This crap will never end until we take control of the debates

[xray s]

Damn! We have Americans dying in Iraq every day. We have a budget deficit of $500,000,000,000 with no end in sight. We have 43,000,000 Americans without health insurance. Our pensions have been decimated by corporate fraud.

And all the media can talk about is polls, fund raising, endorsements and 'The Clintons'.

WE HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE DEBATES. These are OUR candidates. These are OUR debates. The media has mashed the publics mind to mush and we will never climb out of this hole until we CUT THEM OUT OF THE PROCESS!

All of the candidates should say they are fed up with the piss poor performance of the media elites running these debates. Turn it over to the League of Womens Voters to administer, and let Democrats question Democrats about the things we need to desperately debate so we can take this country forward and put the best candidate forward to defeat George Bush.

I don't give a damn if C-Span is the only one to cover it. This circus has to stop.

[PVnRT]

1. Yeah

I'm glad Kucinich fired back at Koppel after the endorsement question. Good work, Dennis.

[Rowdyboy]

2. Abso-f***ing-lutely!

Its a shame and a sin what Koppel and the other mediawhores are doing

[Feanorcurufinwe]

3. How come the DNC and candidates can't figure this out?

It's so perfectly clear and obvious. Who gives a crap what Koppel or Woodruff want to ask? Those questions aren't designed to help us choose the best candidate.

[Padraig18]

4. How do you propose that we do that? n/t

[Feanorcurufinwe]

5. I propose the candidates stop acting like media lapdogs and insist.

[PaDUer]

6. Silencing the lambs..

time to get out in the streets..until we unite together and go and do it, things aren't going to change. They've got everything locked up and are even turning the cops in every city to attack the citizens by giving the dummies new toys to torture the people..The sad thing is, these idiots WILL do it. What's it going to take to stop this BS?!

Maybe the candidates should overpower these pukes right on national tv to show them we're sick of their antics and we're not going to take it anymore! What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[mmonk]

7. Absolutely

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. Once Again The Questions SUCKED!!!

The first half of the debates involved questions regarding:
-what they thought of the Gore endorsement
-why some of them didn't show up enough in Vermont
-whether some of them will drop out of the race
-whether security is the main issue according to the polls or the economy
-whether Dean flip-flopped on accusing Bush for 911
-whether Kucinich flip-flopped on abortion
-what Dean's campaign has done right

The rest of the debate broke down into formless, untimed, unequally distributed alloted periods of time for rambling. When will these debates get to the issues? When will POINTED QUESTIONS regarding specific issues ever occur, such as single payer health plans, education, or the environmental policies of Bush? Ted Koppel and the other idiot were obviously asking questions to elicit controversial sound bytes, but not substance. At least the questions weren't overt attacks on each candidate, as were the Fox News administrated debates.

[Zomby Woof]

9. Once again, Dennis leads

Dennis smacked down Koppel like the red-headed stepchild he is with his masterful encapsulation of how the media drives the direction of the campaigns - money, polls, and endorsements.

The others could follow his lead, but they probably won't.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. What burns me up is these strutting tv hairdos,

like Judy Woodruff, and Ted Koppel, who I expected better of, coming into our debates and copping a 'tude with our candidates. Who do they think they are? These people are candidates for President of the United States, and have titles like Senator, Governor, Congressman, Ambassador, and Supreme Allied Commander. I agree with xray s -- I wish there were some way to take these "debates" out of the hands of the "mediawhores." Asked before the debate about his goal for it, Koppel said to keep people awake, meaning that to him it was all about entertainment. We need a format and moderators appropriate to the dignity of our candidates, and the seriousness of both the issues our country faces and the process of choosing a President.