Tonight's Democrat Debate

[corplinx]

Kerry: started off on taxes by saying he reduced the marginal rate from 72 to 28 percent, then said Bush was in cahoots with the wealthy for lowering it from 36 to 33

Mental Note: never start off a debate by looking like an idiot, even a presidential looking idiot.

I could vote for John Kerry if he could learn to keep his mouth closed. :)

Clark: i've now coined him "the candidate from another planet"

Lieberman: he really shined, too bad he wasn't like this during the first debates when he and Gephardt got into the shrill contest with Dean and were therefore marginalized as knockoffs of the real thing. (remember Gephart red in the face shouting miserable failure?) I really hope he gets a chunk of Clark's votes in NH.

Sharpton: who cares? i dont

Edwards: he was the vanilla ice cream of the debate (perhaps intentionally)

Peter Jennings: he actually asked Dean about Dean whooping up the crowd in Iowa
He was whooping up the crowd. So fricken what. It was a fricken pep rally! Leave it alone already! Dean didn't blow his top, he went out there to energize his troops.

The Post-debate press coverage:
So what if Clark changed his position on Iraq 4 times. You see, if you change your position to be in line with the GOP; you have seen the light and taken a principled position. If you change your mind to disagree with them, its a flip flop. Leave Wes Clark alone.

He said he wouldn't vote for it. The next day he said he might have voted for it. The next day he said he didn't know. This is a perfectly fine progression of viewpoint.

[peptoabysmal]

If Lieberman ended up winning the nomination for presidential candidate, I'd have a much tougher choice to make. As for the rest of this goofy crowd of Democrats, forget it.

[fishbob]

Lieberman - Why is it that the candidate that looks most like a potentially good president, does not look like he can win the democratic nomination?

In the 2000 elections, if the other republican (McCain) had run against the other democrat (Bradley), we could have voted for who we thought was the best candidate. As it was, everybody I know voted against who they thought was the worst candidate.

[Khalid01]

What's with all of the favour for Lieberman? I heard him rattle off a bunch of "we need to take back family values from the Republicans", (and then I noticed that the other candidates also seemed to sing to this tune afterward), but quite honestly, he seemed to come off as a theocrat with all of the 'family' and mention of God, even when it came to the environment; he's a suitable Republican, (as if that was unknown) but never someone I'd vote for as a democrat. I'll admit that I have a great deal of bias against him since the first mention of him I ever heard was when he went on his video game censorship crusade. I'll never forget that, and never forgive it as a long-time (starting in early childhood) computer gamer. How goes the saying? You'll have to pry my computer game from my cold, dead hands. (you damn, dirty ape!)

My take, as a left moderate, I'm siding a little more with Clark now that he has defined himself further, although of course his position on Iraq seemed a little slippery. I'll support Kerry if he receives the nomination, with the sentiment of, "he's not Bush!", yes indeed. That's quite dishonest, I know, but that's my take on politics.

It'll be so fun to vote for the first time, this year, see you at the polls! ;):p

[NoZed Avenger]

Originally posted by fishbob
Lieberman - Why is it that the candidate that looks most like a potentially good president, does not look like he can win the democratic nomination?


A problem that plagued the democrats a couple of decades ago: Those more likely to win nomination are less likely to win the election, and vice versa.

[Evolver]

I think Lieberman would be a Republican if he was from a state where he could get elected as one.

I appreciate his consistancy about his support for Bush's Iraq escapade, but I am firmly against his position there. Although I don't think he is beholden to the Oil mafia, as Bush-Cheney are, I do think he is imbiggened to sway to the will of Israel in this area.

(A nod to the Simpsons for "Imbiggened".)

[Luke T.]

Originally posted by Evolver
I think Lieberman would be a Republican if he was from a state where he could get elected as one.



It's funny you should say that.

[history lesson]
In 1988, the senior Senator from Connecticut was Lowell Weicker. He was a Republican, but as liberal as they come. He had some prominence during the Nixon-Watergate scandal.

I was a registered voter in Connecticut who voted by absentee ballot as I was in the military overseas. In 1988, Bill Buckley, champion of the conservative movement and one of my personal heroes, started a grass roots campaign to get rid of Weicker for being so liberal by urging us conservatives to vote for his opponent. Joseph Lieberman. So I did. And so did a lot of others. And that is the only time in my life I voted for a Democrat.

Lieberman won.

But then Connecticut turned around and fell on their sword by electing Weicker as Governor. One of Weicker's first acts was to create a state income tax, even though we already had the highest sales tax in the country at the time.[/history lesson]

I like Lieberman, both as a person and as a politician. I could actually live with him as President, but he already got a vote from me, and I'm not sure I would give him another one if it was between him and Bush.

I'm with corplinx on Clark as the candidate from another planet. I don't understand how anyone could support him. He is just too bizarre. His statements on abortion should be enough for anyone to realize he is a bit of a whacko, even if you are pro-choice.

[corplinx]

The reason we like Lieberman as a presidential hopeful despite his stands on entertainment censorship and values is that as president he has less of a chance to do anything about those issues.

So yeah, free thinkers should be at odds with that once niche of his being, however he seems the most qualified of the bunch to lead the free world.

[Frank Newgent]

Originally posted by Luke T.
I don't understand how anyone could support him. He is just too bizarre. His statements on abortion should be enough for anyone to realize he is a bit of a whacko...
"Washington is a town where there's all kinds of allegations. You've heard much of the allegations. And if people have got solid information, please come forward with it. And that would be people inside the information who are the so-called anonymous sources, or people outside the information — outside the administration."

-George W. Bush, Chicago, Sept. 30, 2003


"I'm gonna talk about the ideal world, Chris. I've read —
I understand reality. If you're asking me as the president, would I understand reality, I do."

-George W Bush: On abortion, Hardball, MSNBC; May 31, 2000


"My pro-life position is I believe there's life. It's not necessarily based in religion. I think there's a life there, therefore the notion of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness."

-quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 23, 2001

[clk]

Originally posted by Luke T.


I'm with corplinx on Clark as the candidate from another planet. I don't understand how anyone could support him. He is just too bizarre. His statements on abortion should be enough for anyone to realize he is a bit of a whacko, even if you are pro-choice.

Well, you have to remember that Clark has never run for public office before, so he is new to politics. I think that would explain his verbal blunders...he tries to be very cautious about what he says, but that ended up hurting him. If it were Lieberman or Kerry making those comments, then I might be concerned.

[subgenius]

If Kerry is taller than Bush he should be nominated.

[corplinx]

I get the feeling many americans who post on this forum don't actually watch these debates.

[Suddenly]

Originally posted by corplinx
I get the feeling many americans who post on this forum don't actually watch these debates.

Capitalize "American" or I'm tellin' Ashcroft on you, you commie... :)

I don't. I'll read quite a bit, but if my TV gets something other than ESPN this is the first I heard of it. Dean's Hulkamania rant made "Sportscenter," so I figure if I need to know they'll tell me.

I used to watch cable news in the morning while getting ready for work, but in the last few years it just seems like it is getting dumber and dumber. So I just gave up on T.V. alltogether and stick to the internet.

Since West Virginia's primary is in like December I don't feel an urgent need to really worry about the candidates. I'd wind up picking someone that gets weeded out well before I can vote, which is upsetting. All I'm worried about is whether it is possible for any of the Dems to be so bad that I vote for someone else. I'm not going to have to pay too close attention to figure that out...

[Frank Newgent]

Originally posted by corplinx
I get the feeling many americans who post on this forum don't actually watch these debates.
I'll bite.

But if I tell you whether I watched Thursday's debate, you gotta promise to take a lung full of helium and repeat the following.


The reason we like Lieberman as a presidential hopeful despite his stands on entertainment censorship and values is that as president he has less of a chance to do anything about those issues.

So yeah, free thinkers should be at odds with that once niche of his being, however he seems the most qualified of the bunch to lead the free world.