Author: NewMexiKen

If Bush could be honest with himself he could have answered the mistakes question easily and, I think, won a lot of points. For example:

At the time I thought it was best to reassure the children, but in retrospect I believe I should have calmly excused myself and devoted my immediate full attention to the 9/11 attacks.

Or:

On 9/11 there were concerns for my safety, but in retrospect I believe I should have overruled them and ordered Air Force One directly back to Washington.

How hard could it be? What’s wrong with him?

At Slate, William Saletan has a solid analysis of Kerry’s blown at bats last night. It’s well-worth reading.

Brad DeLong:

Out in the real world, this is a very standard question. Bush’s answer shows (a) enormous contempt for the questioner, (b) contempt for the viewers who would like to hear the answer to the question, (c) a pathological aversion to looking back at his own performance, all coupled with (d) amazing arrogance.

Would you hire someone who gave you an answer like this during a job interview? There’s something very wrong with this guy.

[DeLong’s post has the full transcript from Friday night.]

Indeed, responding to the “what are your weaknesses” type question is something any successful candidate for a job will have practiced so that it can be turned into a positive — “I used to burn out from working too hard but have learned to pace myself now so that I stay consistently more productive.” Or, “I take my work too seriously and have had to learn sound stress management techniques.”

This was a likely question for Bush (he’d heard it before). Why can’t he answer it? Even if he wanted to use the bad appointments response (which is terribly pathetic coming from a leader), why not at least explain what he’d learned, which types of people not to appoint, etc.

Kit Seelye, blogging Friday night’s debate for The New York Times:

9:03 p.m.
Did Kerry just swipe Bush’s back to see if there was a transmitter?

What if there had been a transmitter and Kerry discovered it. What would Kerry have done?

The New York Times wonders about The Mystery of the Bulge in the Jacket.

What was that bulge in the back of President Bush’s suit jacket at the presidential debate in Miami last week?

According to rumors racing across the Internet this week, the rectangular bulge visible between Mr. Bush’s shoulder blades was a radio receiver, getting answers from an offstage counselor into a hidden presidential earpiece. The prime suspect was Karl Rove, Mr. Bush’s powerful political adviser.

When the online magazine Salon published an article about the rumors on Friday, the speculation reached such a pitch that White House and campaign officials were inundated with calls.

First they said that pictures showing the bulge might have been doctored. But then, when the bulge turned out to be clearly visible in the television footage of the evening, they offered a different explanation.

“There was nothing under his suit jacket,” said Nicolle Devenish, a campaign spokeswoman.

“It was most likely a rumpling of that portion of his suit jacket, or a wrinkle in the fabric.”

Ms. Devenish could not say why the “rumpling” was rectangular.

Nor was the bulge from a bulletproof vest, according to campaign and White House officials; they said Mr. Bush was not wearing one.

We should attack Canada as they have drugs of mass destruction.

Transcript from debate October 8, 2004:

Mr. Bush: I haven’t yet. Just want to make sure they’re safe. When a drug comes in from Canada I want to make sure it cures you and doesn’t kill you.

A speech worth watching from Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).

Good to know Bush wouldn’t appoint Roger B. Taney to the Supreme Court.

Transcript from debate October 8, 2004:

Mr. Bush: Uh, let me give you a couple of examples I guess of the kind of person I wouldn’t pick….Another example would be the Dred Scott case, which is where judges years ago said that the Constitution allowed slavery because of personal property rights. That’s personal opinion. That’s not what the Constitution says.

Questions for Kerry

Questions for Bush

The creators of This Land have given us a new political animation, Good to Be In DC (set to the tune of Dixie).

From Opinions You Should Have:

The Federal Election Commission has ordered John F. Kerry to inadvertently direct viewers to a pro-George W. Bush website during Friday’s town hall debate. On Tuesday, during the Vice-Presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards, Cheney mistakenly directed viewers to a site that urged visitors not to vote for President Bush, GeorgeSoros.com. …

Initially the Commissioners were unsure of which appropriately pro-Bush site they were going to require Kerry to mention, but by late this afternoon, they had settled on one.

RalphNader.com.

Nieman Watchdog (a journalism support group) has a list of “Some questions worth asking at the town-hall style presidential debate Friday in St. Louis.” It’s a good list.

Link via Dan Froomkin.

Many think VP Burns Cheney did a slow fade as the debate proceeded Tuesday night. James Wolcott knows why:

Seinfeld scholars will remember the episode in which Elaine hired Jerry’s father for a job a J. Peterman, much to her regret. He didn’t know how to get rid of him without actually firing him. Do what I do at the Yankees, George advised. Schedule meetings late in the afternoon. These guys get up at dawn and by lunch they’re completely wiped. Elaine followed George’s counsel, and Jerry’s father had a conniption fit at the first meeting that dragged all the way past 5 PM.

I think we saw that last night. Cheney, like everyone else in the Bush White House, gets up at birdless dawn and by early evening shows unmistakable signs of testiness and snappishness. He had one good early round in last night’s debate, but faded long before the finish….

From The Donkey via Sideshow.