I can see it
without commentary. My last attempt was a little better then my first,
though I was a lot more opinionated and a lot less reactionary

There was one, fantastic find. VP Cheney referred to a
“factcheck.com” which turns out to be wrong … It should have been factcheck.org. [I've
changed my previous entry to point to the correct website.] Anyway, the
site is nothing but cold, hard, facts. Point by point, both sides, and
every lie covered. I highly recommend the site, especially if you happen
to care about the truth. For example, Senator Kerry’s voting record is
not nearly as bad as the Rep’s claim, but his security committee
attendance is. The economy is not nearly as bad as the Dem’s claim, but
the Bush / Cheney description of Iraq’s ties to Al Qaeda has come
uncomfortably close to blaming 9/11 on Saddam.

Anyway, the link is there and I’ve put it in this post as well … Go
read it for yourself. The the truth, and let it set you free.