Day After Zingers

Ever had one of those moments where you think of a witty rejoinder to some snappy one-liner, but not until the next day when you are in the shower? Of course you have. We all have. There was a whole Seinfeld episode devoted to the phenomenon. Well, that's exactly what Bush's post-debate campaigning has been like.

At the debate, we stared amazed as time after time Bush demanded time for a rebuttal then stood dumbfounded with nothing to say. "Can I respond to that?"

Well, apparently after some time to reflect, and after having his crack team of speech writers script some remarks, and when he wasn't on stage faced with his opponent who could correct him, and when not faced with a moderator, and when before an audience of applauding sworn-supporters instead of quiet mixed-audience - you get the picture - he came up with something to say.

Bush has spent all week harping on Kerry's "global test" remark. Here's what Bush said in a speech, and in a White House press release:

THE PRESIDENT: In the debate -- in the debate, Senator Kerry also said something revealing when he laid out the Kerry doctrine. He said -- he said that America has to pass a global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: That's what he said. (Laughter.) Think about this, Senator Kerry's approach to foreign policy would give foreign governments veto power over our national security decisions. I have a different view. (Applause.) "

Is that really what Kerry said? Let's compare. Here's Kerry's quotes. In response to the first question: "I'll never give a veto to any country over our security." Then later: "No president, through all of American history, has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to preempt in any way necessary to protect the United States of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you've got to do in a way that passes the test—that passes the global test—where your countrymen, your people understand fully why you're doing what you're doing, and you can prove to the world that you did it for legitimate reasons."


Crazy, huh? If Kerry said the sky is blue, Bush would accuse him of saying the sky was green.

Once again, Bush lied. Once again, Bush has shown that he doesn't want this election to be a choice. He doesn't want the American people to arm themselves with the facts about the candidate's positions and then make an informed decision based on those facts. Bush knows he'll lose an election based on facts. The facts are all stacked against him. Sure, there are a certain number of votes he can count on no matter what he does. He could eat a live baby kitten on national TV and still get the anti-abortion, gun rights, and hard-core Republican votes. That's a given. And the same is true for Kerry and the pro-choice vote. But in the middle is a huge swath of people who vote for the candidate as a whole - based on all their policies and not just a few bell-weather issues. That is the group Bush is so scared of. That is the group he is trying so desperately to hide the truth from.

Wouldn't you like to see some news stories on the front page of your paper, or on the evening network news, where they call our candidates on their garbage? Instead of all the campaign strategy coverage and who thinks which candidate won the debate, or what the debates did to the poll numbers, wouldn't you rather read some straight-forward fact checking. "President Bush lied to a crowd of supporters in Ohio today." That's an accurate headline. (Or was on October 2nd.) Until we start seeing headlines like that, we are going to continue to get lies from our candidates.