Round by round evaluation of the final of three presidential debates:
Will we ever be safe in America again?
Kerry: Babbbles something about having a plan because we must be safe again.
Bush: Bush takes the opportunity to talk about the war on terror, warlords in Afghanistan and removing a regime in Iraq. Appears to be wandering.
Winner: Kerry
What are we going to do about flu shots?
Bush: Working with Canada to get safe drugs. Combat litigation with reforms that will allow companies to create new products without fear of lawsuit.
Kerry: People should have the same medical benefits as Congress members have.
Bush: Congressional medical benefits cost over $7700 per person to take out an insurance policy. Do we really want to ask the lower class to pay $7700 for health benefits?
Winner: Bush
How can you not pass along the higher cost of government to the taxpayer by not raising taxes?
Kerry: Reinstating Pay-as-you-go, a program in Congress in the 90s that forced Congress to have funding before spending. Kerry has a plan. Wants to roll back middle class tax cuts.
Bush: Kerry’s record shows he likes to raise taxes. We need pro-growth policies instituted by Congress and we need fiscal sanity.
Winner: Bush
What do you say to someone who has lost their job to someone overseas?
Bush: We want to give them help for college, to get training, expand pell grants.
Kerry: Kerry nails Bush on switching from the question to talking about education then blathers off some stats.
Winner: Kerry
Is the loss of jobs the Administrations fault?
Kerry: Kerry acknowledges outsourcing as a fact of life. He gets very vague about a level playing field. I think I know what he was trying to say but not sure he actually said it.
Bush: Goes back to education saying educated students turn into productive American citizens. Increase pell grants. Takes a nice jab at Kerry saying the Ted Kennedy is the conservative Senator from Massachusetts.
Winner: Bush
Is homosexuality a choice?
Bush: Talks about tolerance and respect. Push’s Constitutional amendment to establish marriage as between a man and a woman in order to prevent rogue judges from setting arbitrary rules.
Kerry: For some reason, he brings up Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter. Viewed universally as a bad move. Says we should let States decided on gay marriage
Winner: Bush
How do you respond to Church leaders saying it is a sin to vote for Kerry based on abortion?
Kerry: Faith is an article that should not be transferred to someone else. Under a Kerry administration, Roe vs. Wade will not be overturned.
Bush: We need to set a culture of life overall. Pro-abstinence initiatives. Find alternatives to abortion.
Winner: Kerry
What do you have to say about increasing medical costs?
Bush: Consumers are not involved in the process so costs go up? We also need more market leverage. We need medical liability reform. We need more tech in medicine. An we need more use of generic drugs.
Kerry: Kerry comments on Bush vetoing bill supplying drugs from Canada.
Winner: Bush
How do we pay for Kerry’s health plan?
Kerry: Interesting to note Kerry overtly dodges this question and talks about the importance of medical choice.
Bush: Takes a jab at CBS being a network of record. Government led health leads to poorer quality and more control.
Winner: Bush
Talk about raising the minimum wage.
Kerry: This legislation is long overdue. No vote has been allowed in Congress. We also need equal pay for women.
Bush: Bush goes back to education and tries to spin it to the topic at and. No Child Left Behind provides people with the tools to make more money.
Winner: Kerry
Will you overturn Roe v. Wade?
Bush: No litmus test.
Kerry: No judge who would overturn RvW will be nominated. Spins to Bush not funding NCLB.
Winner: Bush
Address the issue of back-door drafts.
Kerry: Create two new Active Duty Units. Double combat service members. Deploy National Guard only for Homeland Security purposes. Run foreign policy that recognizes alliances.
Bush: Brings up the global tests and talks about the need to win in Iraq with highly trained troops. The Guard and reserves don’t see it as a draft but as an opportunity to serve.
Winner: Bush
Where is the money for Social Security Reform?
Bush: Seniors will still get checks. Younger folks need opportunities to put money into personal savings accounts.
Kerry: Allowing young people to take people out of social security is an invitation to disaster. Gives standard stump speech.
Winner: Bush
Will Kerry leave Social Security alone for later?
Kerry: Talks about tax cuts for the middle class, balance budget, pay down the debt and later on, make adjustments to Social Security later if needed.
Bush: goes on about 9/11 and jobs lost.
Winner: Kerry
Talk about the problems with immigration.
Bush: We’re concerned about security, human rights, etc. Supports temporary worker cards. NO Amnesty.
Kerry: Returns to economy. President broke his promise on immigration. Borders more leaky today. Supports guest worker program. Crack down on illegal hiring. Talks vaguely about earned legalization where workers abiding by the law here for long periods of time earn citizenship (including illegals????)
Winner: Bush
Talk about the assault weapons ban.
Bush: Protect citizens by prosecuting violent crimes involving guns.
Kerry: We should have reauthorized the ban because law enforcement wants it.
Winner: Kerry
Do we still need affirmative action?
Kerry: We haven’t moved forward far enough. We have made progress. President Bush is the first president not to meet with the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus and other civil rights leaders.
Bush: We need an aggressive plan to get people educated so they get jobs based on merit.
Does faith play into your policy decisions?
Bush: Faith is who I am so I don’t push it on anyone but it does affect my decisions.
Kerry:Love neighbor as yourself. We need more of that.
Winner: Draw
Uniting the Country
Kerry: Of course. President did a great job after 9/11 but we have come a long way from that. We need to get back.
Bush: Disappointed in Washington politics but will keep moving forward to unite not divide.
Winner: Kerry
Final Summary: Bush won this debate hands down. Kerry was on the defensive most of the night. Bush was able to exploit Kerry’s weaknesses.
Three weeks to election day.
{ 8 comments }
Jeremy C. wright 10.14.04 at 3:37 pm
Wow, first review I’ve read that said Bush came out anything but a loser in this (and every other) debate.
What caused the flu vaccine shortage: the English, they did bad. The Canadians’ll do better even though I said last debate we can’t trust their drugs.
What caused job loss? We aren’t educating our kids enough (yes, because more educated (and thus more expensive) people would have been less likely to lose their jobs.
Homosexuality thing: I don’t think it’s “universally” agreed to be a bad thing, not even from Republicans. Possibly a bad individual’s daughter to pick, but since his daughter’s JOB is her sexual choice I think it’s fair game.
Problems with immigration: Sorry, but when Bush thinks the borders are secure there’s a real problem.
Personally I’d place it as a tie. Bush was more personable. Kerry was more “Presidential” (wrong word, but he was more dignified).
Bush made a whack of factual errors, but that’s typical. Since Kerry’s gained a small amount of momentum in the first two debates Bush really needed to win this one.
He didn’t. I’m not sure it’ll matter as ultimately the debates don’t seem to be helping anyone really make up their minds.
As your summary shows, folk will see what they want in a debate. To me Bush looked better and sounded better than he ever has. The factual errors left and right (borders secure, 75% of Al Queda leadership, Iraq was a terrorist state, etc) got to me.
Jeremy C. wright 10.14.04 at 4:37 pm
Wow, first review I’ve read that said Bush came out anything but a loser in this (and every other) debate.
What caused the flu vaccine shortage: the English, they did bad. The Canadians’ll do better even though I said last debate we can’t trust their drugs.
What caused job loss? We aren’t educating our kids enough (yes, because more educated (and thus more expensive) people would have been less likely to lose their jobs.
Homosexuality thing: I don’t think it’s “universally” agreed to be a bad thing, not even from Republicans. Possibly a bad individual’s daughter to pick, but since his daughter’s JOB is her sexual choice I think it’s fair game.
Problems with immigration: Sorry, but when Bush thinks the borders are secure there’s a real problem.
Personally I’d place it as a tie. Bush was more personable. Kerry was more “Presidential” (wrong word, but he was more dignified).
Bush made a whack of factual errors, but that’s typical. Since Kerry’s gained a small amount of momentum in the first two debates Bush really needed to win this one.
He didn’t. I’m not sure it’ll matter as ultimately the debates don’t seem to be helping anyone really make up their minds.
As your summary shows, folk will see what they want in a debate. To me Bush looked better and sounded better than he ever has. The factual errors left and right (borders secure, 75% of Al Queda leadership, Iraq was a terrorist state, etc) got to me.
Aaron Brazell 10.14.04 at 6:27 pm
yes there should. thank you… :)
Aaron 10.14.04 at 6:29 pm
It’s all good, mate. :) This is the forum for political discussion and I welcome it. I actually wanted to get a couple guest bloggers to blog both sides up to the election but no one seemed interested. I want to provide a balanced perspective with the understanding that in the end, I personally am voting for Bush and encourage my readers (who are legally able to) to vote the same. But I welcome opposing views. :)
Aaron 10.14.04 at 7:29 pm
It’s all good, mate. :) This is the forum for political discussion and I welcome it. I actually wanted to get a couple guest bloggers to blog both sides up to the election but no one seemed interested. I want to provide a balanced perspective with the understanding that in the end, I personally am voting for Bush and encourage my readers (who are legally able to) to vote the same. But I welcome opposing views. :)
Vinnie Garcia 10.15.04 at 2:27 pm
I do think Bush did better this time around than in the first two elections. Did he “win”? Not sure. Frankly, Kerry only beat him by a hair in the first two debates in my opinion. However, I was thinking that Bush would cream him in all three debates (and I’m rooting for Kerry this time around). The real winner will be decided next month I guess.
Vinnie Garcia 10.15.04 at 3:27 pm
I do think Bush did better this time around than in the first two elections. Did he “win”? Not sure. Frankly, Kerry only beat him by a hair in the first two debates in my opinion. However, I was thinking that Bush would cream him in all three debates (and I’m rooting for Kerry this time around). The real winner will be decided next month I guess.
Aaron Brazell 11.07.04 at 2:47 pm
yes there should. thank you… :)
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