Debates...
Tonight's debate between Dubya and Senator Kerry should be interesting. This will finally get Mr. Kerry back in front of a national TV audience to clearly explain his positions. This is his chance to take over the slim leads Bush is holding in some swing states. When you think about it, it does make some sense that the President is holding a lead. He did get a great bounce out of the convention and has been able to maintain some of it. I'm looking very forward to it. I caught some of Bill O'Reilly's interview with the President the last three nights. O'Reilly is now asking John Kerry to sit down with him and give a one one one interview. If I was a Kerry adviser, I would avoid this like the plague. He would have very little to gain. After the interview, the "factor" held an informal poll saying that Dubya did very well in the interview. What a shock. When you consider the conservative viewership of Fox, this makes sense. Kerry's in a no win situation. He could come across like Abe Lincoln in the interview and the viewership would say he didn't do very well. If he doesn't do the interview, O'Reilly savages him every night for not coming on. Back to the debate talk, this is the biggest night for the Kerry campaign. I've vacillated back and forth about how he should go after Bush. On one hand, he can't come across as so angry that people see him as Mr. Negative. On the other hand, he has to go after the Presidents failed policy decisions and give an alternative to them. After much thought, (and I know you're reading this Mr. Kerry, Ha, Ha), I really think he needs to go after the President with all barrels blazing. Perception is that he's not able to take a stand on some issues, deserved or not. Tonight he must change that perception. He needs to assure the undecided voter that he will go after terrorists with a better plan than is currently in place. I believe most undecided voters feel he would do a better job domestically but are concerned he won't fight terrorism strongly. This is ridiculous of course, but is the view of your typical undecided.
posted by Big Scott | 7:33 AM
2 Comments:
I'm totally excited about tonight's debate.
I agree that Kerry probably shouldn't go on The Factor. He would only damage himself. I think it would be cool though, and I believe O'Reilly would give him a fair shake. I also think that if Kerry is as strong and confident on the issues as he and others say he is, undecided voters may be swayed by his answers to O'Reilly's questions. O'Reilly might challenge him a little, like he did with Bush (the Mexican border issue), but I think the questions would be fair, relevant, and important. However, the only interviews I ever see Kerry do are Letterman, Regis, and Jon Stewart. Why doesn't he do some serious ones? Bush has done O'Reilly, Wallace, Larry King, etc. That may be another reason people's perception of Kerry may be bad.
Regarding the Bush interview, you never stated how YOU thought the President did; only what the poll said. I thought overall he did do a good job. Although I did think he skirted around a couple of questions and/or looked uncomfortable on a few ("did you know anything about the swift boat ads?" is a good example). He just looked like he was flat out lying about one or two of them. After the interview, O'Reilly had two guests on (one an independent, and Alan Colmes - who we know is very liberal), and both of them thought he did okay, but they both ripped him on a number of issues, so I thought O'Reilly was as tough on Bush as could be, considering that he does respect the man, and agrees with him on many issues.
Debates starting soon..gotta cruz....
I forgot something:
All Kerry has to do is BE CONFIDENT in what he says. Make himself very clear about where EXACTLY he stands, and stomp out the flip-flop controversy once and for all. Second, he needs to come off as at least somewhat like-able. Smile once would be nice. If he does this, and Bush slips up once or twice (which he inevitably will), I think Kerry has a good shot at "winning" this debate. They are both great debaters though, and it will be fun.
PS:
I heard today that Kerry has Al Gore advising him on the dabate? What is he thinking? Is he trying to lose? Gore sucks at debating!!!
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