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Debate 3: Feeling Big & Strong?
 Posted
10/23/2012 11:09:00 AM
So the third and final Presidential Debate is in the books. It had its moments, but it sure sputtered out of the gate. Funny how that pesky economy kept masquerading as Foreign Policy. There were cameos by Libya, Syria, Iran, and even Russia. But the conversation kept coming back to people's checkbooks, despite Bob Schieffer's imagination... where Israel phoned to say "bombers are on the way."
Maybe people were hanging on every word of the candidates' answers to Schieffer's question about drones. Both men were given the chance to make one last plea for voter support in the closing statements, but I question who was still around to be swayed one way or the other.
Obama was the aggressor... eager to remind people that this is not his first rodeo, even if Denver seemed like his first debate. The President won the zinger sweepstakes, complete with "airbrushing history" and a ...
Romney vs. Obama: Long Island Sequel
Posted
10/17/2012 10:40:00 AM
Wow. For a second there, I thought we might need a boxing ref.
For me, the most memorable exchange of last night's debate came when the candidates finally reached the topic of the Libyan consulate attack. The subject was bound to come up. After Benghazi, who knew what... and when? Many pundits, even MSNBC's Chuck Todd, thought the topic might be Romney's chance to seal the entire election. Maybe so, but it doesn't matter, since Romney stumbled and Candy Crowley cut off the conversation. Everything after the Libya topic was a blur to me... and I think the two candidates were in a daze, too.
No matter which side of the political aisle you're on, can we all agree that the topic needed more time? Were we really better served hearing the two men talk about "biggest mis-perceptions?"
And so, Monday night now looms large... or does it? Back to ...
2012 Veep Debate: Who Am I? Why Am I Here?
Posted
10/15/2012 11:01:00 AM
“Who am I? Why am I here?” I’ll never forget the first words out of the mouth of Admiral James Stockdale, the then-running mate of Independent Presidential candidate Ross Perot, at the three-way VP debate in 1992. In the wacky battle between incumbent George H.W. Bush, upstart Bill Clinton, and pesky businessman-turned White House wannabe Perot, there was, as there always is, a contest between the aspiring second bananas. Stockdale was a deer in headlights, at one point asking moderator Hal Bruno to repeat a question because his hearing aid was turned off.
And I’ll always remember the VP debate of 1988, when Sen. Lloyd Bentsen dressed down future Vice President Dan Quayle: “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
But outside of those two moments, the VP debates, for me, tend to blend together into a forgettable blur. I can tell you who took part each year, but don’t look for ...
Presidential Debate 1: Mitt's Moment
Posted
10/4/2012 4:23:00 PM
I love the Presidential debates. I always have. I wrote my college thesis on the Clinton-Dole showdowns of 1996, which may have been the most lop-sided affairs ever. Bob Dole, despite all his years in politics, never stood a chance in those battles… just like John McCain four years ago. Perhaps President Obama was expecting McCain to show up in Denver last night. How else do you explain that thud of a performance by the man many pundits had all but conceded the election to in the wake of the jettisoned 47%?
This should not come completely out of Mile-High left field, though. I remember being impressed with Romney’s eloquence during the primary debates. Most of what he said was overshadowed because of Newt Gingrich’s superior verbal jousting skills and Rick Perry’s utter lack thereof (and if it wasn’t Perry, it was another GOP Flavor of the Month). But ...
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