Monday morning quaterbacking the debate

[mrgorth]

I know Kerry did great and all but I was disappointed that he didn't skewer * worse and really finish him off. Here are some areas I thought he let * slide:

After * brought up "culture of life" for the umpteenth time Kerry should have said "the President keeps invoking the culture of life. I would like to know how rushing us into a war without enough support is a part of the culture of life".

After using Massachusettes as a slur several times
Kerry should have called him on it. "Mr. President, I'm tired of hearing you denigrate the good state of Massachusettes. Are you not the President of all 50 states?"

When Bush says our health care system is the envy of the world
Kerry should say "no Mr. President. Our health care system used to be the envy of the world. Today, we are the only industrialized nation that either doesn't know that taking care of your children saves you money down the road or doesn't care."

and to echo my post from yesterday:
When Bush called Kerry a 'liberal'
Kerry should have said "I wish I could respond with the word conservative but I can't see anything conservative about you. There's nothing conservative about deficit spending. There's nothing conservative about X,Y and Z. Frankly, Mr. President, I'm not sure what it is that you conserve."

Got any more?

[AlinPA]

1. Yes: He didn't mention the overtime rules, Snow's "myth" remark,re:

job losses, and he didn't call Bush* on his rambling on about education instead of replying about the topic of outsourcing.

edited for spelling

[cybildisobedience]

2. also missed an opportunity

to talk about the minority voter disenfranchisement in Fla., Ohio and other states -- to say that no, we haven't come far enough when we're talking about African-Americans having the right to vote in 2004 and not 1964.
I really wished he would have hammered Bush on this low-down, sneaky activity on the GOP's part.

[Demit]

3. What Kerry DID say is fine with me. All this "he should have said this"

and "he should have said that" is stupid, IMO. What he chose to say in his allotted time served him well. Your suggested riposte re Massachusetts would have wasted time and sounded unnecessarily argumentative, for example. I for one trust Kerry's instincts on when to respond substantively & when to ignore minor points.

Why do you feel the need to monday-morning quarterback after a win, anyway?

[TexasSissy]

4. Agreed. Also has to do with who is asked the question.

Kerry ONLY got to respond to * if Bush was originally asked the question. Then Kerry got a few seconds to rebut. The end.

If Kerry was asked a question, then * would get a chance to rebut. The end. Kerry wouldn't be allowed to rebut Bush's rebut.

That has a lot to do with it. Other thing is, Kerry had some messages and points to make; he couldn't get scattered all over the place merely responding to Bush's statements. He didn't want to be on the defensive. It NEVER looks good to be on the defensive, responding to the other guy. It is MUCH better to be the one making affirmative statements, letting the other guy be defensive.

Finally, none of the points you raise seems very important to me, except the last one. Not worth taking valuable time away from other points Kerry had to make.

He did GREAT! It was a slam dunk, IMO.