The World According To

Often times, Bush struggled to fill his alloted time. He debated like a ninth grader trying to write a thousand word report, padding his answers and going to trusted phrases time and time again.

So, President Bush, how would you best describe the situation in Iraq?

Hard work, hard work, hard work, hard work,
hard work, hard work, hard work, hard work,
hard work, hard work, hard work.

And what do you think of Kerry's position on Iraq?

Mixed message, mixed message, mixed message,
mixed message, mixed message, mixed message,
mixed message, mixed message, mixed message.

Apparently, Karl Rove and Karen Hughes told Bush to describe Iraq as hard work and to say Kerry was sending mixed messages. I imagine they're both gonna kick Dubya's ass when they debrief him.

Most early polls say Kerry beat Bush:

CNN / GALLUP POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE
Kerry: 53
Bush: 37

CBS POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:
Kerry: 44
Bush: 26
Tie: 30

ABC POLL ON WHO WON DEBATE:
Kerry: 45
Bush 36:
Tie: 17

I realize the right-wing wingnuts are going to claim Bush won, but at least most of the conservative bloggers admit that Bush got his ass kicked:

PoliPundit says:
"I think most people's first impression, is that Kerry was strong and forceful, while Bush was less effective, more hesitant."
"I've been watching the debate for five minutes now. Despite my partisan inclinations, I have to admit that Kerry has won this debate. And not just in the high-school debate-coach sense of the word.Kerry comes off as the prosecutor accusing Bush of incompetence. Bush comes off as his Meet-The-Press, press-conference version - dogged, arrogant and unlikable. Kerry will get a significant bounce in the head-to-head poll numbers from this debate."

Powerline Blog says:
"But, candidly, I don't think it went that well for the President. I think Kerry helped himself tonight. He came across as a credible candidate, and he was usually on the offensive... I think Kerry made headway, and there is plenty of material there for the mainstream media to proclaim the beginning of Kerry's comeback...On the whole, though, I think Kerry helped himself tonight."

Freepers say:
"While we were all hoping that Bush would defeat Kerry handidly tonight and put the election out of reach, we can't be that upset with tonight. Kerry may have even had a slight win..."

Oxblog:
"ONE LINE ON THE DEBATE: Kerry won. Hands down. By a lot. That's all for now."

Winds of Change:
"Kerry did well in terms of his persona; I went in expecting a pompous windbag and he wasn't one. Bush did less well in persona; fragmented, repetitive..."

New Republicans:
"Well, if I'm generous, then Bush stuck to his talking points. As a former debater, however, I am tempted to say that Bush missed many, many, many chances to really make key points against Kerry... I'm not certain that Kerry won more than a few swing votes in this, but I don't know if Bush can win those votes back. He simply didn't deliver as well as Kerry."

More Powerline:
"I've taken more than an hour to try to talk myself out of concluding that John Kerry won tonight's debate. I haven't succeeded. Senator Kerry, I think, edged President Bush on substance and, surprisingly, looked better throughout."

VodkaPundit:
"Kerry won on points, which probably was enough to shore up his weakened support in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania."

Dean's World
"My gut's telling me it's a win for Kerry because, frankly, he scared me less than I expected him to."

(Thanks to Daily Kos for doing the legwork - includes links)

"Free societies are hopeful societies. And free societies will be allies against these hateful few who have no conscience, who kill at the whim of a hat." - George W. Bush, 9/17/04

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Posted 5:41pm, Tuesday, September 14, 2004

MemoGate

Catching up with some notes on Memogate...

Found this story on ABC News:

"Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday the White House, which distributed the memos after obtaining them from CBS News, was not trying to verify their authenticity.

"We don't know if the documents are fabricated or authentic," McClellan told reporters traveling with the president to West Virginia."

The White House doesn't know?

This is practically an admission. I mean, if in fact these documents were forgeries, wouldn't Georgie be the one to know? Wouldn't a firm denial quickly follow? Why wait for the press to hash out the truth if you know these documents to be phony?

If the above non-denial wasn't enough, you've got White House Communications director Dan Bartlett practically admitting guilt:

"But at the time, I had every reason to believe that a major news organization had authentic documents."

USA Today has some more Texas Air National Guard documents which line-up with CBS's conclusions.

Yes, they are in the same "questionable" font, which becomes way less questionable when you visit PC World's examination of Microsoft word versus the IBM Selectric.... THEY LOOK IDENTICAL.

"Of course, none of this demonstrates that the documents dated from the early 1970s are in fact genuine. It only demonstrates that the fact that the disputed documents can be reproduced in Microsoft Word is not convincing evidence that they are inauthentic."

And Time Magazine chimes in with their expert:

Bill Glennon, a technology consultant in New York City who worked for IBM repairing typewriters from 1973 to 1985, says those experts "are full of crap. They just don't know."

Glennon says there were IBM machines capable of producing the spacing, and a customized key -- the likes of which he says were not unusual -- could have created the superscript th.

So again, we're left to determine the authenticity of the documents in a he said/she said situation. I think the only way to determine this is by having access to the original documents and have the paper and inks dated.

In case you're looking for a humorous way to wrap up the whole Memogate thing, we give you Bob Novak.

On the CNN panel show, "Capital Gang," Novak expressed grave doubts about the CBS documents, then said: "I'd like CBS, at this point, to say where they got these documents
from. They didn't get them from a CIA agent. I don't believe there was any laws involved. I don't think we'll have a special prosecutor, if they tell. I think they should say where they got these documents because I thought it was a very poor job of reporting by CBS...."

Fellow panelist, Al Hunt, from the Wall Street Journal, then replied: "Robert Novak, you're saying CBS should reveal its source?"

The transcript continues:

NOVAK: Yes.

HUNT: You do? You think reporters ought to reveal sources?

NOVAK: No, no. Wait a minute.

HUNT: I'm just asking.

NOVAK: I'm just saying in that case.

HUNT: Oh.

NOVAK: I think -- I think it's very important. If this is a phony document, the American -- the people should know about it.

HUNT: So in some cases, reporters ought to reveal sources.

NOVAK: Yes.

HUNT: But not in all cases.

NOVAK: That's right.

HUNT: OK. Mark Shields, what's the relevance of all this?

SHIELDS: A point well taken, Al.

Novak, of course, was one of the two reporters subpoened by the F.B.I. in their investigation of the leaked identity of C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame by a White House source. Novak refused to reveal the identity of his source.

For the above exchange, he was awarded Douchebag of the Week by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.

"It is critical that the president of the United States speak clearly and consistently at this time of great threat in our world, and not change positions because of expediency or pressure." - George W. Bush, 9/14/04

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their... their love with women all across the country." - George W. Bush, 9/6/04

"So community colleges are accessible, they're available, they're affordable, and their curriculums don't get stuck. In other words, if there's a need for a certain kind of worker, I presume your curriculums evolved over time." - George W. Bush, 8/10/04

"Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a—you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."- George W. Bush, 8/6/04 (click for video; Quicktime required)

"Secondly, the tactics of our—as you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's—ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions—you can't—we're out of sanctions." - George W. Bush, 8/9/04

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." - George W. Bush, 8/5/04

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Posted 11:22pm, Sunday, September 5, 2004

Swift judgement

Sorry for the lack of posts. After I got back from Vegas a couple of weeks ago. I got slammed at work and by some legal issues I'm working out. Then last weekend, I went to L.A. to see my sister and her family.

While I haven't posted here for a couple of weeks, I didn't want you to think I've been slacking off. No, I've been fighting the good fight against a hoarde of right-wing zealots in my political chat group.

Below, you'll find some of my posts to that group from the last ten days or so.

I'm at a lost to figure out why so many right-wingers WANT to believe the swift boat liars.

It's not as if they're asking for a full investigation; no, they seem quite willing to accept it all at face value.

The right may wonder the same about the left... why believe Kerry? Well, mostly because the smears are coming from the same direction as past smears leveled against McCain and Clelland. In other words, its par for the course as far as bullshit accusations.

I'm much more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to a guy who's got a pretty clean history of service to our country. I mean, do I believe a man who volunteered for service in Vietnam, who then returns to speak out against an unjust war... a man who dedicates his life to public service and represents his constituants.

Or do I accept the word of an admitted alcoholic, a man who didn't bother serving the public until seven years ago. A man who spent most of his life serving only himself, running several failed businesses with the help of his daddy. A self-admitted C student who coasted through Yale as a Legacy.

We need to ask more questions of our leaders and not let them off the hook. I don't know how much more investigating you can do with Kerry... he's got his Navy records on line, the testimony of fellow troops. And a handful of guys accusing him of being a liar, while admitting they have no proof he lied. No, if fact, faced with a mountain of evidence which contradicts their claims, they merely dismiss it as all being wrong without so much as offering an ounce of proof to back up their stories. At the same time, most even admit they have no beef with his service, but simply dislike his testimony after the war.

Bush, on the other hand, cannot produce a single man who saw him serve in Alabama... not a single officer who may have commanded him. All we hear is, "Hell, it was a big platoon... he might have been there. I don't know." There are a couple of unclaimed rewards dating back to 2000 for people who can present evidence that Bush served in Alabama. No one has come forward to collect these thousands of dollars. And yet no one is outraged at this lack of proof. People simply shrug.

This troubles me. It makes me question our society and citizens... our morals.

I finally have found something that the right will have to concede on: the bands supporting Bush all suck. From AP....

The popular country music act of Brooks & Dunn head the entertainment lineup for the Republican National Convention in New York that starts in a week.

Top GOP officials say the duo of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn will perform during the convention at Madison Square Garden, along with country singer Lee Ann Womack, Latin gospel singer Jaci Velasquez and Christian rock band Third Day.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz......

Fucking priceless.... while Dole appears on Wolf Blitzer's CNN show, he trashes Bush off the air... but not off camera. The video operator taped it and released it. See it now at Slate!!!

A leaked video reveals what Bob Dole really thinks about Bush's tactics.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

Right-wing pundit Andrew Sullivan catches Bush in a Fruedian slip:

I loved Bush's comment yesterday about the smear-ad: "I can understand why Senator Kerry is upset with us. I wasn't so pleased with the ads that were run about me. And my call is get rid of them all, now."

"Us"?? I thought Bush had nothing to do with it.

Remember, George W. Bush doesn't think we can beat the terrorists...

"I don't think you can win [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the - those who use terror as a tool are - less acceptable in parts of the world."
- George W. Bush, Aug. 29th, 2004

Notes from the RNC:

Well, as predicted, the Bush twins came off looking idiotic compared to the Kerry girls. What are they... 15? You're telling me these two have Yale degrees? Puhleeeze.

Irony of ironies, they tried to look cool by mentioning Outkast and Bono? Er... Andre3000 hates your dad girls. And Bono? I don't think he supports your dad either. These two are actively campaigning to remove him from office.

I laughed during the twins' speech, but not because they were good. The awkward silences after every joke... I felt like I was watching Leno. What a snoozefest. Someone from the RNC vetted this?

And Arnold.... sheeesh, enough with the bad movie puns (True Lies? Check! I'll be back? Check!). Before he opened his mouth, I asked my wife to guess how long it'd be before he used the phrase "girly-man" (about three minutes). Hey Arnie... that bit was funny.... on SNL... in 1989! Not to mention that a lot of his speech has since been deemed false or misrepresentative.

Watching Laura Bush was like watching June Cleaver. Go back in the kitchen and bake some cookies dear. There's no "there" there. I later heard from some republicans who explained that she has long been suspected of medicating herself... and of having botox, which also leads to her dazed expression.

And what can one say about Zell Miller? Zell Miller makes Joe Lieberman look like Huey Newton.

Here's an excerpt from his book, "A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat". Read it and tell me he doesn't sound like a crackpot:

"[M]y conscience travels with me everywhere I go, like some unwelcome inner companion. I cannot escape him and is he tough. He is on steroids, has a Black Belt and long fingernails, and stomps around inside of me, sometimes in hobnailed boots. He's been there as long as I can remember. Although it's getting tougher and tougher for me to blow out all the candles on my birthday cake, he just grows stronger—and louder."

And that's just on page two. Sounds like Travis Bickle driving around in his cab (tick, tick,tick, tick).

Checking in on all the pundits and analysts this morning I see Zell Miller was pretty much panned across the board. The best bit I heard was about Miller looking like he was about to eat a baby (and didn't he know that was Cheney's job?).

He definitely looked a bit frightening. You know you're scary when you make Cheney look like Mister Rogers. He kinda reminded me of the guy from the horror movie "Phantasm".

Anyway you cut it, Miller looked like a psychopath.

Here's the transcript of the CNN anchors tearing Zell apart and exposing his convention lies.

Every time he's busted, he just plays dumb. I can't imagine it played better live than on paper.

He also looked/sounded pretty bad on Hardball. He actually challenged Chris Matthews to a duel.

I don't know how anyone can look at Miller asd anything but, at worse, a nutjob and at best, misinformed.

Miller just screwed the pooch with swing voters. Cheney didn't help. He just took the whole night even more negative. While the boos and chants of "flip-flop" may have charged up the party faithful, I think the rest of the country was pretty disgusted by the whole thing.

Let's just say Miller's no Obama.

Zell Miller... flip-flopper...

My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders – and a good friend.

He was once a lieutenant governor – but he didn't stay in that office 16 years, like someone else I know. It just took two years before the people of Massachusetts moved him into the United States Senate in 1984.

In his 16 years in the Senate, John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington.

Early in his Senate career in 1986, John signed on to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Bill, and he fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politicallycorrect for Democrats to do so.

John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment. Business Week magazine named him one of the top pro-technology legislators and made him a member of its "Digital Dozen."

John was re-elected in 1990 and again in 1996 – when he defeated popular Republican Governor William Weld in the most closely watched Senate race in the country.

John is a graduate of Yale University and was a gunboat officer in the Navy. He received a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three awards of the Purple Heart for combat duty in Vietnam. He later co-founded the Vietnam Veterans of America.

He is married to Teresa Heinz and they have two daughters.

As many of you know, I have great affection - some might say an obsession - for my two Labrador retrievers, Gus and Woodrow. It turns out John is a fellow dog lover, too, and he better be. His German Shepherd, Kim, is about to have puppies. And I just want him to know… Gus and Woodrow had nothing to do with that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Senator John Kerry.

- Zell Miller, March 1, 2001