Bush Official (Racicot): Debates Gave Lift to Kerry

[Roland99]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20041014/D85NB8GG0.html

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Sen. John Kerry gained ground in the race for the White House in the trio of campaign debates, a top official in President Bush's campaign conceded Thursday, but insisted that any advantage would prove fleeting.

"I think it was temporary," Marc Racicot, Bush's campaign chairman, told reporters on the morning after the president and Kerry collided in an intense final debate that sharpened differences over the war in Iraq, the economy, health care and abortion.

Racicot spoke as Bush and his Democratic rival set out on an 19-day campaign sprint to Election Day, concentrating their time and advertising on a dozen or so battleground states that will settle the election. The ubiquitous polls made their race a virtual dead heat.

The Democratic Party was quick to publicize what it called a debate "threepeat" for Kerry, launching two videos that mocked Bush's performance. One shows Bush talking about Osama bin Laden and telling White House reporters, "I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run," then denying during the debate that he had ever said it.

[WI_DEM]

1. I'm glad they are going to use the Bin-laden video

that is yet another lie Bush told in the debates.

[Roland99]

I like the "threepeat" reference!

[Supersedeas]

2. their only hope is unfiltered exposure to their candidate has a

temporary affect.

Is this man running for President of the United States of President of Karl Rove's hermetically sealed political bubble?

[tedoll78]

3. Ouch.

You know that you've done well when the other guy's campaign chairman says such things.

I predict that we'll be talking about the debates until about Monday. Kerry will benefit from this and then be up by a few points at least.

The two weeks following that are gonna be nerve-wracking.

[Rambis]

4. * is in trouble

He is going back to the press part or AF1 to try and get the press to write something about him. He has never done this before. The inflated one, JMcCain looks like he is going to throw up. They are on the ropes folks brace yourselves for something big outta uncle KKKal's bag -O- tricks.

[WVRevy]

5. Three words for this guy:

No shit, Sherlock.

A total of four-and-a-half hours of his candidate looking like a blithering idiot "may" have given his opponent a lift ? Ya' think ?!?

Sometimes, I'm completely amazed by the inability of these people to grasp reality.

[Roland99]

6. It's more than that...

it's the way our political system runs these days. If anyone admits to a fault or a mistake then polls drop momentarily and they think all hell is breaking loose.

It's all about the short-term and not the long-haul. That's spread into the mentality of corporate execs, too.

[WVRevy]

7. I dunno

Maybe I'm an idealist, but I just don't think that's the case. People EXPECT their president to be a great man, but they don't expect him to be g-d (or, at least, not until Shrub). I see absolutely NO reason why a mea culpa by a political candidate would necessarily exclude them from being elected. Hell, I'd LOVE a candidate that admitted he was wrong occassionally and did what he could to make things right (kinda like Kerry has done).

I don't think it's our "political system", it's the people currently running it. People like KKKarl Rove that try to turn any perceived "weakness" into an attack. I don't think it HAS to be that way, and if we, the people, step up in this election and bury the Bushevics, I think things may begin to change for the better.

If I've heard it once I've heard it a million times this election: "negative" campaigning is done for one reason and one reason only...it WORKS. Well, it is not going to work THIS time, so maybe that will help put people like KKKarl out of business for a while.

[Roland99]

8. Oh...you and I know that but the campaign managers

are thinking in complete micromanagement terms. They've all gone way too far and in way too deep.

Nothing short of a complete gutting of both parties' campaign staff will effect a change.