Wolf..you butt hole republican whore...

[Dees]

Dean is eating your lunch.

[Hello_Kitty]

1. But the buses! What about the buses!

Won't somebody think of the buses!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Joebert]

3. Dean missed that chance.

He could have said:

"Yes, the mayor and governor should have had plans in place, and used them as soon as they knew they were in trouble."

"They bear fault in not preparing early. However, there was no urgency at the upper levels of the government asking how they can help, what is needed, etc."

[nyhuskyfan]

4. The Dems frustrate with me with this sometimes...

The right is predictable with their talking points -- the whole echo chamber thing and all. The 87 billion question for John Kerry, for example. And it seems that the Dems don't hit back hard when those questions are served up by the media.

The thing about Wolf (or whoever is asking the questions) is that they have to take the role of the contrarian when talking to a politician -- if they just serve up softballs, they get ripped. So you know you are going to get the RW spin in their questions -- be ready for it and hammer back.

[oasis]

5. People were abandoned in the Superdome for days on television.

Dean seems to be asking why Bush didn't get people moving after seeing those images.

The Feds had the manpower and knew people were at risk.For days.

[bmcatt]

9. Have to answer so you can set up the return

Without answering the question factually and emphatically, it leaves things open so that Blitzer could keep trying to hammer away at it.

If there'd been a solid return that closed the question, Dean could've then redirected it to exactly that discussion. It's all a matter of being able to refocus on a new issue. Until you've got an answer to shove in their mouth so they SHUT UP, it's damn near impossible to try and get 'em off their talking point.

[Hello_Kitty]

8. Leslie kept interrupting him when he was trying to respond re: buses

It's like the buses were INCREDIBLY important to Blitzer yet he kept shouting Dean down when he was trying to answer. Dean was trying to say something the effect that it would be difficult to compel drivers.

Wolfie, go Cheney yourself.

[bmcatt]

11. Dean needed to just keep talking

Don't let Leslie start another question. I still say, though, that he needed to have a better answer than "but let's talk about FEMA". I'm not saying that it's *wrong* to talk about FEMA, but until we can, in public, shut down the questions about "ok, but why were so many people still stranded in the city in the first place?", it's a weaker response and people watching will just remember that "the Dems couldn't answer about the buses"

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Do we know for a fact they were public buses?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. I believe I heard this on Randi Rhodes today.. I have a few things on here

Those buses were used to bring people to the Superdome, which was to be used by those who could not evacuate the city. That was part of the city's evacuation plan. .

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

14. She's talking about it right now! nt

[JohnnyBoots]

10. Those buses would have been a couple hundred people save out of

THOUSANDS dead. It was terrible they were not used (could have been for a myriad of reasons), but how does Bush explain the other 9,700 dead? BTW is the kid who stole the bus and saved people being prosecuted?

[moodforaday]

7. CNN international isn't showing it

They have World Sport instead. Well, my small consolation is that I hear BBC World hobbles itself for the US audience too, so CNN is only repaying us Europeans in kind...

[DURHAM D]

12. If Dean or Leslie need a timeline and clear understanding of

the bus situation they should be listening to Randi today or just give her a call - she can explain it in a way that anyone can understand - even without hand puppets or a felt board.