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10/08/04

Dangling Debate

Ahh, the second debate. Bush certainly seemed more himself this time, and more sure of himself. I thought it would be amusing if during Kerry's opening statement he said "Tonight folks you are going to hear three phrases from the President. You will hear him say 'Wrong war, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons', he will also say 'he said he actually voted FOR the $87 billion before he voted against it,' and he will of course also use the term 'global test'." This would have been funny because it would have thrown Bush off of his very favorite talking points, and then he would have been left with . . . what exactly?

Even if you still kind of like Bush, aren't you just tired of hearing the same phrases over and over? I know I am. We should vote for John Kerry just to hear something different . . . unfortunately John Kerry is not the most inspiring speaker in the world.

He was surprisingly inspiring when he answered the Abortion question though. Since pro-life is one of Bush's pet issues, I was impressed that it was Kerry who came off as much more genuine and thoughtful on this issue. Here is his direct quote:

"First of all, I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins. I'm a Catholic, raised a Catholic. I was an altar boy. Religion has been a huge part of my life. It helped lead me through a war, leads me today.
But I can't take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn't share that article of faith, whether they be agnostic, atheist, Jew, Protestant, whatever. I can't do that. (Thank you, anyone for finally saying this!)

This, of course won't convince anyone who is actually pro-life, but it is a really good answer.

I also noted Bush's comment about the election in Afghanistan, and celebrate that they are "moving from tyranny to elections." I couldn't help comparing it to the state of America now . . . are we moving from elections to tyranny? Just a thought.