I think that’s a real number based off the known Al Qaida leadership at large previous to 9/11. It excludes the tens of thousands of lower level Al Qaida operatives out there, unaffiliated but sympathetic groups, and fails to take into account the replacement of leadership which most serious study groups believe is an ongoing, and even expanding, process as they reform.
Nothing was better than when on a few occasion sthe questioner gave the “What the Fuck” look to Bush when answering their question. Especially the one about the environment.
Also if you looked at the faces in general in the background when Bush was speaking, the looked appalled half the time.
Even the Bush spin crowd in the post-debate spin room seem pretty subdued.
Hmm… your comment means he’s doing better in this debate.
Hehe, I see the best Prince George could do on the health care costs question was to trot out the old “trial lawyer” bogeyman. Talk about out of touch.
Kerry held his own tonight, and while Bush was better prepared (how could he not be after the fiasco of last Thursday?), Kerry didn’t give him an inch on Iraq, health care, the jobless recovery etc.
This incumbent is goin’ down. :D
I don’t know if Bush is on medication or is suffering from a brain disorder, but he’s not coming off even REMOTELY coherent. Seriously, WTF? If Clinton spoke like this during the debates with Dole, I would’ve gladly voted for the robot over the space case.
I don’t know where you’ve been, noun, but Bush was always incoherent. Tonight was actually one of his better nights. And yet, somehow, he’s still got adherents and supporters. Zarathustra bemoaned the state of education in another thread. Here’s more proof.
Wasn’t the Dred Scott decision a pretty good decision of strict constructionism? If so, wouldn’t Bush be for it? I’m not a lawyer, but that point (along with many others) didn’t quite sit right with me.
I did find it amusing when the girl with the “abortion is murder” question almost burst into tears while asking her question. Sheesh. As though we didn’t already know the answer to that question?
Slavery??? What the FUCK kind of answer is that? It’s like what an unprepared student says when he’s forced to stand in front of class and say something.
Does the President of the United States really think that appointing judges who believe in slavery is an issue today??? Does this man not even pay attention to the basic headlines???
Hell, I’m just a regular citizen, but I realize that there are huge issues that are headed to the courts, like issues of privacy, free speech, civil liberty.
How the hell can anyone treat Bush as a serious candidate at this point?
DID YOU KNOW THAT THE LOUDER YOU YELL THE RIGHTER YOU ARE?!?!
AND IF THAT DOESN’T WORK FEEL FREE TO CUT OFF THE MODERATOR SO YOU CAN YELL SOME MORE.
If you want to know the exact moment that Bush lost the election, it’s right here:
http://www.oliverwillis.com/stuff/bushflipsout.wmv
Should be another week of conservative talk show hosts saying Bush fought Kerry to a draw.
Hah, my roomate (total conservative, considers himself “moderate”) thinks that Kerry did an awful job debating and said that Bush “owned” him.
Ahh, that’s just exhausting for me.
Anyway, nice to meet you guys! Another GG exile here. Noun can vouch for me that I’m not a bad person at least. ;)
Oh, and Tom is really nice. Cool guy!
Would someone please tell me why the US media is reporting that this debate was more of a draw than the one last week? I don’t know how anyone sane could say that Bush was even remotely close to Kerry tonight. Kerry demolished Bush on every single question. Absolutely demolished him. And then Bush killed himself with more stupid non-answers and all that yelling. He was completely losing his cool, and was practically ranting on numerous occasions.
Bush was an utter buffoon tonight, and Kerry looked absolutely solid. That speech to the camera about no tax increases, the “you’re 0 for 2, Mr. President” line. Kerry was really on his game tonight. I was really, really impressed by the guy. This is not the same man who sat back and took the slander of the Swifties.
I just don’t understand how this race is even close.
Because this country is chock full of people like Zarathustra.
BTW… does anyone know where I could find a recording of the entire debate? I’m sure that when the Daily Show covers it, I’ll be able to see the highlights, but I’d like to see the whole thing without editing.
He is on the evil Canadian poisoned medication! We shall conquer you Americans with our cheap dirty drugs.
It’s a bit strange, despite Bush going a bit batshit crazy, it felt a bit like a draw. Probably because he looked more comfortable while going batshit.
W having a brain fart after the word “Intelligence” was priceless.
Kerrey offered answers, while W gave platitudes. It’s hard to see this as anythign but a Kerry win.
Speaking of “owned,” I loved Kerry’s response to Bush’s sneering comment that “my opponent thinks that inspections could have gotten the job done, and we know that’s just not true” (paraphrased). I mean, I guess that one is kind of a gimme, but it was still nice to see Kerry go for the throat.
Both of them were pretty freewheeling with the facts, though I think Bush was the worst of the two on this count. Factcheck.org has a good breakdown.
And he mentioned Poland again, as one of our stalwart allies in Iraq, which is sort of funny now that they have announced that they are leaving. Kerry’s comment that if the troops from the state of Missouri were considered a nation, then they would be the third largest ally in Iraq (after the US and Britain) was funny.
First off, I want to apologize to Damien and Anders for not holding up my end of the Great IRC Debate chat (neighbor came over). I’m calling this a draw: Bush looked better than in the last one (though, as Damien said, he “looked as if he would pounce on small prey at any instant”), and Kerry didn’t hit anything he was thrown out of the park. Nobody’s going to be convinced to vote for either of them based on this performance.
However, if I hear Bush say one more goddamn thing about a Subchapter S Corp. then I’m going to take my own full page add out just to say what the hell it is.