DEM DEBATE THREAD NOW!!! (THREAD #2)

[matcom]

mods could you please LOCK the first one for the Dial-Up users? thanks

:hi:

[goobergunch]

1. See post #3 (n/t)

[jburton]

55. Carol just called Joe's BS

Joe: single payer will cost too much/middle class taxes
Carol: wrong, it will free up money

interesting

[matcom]

2. Kerry: "would be nice to have a Pres who could find.....

the other countries on a map in this hemisphere..."

:)

[madmax]

5. Everyone one of these candidates are tearing bush a new one

I hope they all hop on a plane to DC and beat the shit outta bush, LOL. I'm loving this. :)

[never cry wolf]

16. Separate planes, please

Don't want any "accidents."

[MODemocrat]

143. I thought that quip from Kerrey was absolutely brilliant

It was one of the highlights of the debate.

[VolcanoJen]

3. LBN DEBATE THREAD #1 FOUND HERE:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=97767&mesg_id=97767

Thanks! :-)

GO DEMS!!!!

VolcanoJen
DU Moderator

[chimpymustgo]

4. Kerry kicking ARSE! Very funny, very Presidential.

Edwards very good too. so likeable and good plans.

[DemNoir]

Yep

Kerry is just hitting his stride as a candidate.

[aquart]

56. Except for Lieberman, it's a good crew.

We could be unashamed of any one of them.

Damn, Gephardt is sounding good. Maybe I need an enema.

[MODemocrat]

144. Gephardt showed a lot of passion

Being a Missourian myself, he made me pretty proud. My husband, who is not a "politician" in the sense that I am, was amazed at how good all the candidates looked and how well they articulated. He said he'd love to see Bush have to be on center stage like they were, but he knows it'll never happen. Like we say here "anyone but Bush".

[Sean Reynolds]

6. Gep quoted the Nazi Ford!

lol

[jos]

7. Gephardt's right on trade

Folks like Kerry were voting for NAFTA and fast track when he was voting against it.

[Woodstock]

8. Lieberman is an ass

Unbelievable.

[Emboldened Chimp]

13. A total ass

[GBD4]

9. Gephardt

Bush a miserable failure

(again!)

[Emboldened Chimp]

10. Gephardt all over the place

He's on fire! * is a miserable failure!

[matcom]

11. Gephart on FUCKING FIRE!!!

who woudda THUNK it???

:shrug:

[Papa]

15. yeah i thought he was going to burst into flames!

and he said * was a miserable failure again....

[never cry wolf]

20. I LOVE IT

if Dick had a chance in hell of winning i'd be behind him, who knows??

[MODemocrat]

145. Gephardt made some giant strides yestereday

He looked presidential to me, but after having Bush as president, this may be just an illusion. Hope he gains strength from this.
I couldn't believe how forceful he was.

[madmax]

12. Dick is fired up!!!!!!!!

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa go DEMS!!!

[goforit]

136. Tooo many sorry Dicks in History and present....

'Tricky DICK'Nixon
Dick Cheney
Richard(Dick) Pearl
and I'm sure there are more.

[Hoppin_Mad]

14. Gebhart's on fire !

Someone fed him some whupp-ass !

[DemNoir]

18. Gep sounds

Like someone who thinks this is his last chance...Great tho

[aquart]

40. Even I admired him.

And I loathe Gephardt. Or thought I did.

[MODemocrat]

146. aquart, you're cool

because you're big enough to bend, and that shows your strong character. I was impressed with Gep myself.

Marian

[matcom]

17. DK: back on NAFTA

IMHO i am afraid it will go over the heads of the 'sheeple'

[Demobrat]

33. It sure didn't go over the heads of the folks at the labor day rally.

I don't think I've ever seen a crowd go quite that wild, and I've seen the Beatles!

[GBD4]

19. Bad Camera Angle

Kucinich just shown on riser

[jos]

21. Go DK

Cancel NAFTA! Protect workers rights, not just intellectual property.

Kerry is full of shit. He never insisted that worker's rights be in the trade agreements.

[goobergunch]

25. Can a President cancel NAFTA unilaterally?

I don't think so.

[JohnKleeb]

28. not sure I heard theres a way

BTW if people take that to mean hes not in to working with the rest of the world thats bull because he wants to sign the landmines treaty, join the world court, etc.

[bbmykel]

29. Apparently...

* cancelled the ABM treaty without Congressional approval. DK sued to stop it but the suit failed in court.

Why any nation would enter into another agreement with the US when the next administration can cancel it by fiat is beyond me.

Mike

[goobergunch]

32. NAFTA is different

In 1994, Congress passed the /bss/d103query.html|NAFTA Implementation Act, which includes the following:

(a) APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT AND STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION- Pursuant to section 1103 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (19 U.S.C. 2903) and section 151 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2191), the Congress approves--

(1) the North American Free Trade Agreement entered into on December 17, 1992, with the Governments of Canada and Mexico and submitted to the Congress on November 4, 1993; and

(2) the statement of administrative action proposed to implement the Agreement that was submitted to the Congress on November 4, 1993.

[cthrumatrix]

22. Kerry thinks we can fix NAFTA.....DK says Trash NAFTA Day one

and then Kerry says dump Ashcroft

[matcom]

23. Kerry: "we need an AG whose name is not John Ashcroft......."

...

[Terwilliger]

24. Kerry had to claim passion in order to disagree with Dennis

sorry, John, I just don't see it

[Rose Siding]

26. Graham's health care

is like Dean's VT rubric!

[GBD4]

30. Edwards

start with children

[matcom]

27. Braun: "we need single payer health care system"

...

[aquart]

49. YES! I like it HER way.

Was that Edwards who thought he was being a good guy swearing to make sure kids had doctors? Real useful when their parents drop dead from untreated conditions they couldn't afford.

Not impressed.

Braun however, is being sensible about it. Naturally, that's not how it will be done.

Men. Pooey.

[Demobrat]

Yeah, my heart's with her. She was the best

of all at the health care debates. My head's with Dean though, who said sure he'd sign a single-payer health care bill if one made it to his desk, but that wasn't going to happen so here's what we can do right now.

[GreenArrow]

112. yeah that's a pet peeve of mine

Health care for kids and the elderly--why not helath care for all of us?

[rocketdem]

120. because you have a better chance of getting health care

I'm generally in favor of a better health care system, more expansive, but I don't believe that we can alter the thing overnight.

I support a piecemeal approach and with such an approach it is best to take are of those least capable of taking care of themselves. Children and the elderly can't go out and find a job with health care benefits. Of course, neither can many too many able-bodied, hard-working adults, but, well, at least you've got a shot.

Children and the elderly also happen to be the ones that typically (though certainly not always) have the greatest health care requirements.

First make sure that the youngsters and the oldsters are covered and then cover working families who don't have workplace health care. It's a reasonable approach assuming that it actually progresses from start to finish (major assumption).

That's why, I think.

[matcom]

31. Edwards: "* is the only one with NO health care plan"

"everyone on this stage HAS a health care plan...."

[never cry wolf]

35. These guys are ALL great, cept for joe

I LOVE THE CANDIDATE!!!

[jburton]

34. face it, we rock!!!

I mean, don't all of the candidates just seem to be doing great tonight? Lots of common solidarity, everybody just doing their thing very well.

Except Joe, of course.

[GBD4]

37. and very glad

to see the unity on the DU boards tonite :)

[Sean Reynolds]

43. DK: "HELLO?"

That was mature. :eyes:

[matcom]

36. Dean: "We Are Gonna Repeal The * Tax Cuts"...

..

[dean4america]

38. Dean on Healthcare -- awww YEAH

good spanish from Dean, very composed on that question, could have talked longer, but got to the point... gaining momentum.

[Cha]

90. Espanol? I love it! I gotta hear this later!

Dean habla Espanol! Que hombre!

[SharonAnn]

134. Si, y habla bien! No como Bush!

Dean's a winner!

[Woodstock]

39. I sense another Lieberman attack on Dean coming on

Dean: most middle class Americans never got a tax cut, and would be glad to give up the $100 they got if they did for health care.

[dean4america]

42. DK attacks Dean

lame. if you want to attack, just do it Dennis. at least I'd respect an attack from him.

[dean4america]

44. Oh, and can I say, re: LIE-berman...

oh, wait, I can't say that on this board....

oh, what the hell. F*CK YOU JOE!

[Woodstock]

45. Yup, here he goes again - he's sounding like Jan on the Brady Bunch

Dean, Dean, Dean!

[MoonAndSun]

50. Joe is not getting the applause that the others are getting...

no way he is their candidate tonight.

[matcom]

41. Kucinich: "Vermont does not have a Military...."

SLAMMING Dean

[Papa]

46. Slammed Dean really good there...

Ridiculed Dean....saying Hello, like "McFly, Helllllooooo" .

[Sean Reynolds]

48. A slam? Yes. Mature? No.

I LIKE DK but feel that was a little too much.

[Jim Sagle]

60. And Dean was never given a chance to respond.

What's up w/that?

[Cha]

78. I know...Big difference between a "slam dunk" and an immature

Slam! But what was said? :-)

[saskatoon]

141. Too much?

Oh, for God's sake---this was no ladies tea party. I thought it was pretty clever.

[dean4america]

51. but

it was empty rhetoric. joe is dying a slow death on stage.

[dean4america]

54. this was about Joe, not DK

just wanted to clear that part up.

[ibegurpard]

71. That was ridiculous

I'm disappointed to hear that kind of stuff from him.

[kutastha]

47. I dunno

He must not have been here during hunting season. :)

[Woodstock]

53. I wasn't aware Cleveland had a military either

The two attacks of the evening were Lieberman and Kucinich.

[Cha]

74. I didn't get to hear it! My stream kept blacking out!

So Dean didn't attack anyone?
And what was that about "Vermont doesn't have any military"?

Thanks!

Maybe I can see it later on PBS or C-span!

[I Lean Left]

135. Dean had said...

that if they could offer health care to 94% of the youth (or was it elderly?) and a few other statistics and still balance the budget in a little state like Vt., then surely a great country like the US could do it for all its citizens. That's when DK said Vermont doesn't have a military. If you are going to balance the budget but not cut the military, then you are going to have to cut social spending programs. Helllllooooooo!!!!!.

He had me up til 'Hello'! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

[tjdee]

116. DK wants to cut military spending.

Just for context...

Is this right? DK wants to cut all Bush's tax cuts and military spending--to fund social programs. He's then saying that Dean is going to have to cut social programs if he plans on maintaining the defense budget. He's saying that if Dean stops all the tax cuts as proposed, he'd still not have any dough for healthcare because of the defense spending? Right?

[SaveABug]

119. The House of Reps

deals frequently with issues regarding the military and national defense. Kucinich may be a former Mayor from Ohio, but is currently a member of congress.

[JohnKleeb]

121. yes

I think from what I hear the presention he did it in was bad but techncially he was right.

[SaveABug]

117. It was a true statement

he was trying to point out that you can't promise health care, a massively bloated military, incentive to small business, etc without making a few choices. Unless, of course, one wants to continue $400 billion dollar deficits.

[TheDonkey]

52. Lots of Bush bashing!! Loving it!

Kerry and Edwards stand out to me. Kerry was doing an excellent job busting on Bush and making some good jokes.

Braun I must say is an excellent canidate. I love that lady! She's really holding her own with the 7 other men.

Sad to see Sharpton not there but I haven't heard about Graham in awhile so I was shocked to see him.

[Woodstock]

57. Kerry is falling completely flat for me, as usual

I went into this really wanting to like him, but he just doesn't have spunk. My picks for standout are Dean, Edwards, and Moseley-Braun. Boobie prize goes to LIEberman.

[dean4america]

62. i don't like kerry generally, BUT

I give him his props for a good debate. he's a good speaker in this setting. Edwards is, too. The two of them and Dean are the three best so far.

And Joey LIES (would be a great mafia name) can go #&*$ $&(#^@ ;-)

[Woodstock]

64. Gephardt & Graham have done well too

This is an impressive field!

[TheDonkey]

68. well...

I agree with you about Liberman. That man is doing what he does best, being conservative *ugh*.

I also agree Braun is standing out. It's sad to see her polling so low when she has such talent and it's pretty cool to see an African-American woman make it to this stage and not be laughed at.

As for Kerry, I have to disagree. I think he's doing a great job. He may not be the most loud or "spunky" speaker but what he says does it all for me. I haven't noticed him stumble over words or say something that left me with a "wtf?" face.

[chimpymustgo]

61. Agree. Kerry and Edwards tops. CMB is magnificent.

Gephart coming on strong. DK good.

[GBD4]

58. Gephardt

miserable failure
(again!)

[dean4america]

59. gep agreeing with Dean (vice versa, too).

on getting rid of all tax cuts

[Guaranteed]

63. Ooo go DK...some passion there n/t

[lanlady]

65. I am damn proud to be a Democrat

ALL the candidates are doing well. Well informed, passionate, in command of the issues. I'd vote for any of them, even Lieberman.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

130. Every Democrat on the stage could beat Bush

I hate to spout platitudes, but I am more optimistic about this than I have been in a while. :)

[saskatoon]

142. Sorry to have to interject sad note but

Just saw Vester site re the debate, there were 2 men who looked like they knew what was what, there was a picture of Dean on the screen and when she asked the first guy to name him he didn't know who it was. Same thing when (think it was Kerry) picture was on the screen and the second guy, same thing. A lot of people vote so they can say, "Oh, yes of course I voted" and don't know what it's all about and swallow all the bullshit that's fed them and they recognize Bush so there you go. They don't follow politics and they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I meet them and talk to them every day and that's why I'm so teed off. Sorry about that but it's the truth.

[otohara]

137. That's What I Was Thinking - except for Lieberman

Proud to be a democrat - We're the good guys (for the most part) the GOP is evil.

[ibegurpard]

66. Have been very impressed by Mosely-Braun

I wish she hadn't lost her last senate race so she could be viewed as a more credible candidate. I like what I've heard from Gephart but I kept yelling at him "So why the fuck did you support his little invasion ploy?!" I've been impressed by the fact that, for the most part, they're not attacking each other...I agree Lieberman is looking like an asshole and I don't know why Kucinich is going after Dean. I've also been impressed by what Kerry has to say as well as Edwards, although Kerry's remarks seem to have a little more substance than Edwards' to me. Again, though, when I hear people like Kerry and Gephart attacking Bush I almost scream with frustration: "Why weren't you saying this kind of stuff a year ago???!!!"

[blm]

100. They were...

but the press wouldn't pay attention to anything against Bush.

[dean4america]

67. Dean on immigration

nailing the "profiling" aspect.

"quota"/affirmative action point is good.

tired of being divided riff, good.

okay applause.

[Woodstock]

76. He ended a little flat

Kind of took the wind out of the earlier momentum.

[dean4america]

69. son of a mill worker ...

overall a good response to the question, but that line is too, just, ... yeah, it doesn't work.

[chimpymustgo]

84. That line WORKS. There are a lot of pople in this country who can relate.

Maybe you can't - but that audience, and the voters the Democrats are trying to reach can relate.

[never cry wolf]

70. I want

an america that is more of a community, do y'all think dean read will's thread earlier???

[Woodstock]

I've heard Dean say this since February

That came before the thread, I suspect.

[Jim Sagle]

72. DK SUCKS! His slams on Dean were childish, and

Howard never got a chance to respond.

And besides, DK is a dead ringer for Rick Lazio!

[sugarcookie]

81. I liked Dennis

but...he lost me at "Hellooo".

[Cha]

87. "lost you at Hellooooooo" , eh?

I missed hearing it but it sounds like Dennis is attacking to his immediate right... but what do I know?

[shance]

110. The Dean attacks were cheap, which was too bad because I believe

so much of what he said was wonderful.

When Kucinich spoke of America and what we "used" to be - it made me think, oh yeah, I forgot.

Kucinich addressed the oil and Halliburton deal and the audience went wild from what I could tell. Have to give him points there.

[JohnKleeb]

111. sorry about what happened

I know it bugs you to see one candiate knock another I dont like it either. BTW that was good for him the other stuff he did. I apologize if my candiate overreacted tonight on yours.

[Woodstock]

82. I lost respect for him there, that's for sure

Dean has responded well to the Kucinich and LIEberman attacks. Kucinich, as usual, comes off way too extreme. LIEberman, as usual, comes off Republican.

[Cha]

85. What did DK say about "Vermont not having any military" ...my

stream went out! Por Favor!

[lindashaw]

97. He said that it was easy to balance the budget of a small state.

But Vermont didn't have a military. Gist was, Dean would not be able to balance the budget of a whole country with a military to consider.

[Cha]

101. Oooh! Ouch! I think Govenor Dean would be able to take that

into consideration!

[rocketdem]

123. apparently DK slept through the 1990's

Sorry Dennis, but it is possible.

Yes, I too think that the military budget should be cut (though done so carefully), but Dennis seems to forget that just three years ago we were talking about a $4.6 trillion surplus.

[sugarcookie]

106. I think this is the point

where he rolls his eyes like :eyes: and says "hellooo". Not his finest moment. IMHO

[Terwilliger]

86. OHHHHHHH, so being a Democrat means judging people on who they look like?

what kind of shit is that?

[JohnKleeb]

91. dumb shit right there that is btw I didnt see it

I suppose we may see Kucinich bashing threads. I dont know I dont think it makes a difference who he looks like.

[rocketdem]

124. it's also about electabilty

Sorry, it just is.

If he did this in a debate with dipshit, half the country would turn the other way no matter what came out of his mouth next.

[chimpymustgo]

73. Edwards on inclusion. Education. My God, he is fantastic.

He has got to be pulling in Hispanic/Latino votes.

[NekoChris]

75. Could you guys

Give some quotes of what Liberman is saying? I'd like to know. ^_^

[matcom]

79. Lieberman: FLOPPING ..... IMHO

he is trying too hard to pander to the spanish vote

he 'tried' to slam Kerry and Dean (see above)

he is a waste

again..... IMHO

[dean4america]

80. well...

my comments would have to be out, he is losing tonight so badly and is doing so childishly.

[dean4america]

77. uh, joe

saying "i am outraged" does NOT an outragred candidate make. he looks sooooo "pained" by this. gd bush enabler.

[Guaranteed]

83. Yeah he's actually beginning to sound like a Dem

However he is qualifying himself a lot- like on immigration- and we all gotta remember what he's done in collaboration with Bush for the past couple of years.

[Malikshah]

88. Lieberman came off as the loser of the evening

Looks like he was designated pit bull for the evening.

He followed his marching orders "attack dean, attack dean"

Dean's buttons wouldn't be pushed

Others didn't join in and lieberman came off as an ass.

Each had strong points and weak points.

Each had recycled bits from speeches--all for a new audience.

Wish they'd have let them have a closing statement.

[rocketdem]

125. that was the plan

Attack Dean and watch Howard blow up.

Knowing that he can't beat him any other way, Joe was just trying to make him unravel.

Talk about childish.

[robbedvoter]

92. Right. Due process vs secret tribunals and the attacks on "civilization"

(in Iraq) betrayed where he's coming from. He only left out evildoers, but the quote from the Bible was right there.

[gmoney]

98. BOY do I wish Kucinich was electable...

He has all the right ideas... but I think he'd come in third to LaRouche if he's nominated...

[arcos]

89. Is it over? n/t

[matcom]

94. its over

quite a night

they ALL did good (except holy joe)

[arcos]

95. Thanks!

I left for a minute to go to the bathroom and when I came back there was some music playing. And I was left wondering what had happened...

I agree, they all did good, except Lieberman. :D

[MODemocrat]

147. I believe Joe helped the republican party more than himself

I'll always think he was the wrong choice for Al Gore to make for his running mate. All the rest of the candidates did very well for the Democratic party.

[Kolesar]

93. If these candidates were brave, they would tell the truth about UN & Iraq

I am watching the debate starting at 9pm (1 hour delay). The candidates are discussing turning control of Iraq over to the UN. These candidates will NOT say that the reason Bush and Cheney will not turn it over to the UN is because of OIL. The US does not want to give up the control of oil.

A really brave leader would tell Americans that we cannot impose our will on Iraq and take their oil. Americans are going to have to learn to sacrifice.

[robbedvoter]

96. Kuchinich did.

[liberalmuse]

99. Ah, sounds like our boys did good!

Except Lieberman, judging from the comments. I was hoping for something more dynamic from Dean, but I really like how he cuts to the chase--no platitudes or flowery words, he just says it. It sounds like Kucinich and Gephardt kicked butt. Wow, and I think Dean must've jump started them into venturing into the 'yes, we CAN attack Bush's policies' territory. Bravo! I'm going to have to steal my daughter's tv antenna for the night and try to get in PBS. I was thinking before reading about the debates that we Dems have a really good crop of candidates--and I think it's better than I ever remember it being. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, what is Bush, or Arnie? Are these men examples of the new Republican candidate? Not very impressive, that's for sure.

On edit: I forgot to mention Kerry! It sounds like he was the humorous one of the bunch, and that he also got tough on Bush.

[GreenArrow]

102. Dean gets the credit

But Kucincich was attacking Bushes policies louder and harder and earlier.

[JohnKleeb]

103. ok thats better

All Ive heard about what was his one comment to Dean. I apologize if what happened pissed you off if anyone was poed. I still support my candiate though.

[GreenArrow]

105. I;m not attacking DK

I do get real tired of people talking about Dean as if he were the first and only candidate to criticize GWB.

[JohnKleeb]

I know you werent ga its fine

dont worry and expect a pm.

[stickdog]

104. And shriller (NT)

[GreenArrow]

108. kind of subjective

.

[tjdee]

107. Is Dean FOR racial profiling or not?

He said racial profiling is wrong, for Arabs, Latinos, everyone.

Then, right after that, he wanted to know why Latinos had a hard time post 9/11, when not one of the hijackers was Latino.

Um.

[Cha]

114. What's wrong with asking a question like that?

They did! Dean asked why.

bigots were attacking anyone with dark skin, no doubt.

[tjdee]

118. So he's for profiling Arabs?

Latinos shouldn't be profiled after 9/11 but Arabs should be? Right after he said profiling was wrong?

That whole thing seemed off to me.

[Logansquare]

131. I thought he was implying that post 9/11 profiling

was still all about racism. I don't think he meant it's ok to profile Arabs--he quite explicitly said so previously.

[paulsbc]

128. noticed that too

i don't see how anyone thought Dean did well tonight. My rankings

-> Edwards (tied with Gephardt)
-> Gephardt (tied with Edwards)
-> Mosley Braun
-> Kucinich
-> Kerry
-> Dean
-> Graham
-> Lieberman

[w4rma]

129. Dean: I will work to ensure that racial profiling ends

…
I will work to ensure that racial profiling ends and I will direct my Attorney General to use regulatory authority under existing anti-discrimination laws the 1964 Civil Rights Act to define racial profiling as discrimination, and to withhold federal funds from state and local law enforcement that violate those regulations.
…
http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_statement_civilrights

[depakid]

133. Dean also mentioned that numerous studies

have demonstrated that profiling was NOT an effective policy when used on any racial minority.

[Tatiana]

109. Wow! Impressive.

With the exception of Joe, there isn't a single "bad" candidate. Each one has ideas of merit, each one is intelligent, thoughtful, and articulate. Dick really surprised me. He seemed to have found his spine. I notice a lot of people perceive Kerry as being "flat." I do love the passion Dean exudes, but I don't see Kerry as being "flat" so much as he's measured. I want a level-headed, measured, and calm-under-pressure President making decisions for my country.

I waffle. I really like Dean. But I do feel Kerry has the potential to be a great president.

[chimpymustgo]

113. Right on about Kerry.

Huge potential.

[Papa]

126. I was impressed to.

I was surprised by Dick Gephardt and the fire he was breathing. I think he's trying turn the base to his side, and in a way make up for his mistakes by supporting the bush admin and letting us down earlier. he was the most forceful in his distaste for bush. If only one of them could be selected to sit Bush in a room and yell at him for an hour, it would hands down be Dick Gephardt.

i thought DK was saying the right things, but at some point it was a little "over the top" like he was trying too hard. Kerry was very impressive I thought. Seemed logical, informed, experienced, and not tooo slick. Edwards was great but does not seem to have the stature of the others....can't quite put my finger on it (maybe he's the youngest looking one). He also seems more like a "politician" than the others, but he is great.

Dean was really good. when he speaks, my attention does not wander. I am paying full attention to what he is saying, and his answers are easy to understand. He talks like a plain old American.
Bob Grahm was good to, his voice was not as forcefull as the others, it's just him tho. He just comes across as a really nice guy to me.

Carol Moseley Braun suprised me the most. She was extremely articulate and was able to get her points across very well, connected with the audience that was there. She was talking common sense goddammit!! My wife was crying during part of it. I would vote for her in a second.

It struck us both how articulate ALL of these candidates are, and how lacking Bush is. These candidates were talking a mile a minute, with tons of information being jammed in there, that it was virtually impossible to transcribe any of it.....you only got the explosive parts on this thread. Oh, and Lieberman was an asshole, but I'd still vote for him over Bush any day of the week.

[HPLeft]

127. Yep

At worst, I'd say that Kerry could have been found guilty of sometimes answering the questions he wanted to be asked, rather the one he was actually asked. But, all in all, I think he was very effective tonight. I'd describe Dean as being flat - and even Mosley Braun as coming cross as more natural and convincing.

[Nottingham]

115. Kucinich was Awesome!

Keep it up Dennis :bounce:

[HPLeft]

122. Yes, but

I thought Kucinich was great until he mentioned cutting the military budget - at which point he reminded me of why he can't be taken seriously as a candidate in 2004. You don't even suggest cutting the military budget at a time when the military is dramatically smaller than even 10 years ago, and while the shock of 9/11 is still a major factor in how the average American responds to the world.

[Umbram]

132. Yes, exactly why i'm voting for him.

he's not afraid to say "this is where America should be going", even if the masses have been hypnotized to believe otherwise.

we don't need a bigger army, we need smarter politicans with a better foreign policy.

[TheYellowDog]

138. We don't need a defense cut

We need a reallocation of resources in the Defense Dept. Instead of spending more and more money on unnecessary weapons systems, we should be spending the money on better housing for our troops, and sending some more money to the VA Dept so that our heroic veterans don't have to go without any health care! God, Bush just makes me sick cutting veterans' benefits. It's the most immoral thing ever to do that. No veteran in America should ever have to pay a dime to the VA for their health care, imo.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

139. ...thoughts on each candidate's performance

Gephardt was on fire, but it is becasue he is feeling the heat to solidify his "base". The big labor unions and backers have been fence sitting and he thought he had labor all wrapped up as far as endorsements go. That theme guided his whole performance. His foreign affairs views came off as a bit naive.

Edwards is calm, measured, and reasonably well informed on the issues, but he seems too young and perhaps not experienced enough to be pres. Same with CMB.

Graham is very impressive. I would have no problem with him as pres. He just needs to speak a little faster to suit my northern tastes.:)

DK was sharp and competent and I could see him as pres. except he doesn't display the requisite maturity with "hello" rejoinders.

Lieberman would be fine as president too, but his voice would turn far too many people off to be a real contender. Forget about any of his liberal stands and corporate favortism, and nevermind the fact he is Jewish will be controversial.

I thought Dean sounded whiny. He has the intelligence, experience, and the facts at his command, but he comes off as too much motivated by emotion than reason. I say this because Kerry is the exact opposite, and therefore the more presidential. And he has the intelligence to recognize that one of the keys to Iraq right now is to minimize the sense of occupation, if not the reality. The depth and breadth of Kerry's knowledge, experience, and demeanor are awesome. I want this man to be my president.

[MostlyBlackCat2]

140. Anyone but Joe - thoughts on each

Dennis rocked. I liked the way he answered with a plan or a list for everything. It showed he's thought it through. didn't like the dean bashing 'hello' though. surprised me a lot.

I'm a Dean supporter, and he did well, but I thought some of his answers stumbled a bit. hopefully he'll improve as time goes by.

Kerry - he just irritated the hell out of me a few times. How many times does someone have to ask that guy a multiple choice question fer chrissakes. he never did answer it. He had some great points, but was way too busy stumping than answering questions.

Same for Gephardt, but I liked the worst president ever theme in his answers.

Clark and Edwards really impressed me! They both seem like they know what they're doing, and I'd go with either of them.

Loserman. He's got nothin'. He should jump ship to the repubs now and save us all the trouble.