Yesterday I was down, but this Fox News poll is encouraging.

[msmcghee]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105000,00.html

It says that at this time the independents, who will decide this election, are skeptical that any Dem candidate is strong enough to beat Bush*.

It also shows a great deal of anti-Bush* sentiment. I'd say this election is ours to lose - if our only problem is showing we're strong enough and smart enough to lead the nation out of this mess. We've got a year to do it, we're the underdog going in and the more any reasonable person learns about politics and the world and the economy, the better we look.

I think any of the top Dem candidates has the ability to pull that off - to show them and the rest of the world that we are more than ready for this challenge. (Although I do think that some have a better chance than others.)

I'd like to see them all calling for an extensive series of Bush*/Dem debates right now - and predicting that he will cowardly try to get out of them, because he has neither the policies nor the ability to defend them going into this election.

We must make a big deal about this. If it doesn't hurt him not to - he won't debate. They need to start hurting him now - calling him the coward without a brain that he is. Otherwise he will just say he's too busy fighting the war on terra'.

Go Dems.

[salinen]

1. The debates

will be a sham. Rove will push for a few as possible. Moderators will avoid real questions (PC or Mac?) and * and Dem will know beforehand the questions. Iraq, tax cuts for the upper 1%, Valerie Plame, Medicare bill, will be ignored. The message is dependant on the media and the media is corrupt. Pig fuckers!

[KharmaTrain]

2. Debates Are Overrated

Expect, if there is a debate, the Whittleass game of low expectations in any debate that means that as long as he shows up and doesn't fall down, he wins. That's how it was in 2000, and it's going to be even moreso this so-round since this "9/11 aura" that you know RoveCo. will be spinning around their boy will keep the media from getting too touchy with his boy.

Also, since the GOOP 9/11 loveboast fest will be held late, that will give Rove the excuse to limit the number of debates since they'll be "starting the general election campaign later than usual" (you can cut, paste, spin, fondle, datestamp and whatever that line, since I predict you will hear/see it a lot next September).

How many debates have the Democrats had so far? It's agonizing now...they're running out of things to answer for the umpteenth time. I don't mind a face-off between candidate about issues and their ability to articulate them, but that will never happen on a national stage. Not sexy enough.

[Brucey]

3. I disagree; I think the debates do matter to a lot of people, enough to

possible make the difference. Lots and lots of Americans are apolitical... they don't know anything and don't want to know anything. They wait until the last minute to decide who to vote for. They have never heard of any of the Dem candidates yet. They will decide based on what the media says happens at the debates (they won't watch the debates, only the summaries and analysis). Of course, the debates will be rigged, as they have been since Raygun. The media will say that Bush won, no matter what happens. Therefore, the last minute deciders will go with Bush. Therefore, we have to win this thing before the debates. The economy is an issue ONLY if people are not afraid. Fear is the number one issue. The way to win is to make them afraid of another Bush term. Suggest that Bush has made the world a more dangerous place and that we are on the edge of catastrophe if his policies continue. Suggest that terrorism will increase, travel will be restricted, and there will be more attacks on the US, and more invasions, if Bush is re-selected. That must be done before the debates. Then the Dem will win. Otherwise, the media, the debates, the election boxes, the electoral college, the incumbency, money, etc. all favor Bush.

[cindyw]

4. I give Dean credit that he is ahead in the polls, but this version of

electibility is completely invalid. You cannot determine what percentage of a whole will vote for a candidate against Bush by asking people to pick the most electable. This would be like asking the group to pick which southern state will go Dem. The winner of that poll would not be proof that it would go blue rather than red.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

5. After "none", Dean does best? It can't be!

Of all the 2004 Democratic contenders, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (search) is identified as the candidate with the best chance of beating Bush (14 percent), followed by retired Gen. Wesley Clark (search) (seven percent), Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt (search) (six percent), Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry (search) (six percent) and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (search) (five percent). Five percent of voters think former Vice President Al Gore (search) has the best shot at ousting Bush and three percent think New York Sen. Hillary Clinton (search), even though both say they are not running, and 19 percent say "none" of the Democratic candidates can defeat Bush.

**but of course this is only because the conservatives at Faux want Dean to get the nom**

[KharmaTrain]

6. Debates Only Matter...

...when you have a real discussion where all candidates are allowed to rebut and question one-another...to escape the scripting and soundbiting that is the essence of national debates. Candidates are looking for that "golden" bite (eg. Gephardt's "Miserable Failure" or Mondale's "Where's The Beef") and the media is looking for the gaffe or gotcha. There's very little of substance that really comes out of these debates...and if anything is distorted and confusing.

Look at how phony * was in 2000...all the lies he said at the time, that were obvious, but never called on and how the simple little parse or wierd wink by Gore was magnified 1000x.

I enjoy a good House or Senate or Gubentorial or local board member debate...there, you know those watching, asking and answering are there to discuss issues. On the national scene, it's all showbiz, thus a waste of time.

Minds will be changed one at a time. One less paycheck. One less member who came home in a cyliner. One less nest egg. And so on. The game is not only to stick all these laments on this regime, but any and everyone that supports them. This should be starting now and be relentless.