Just as the title says, these are quick notes that haven't been checked against an official transcript.
The first questioner asked Kerry if he was too wishy washy.
"I have an answer, but first I'd like to thank... " *snicker* then attacks Bush. Not good. Kerry's performance fell flat with this extremely partisan attack, and he never answered the question.
Bush comes back with the false $87 billion charge and the false charge about changing his mind on Saddam. Bush says a President has to be consistent, and he leads by example in consistently lying about Kerry's statements and decisions.
Bush -1, Kerry -1
Bush declares Saddam a "unique threat" for being able to give nukes to terrorists, something that Pakistan was trying and North Korea, Sudan, and Iran threaten to do. Idiot.
Kerry responds by declaring "the world is more dangerous today because the President didn't make the right decisions", and continues refocusing the "wishy-washy" charge on the Bush campaign.
Bush responds by lying about Kerry's statements again, denies that sanctions were working, and re-declares that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction when he invaded.
Kerry turns around and kicks Bush's ass on all this. Good.
Bush -2, Kerry 0.
Whether Kerry would have a different plan
Kerry starts mentioning foreign ideas that Bush has ignored and pledges to get more support in Iraq.
Bush says Iraq is doing great and that the entire country is "going from tyranny to elections" and says Kerry "doesn't believe we could succeed".
Kerry responds poorly.
Bush appears to declare that we need more global support.
Bush -3, Kerry 0.
Why foreigners don't like the US
Bush says everyone who doesn't like him does "not understand the great values of our country", and shockingly says that he would not deal with Yasser Arafat, someone he was sucking up to for the first year of his administration. Another lie.
Kerry responds by hammering Bush on Iraq again. What a one-track mind.
Bush responds by declaring the invasion to be the last resort. *snicker*
Kerry responds well by dividing the military invasion with the peacekeeping, amusedly saying that Bush "didn't even guard the ammo dumps. Now our kids are being killed with ammos right out of that dump."
Bush -4, Kerry 1.
What will Kerry do about the threat of Iran?
Kerry changes the subject to Afghanistan, finally gets back to the question of Iran and cites North Korea, and keeps hammering Bush for doing nothing about either case.
Bush says "that answer almost made me scowl." and claims the recent report saying Saddam had no weapons showed "he [Saddam] was deceiving the inspectors" Bush claims that bilateral talks with North Korea would undermine\ the multilateral talks despite and stupidly calls Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an "axis of evil". This guy is President? Your average cabbie or waitress should have better knowledge of world affairs.
Bush -5, Kerry 1.
How can you maintain world presense without maintaining a draft.
Bush notes that the volunteer army works well when soldiers are well paid.
Maybe you shouldn't have tried to cut their pay and benefits, you asshole. It's a good speech, though, and he finally does score a positive point here.
Kerry cites military leaders supporting him and cites "stop-loss extensions" and similar policies to declare "our military is overextended".
Bush responds by attacking Kerry on his saying that the US is going it alone.
Kerry responds by noting the coalition is disintegrating and that 90% of the costs of the Iraq invasion are borne by the US.
Bush -4, Kerry 2.
Why have there been no further terrorist attacks on US soil?
Kerry says "it's not a question of if, it's a question of when". "these people wait. They plan. They plot." A good speech. "This President chose a tax cut over homeland security. Wrong choice."
Bush accuses Kerry of voting to cut the intelligence budget by $7.5 billion. "I don't see how you can win in Iraq if you don't believe we should be there in the first place." That's because you're stupid.
Kerry's rebuttal isn't impressive.
Bush redefines the tax cut for wealthy Americans to be a "tax cut for the middle class".
Bush -5, Kerry 2.
Why did Bush block the reimportation of cheaper and safer drugs from Canada?
Bush accuses Canadian drugs of being 3rd-party knockoffs that might kill you. I don't know if there's any truth to it. He continues well flogging his drug discount cards.
Kerry responds citing Bush's earlier support for importing Canadian drugs and by claiming the drugs are made in US factories. Says Bush made it "illegal for Medicare to do with the VA does" by buying drugs in bulk.
Bush responds by declaring that the drugs aren't safe
Kerry says "we fixed Medicare" in 1997.
Bush -4, Kerry 3.
rising cost of healthcare, yet you chose Edwards who made money suing doctors
Kerry: Edwards is the author of the Patient's Bill of Rights, and cites his and Edwards' support for tort reform. Lawsuits "less than 1%" of the total cost of healthcare.
Bush starts his rebuttal with "the National Journal named Senator Kennedy the most liberal Senator of all" and says Kerry will "tax everybody here" to pay for the plan, saying "Government-sponsored health care will lead to rationing".
Kerry responds nearly as partisanly.
Bush reponds with another attack.
Bush -5, Kerry 3.
You have enjoyed a Republican majority and have not vetoed a single spending bill. $700 billion spent and not payed for with taxes.
Bush says "we have a deficit because this country went into a recession...secondly, we're at war and I'm going to spend what it takes to win this war." Good talk. He also amusingly claims to be a demand-sider, not a supply-sider.
Kerry responds by defending his health care plan and slams Bush
on the deficit and economy without touching Bush's explanations
for the deficit.
Bush -4, Kerry 3.
How would you cut the deficit?
Bush pledges to hold down Congress's spending.
Kerry attacks Bush's tax cut again.
Bush -4, Kerry 3.
Can Kerry pledge not to sign any legislation that will increase taxes on those making under $200,000.
Kerry makes the "read my lips" pledge and pledges more tax credits for families. Sorry if I don't believe him.
Bush shares my skepticism, says "of course he's going to raise your taxes", and points out that there's a big difference between the amount Kerry can raise from the rich and the amount he's proposed to spend.
Kerry accuses Bush of "fuzzy math" on the numbers and cites corporate welfare that can be cut and his own work for the balanced budget in the 1990s.
Bush slams Kerry as "most liberal" again.
Bush -3. Kerry 3.
How would you rate yourself as an environmentalist, what specifically have you done
Bush: reduce pollution from offroad diesel engines. cites Clear Skies! and says forests need to be "harvested" to prevent forest fires. Good talking.
Kerry: "the President, I don't think is living in a world of reality with respect to the environment" then changes the subject! dumbass. defending himself against the "liberal" charge. Hits Bush on the Clear Skies. Easy mark. Cites EPA chief resigning in protest!
Bush says he had an alternative to Kyoto.
Kerry points out that Bush didn't.
Bush -2, Kerry 4.
How can US be competitive in manufacturing given US wages?
Kerry: end tax incentive for moving manufacturing jobs overseas and create tax incentives for protectionism. Cites cost of health care, falsely accuses Bush of having no plan to lower costs.
Bush cites medical liability reform, claims Kerry doesn't support it, and says most small businesses would be hit by Kerry's taxes.
Kerry denies that he would pander in a defense against Saturday Night Live, cites Wall Street Journal that 96% of small businesses not affected by Kerry's plan.
Bush laughs about Kerry's mention of a timber company. I didn't catch the phrasing, but there's probably be jokes about it.
Bush -1, Kerry 5.
why are my rights being watered down by Patriot 2?
Bush: "I really don't think your rights are being watered down" by Patriot / Patriot 2. Says Patriot necessary to allow intelligence sharing. "I don't think the Patriot act infringes your rights at all." Stupid, ignorant, or evil?
Kerry: Cites several Republicans concerned about the Patriot Act, says "people's rights have been abused", cites a man who was jailed 8 months without a phone call until Dick Durbin intervened, closes with "I believe in the Patriot Act."
Bush -2, Kerry 5.
something about stem cells
Kerry cites disease victims, calls for "ethically guided embryonic stem cell research", cites fertility clinics. Overall, it didn't impress me.
Bush: "Embryonic stem cell research requires the destruction of life to create a stem cell". Holds his own well in explaining his position.
Kerry says the existing stem cell lines aren't enough, and that Bush got his numbers wrong.
Bush notes that the existing stem cell lines are from embryos already destroyed when he made the decision to cut funding.
Bush -1, Kerry 5.
If there were a vacancy in the supreme court and you had to fill that vacancy today, who would you choose and why.
Bush: "I'm not telling." Says that defense of the Constitution is "allowing personal opinion to get into the decision making process" and Orwellianly in opposition to the Constitution, then compares anyone who believes in defending human rights with the Dred Scott judges to found a property right to own slaves.
Kerry hits Bush on his own words that "we need some good conservative judges" and that his favourite judges are Scalia and Thomas.
Bush -2, Kerry 5.
What you would say to someone who believed abortion was murder and wanted that no money be spent on abortion
Kerry: "I can't take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who does not share that article of faith."
Bush: Says "reasonable people can agree on how to reduce abortion in America" by making abortion illegal and declaring fetuses to be humans with full rights. Arrogant asswipe.
Kerry: It's never as simple as Bush would have you believe, cites situations such as an incest victim who shouldn't need to get her rapist father's permission to get an abortion.
Bush insists that it is that simple! Totally ignoring Kerry's points. He should get hit hard on this.
Bush -3, Kerry 5.
give 3 instances in which you realized you made a wrong decision and what you did to correct it.
Bush refuses to answer the question and accuses the questioner of opposing the Afghan fight against al-Qaeda, then goes into a rant against Saddam Hussein.
Kerry attacks Bush on Iraq. "Was this really going to war as a last resort?" Cites Republicans speaking against Iraq policies.
Bush then falsely claims Kerry never voted for money for the troops and attacks him on the $87 billion again. Double penalty for Bush for this round.
Kerry begins with the same useless non-defense of his phrasing of his votes on the different bills, but gets better by saying he voted against the final bill because he "didn't want to give a slush fund to Halliburton".
Bush -5, Kerry 5.
Kerry's final statement hammers home the "I have a plan" line he warezed from the Nixon campaign.
Bush amazingly talks up the economy, then finishes well on security. Cites September 11. Cites Afghan elections.
Final score: Bush -4, Kerry 5.
Final Analysis: Nobody won, America lost. Score it as a slight victory for Kerry if you must, but only because Bush kicked his own ass.
Posted by Warrior Tang at October 8, 2004 07:00 PM