Obama won the debate handily, but the whole event just depressed the hell out of me.

[WilliamPitt]

I'm sorry, but this debate has depressed the hell out of me. Obama was clearly the better man tonight, Romney looked terrible and very off-balance throughout, and in our horse-race way of doing things, Obama will be called the winner by everyone who is even remotely objective. The "horses and bayonets" line will be the takeaway, and I swear to God, Romney's upper lip was channeling sweaty Mr. Nixon in the 1960 debate with JFK.

But.

Vapid discussion on Afghanistan. Virtually no discussion of the lessons of Iraq and the Bush administration. Total word salad on drones from both candidates. No discussion of veterans issues beyond a few short minutes. No hint whatsoever of the idea that cutting the defense budget will solve a lot of our economic/social-program woes...and half the fucking debate was on the same domestic policy issues we've had three debates about already. Bob Scheiffer let that happen, and defended the absolute American necessity to have a narrow debate on these issues. Can't color outside the lines, after all.

This was a waste of 90 minutes in the main. Obama won the contest handily in my opinion, but when it comes to having an honest discussion of life-and-death issues at the highest level, the American people lost tonight.

Flame away.

[Dawgs]

1. No flames from me. It was a sad night for America.

[MichiganVote]

2. With all of the very brainy people in the US-Bob Schieffer decides the questions? Pathetic.

[freshwest]

7. They've all been slanted to the right. I miss the League of Women Voters and open debate forums.

[Raine]

36. So do I, these debates anymore are worthless. nt

[femrap]

40. Bob should have retired years ago.

He infuriates me.

[tessar]

55. MSM,not Bob, control the dialogue. Sadly.

It's been like this since the 1980s. What we really need is Meida reform...

[Cha]

59. Bob is the M$M nm

[OldDem2012]

82. Sorry, no...the major corporations who own the media have become the MSM. It's pretty obvious. nt.

[femrap]

99. Yes, I lived

through the Raygun years and saw the MSM be devoured by the likes of Murdoch. There are maybe 5 dudes who control 85% of the MSM. It's a monopoly of collusion. Everything is that way now.

Bob just gets on my nerves.

[Whisp]

3. then take it up with the old guy moderator.

can the pissing and moaning please stop for even one friggen day?

[Divine Discontent]

52. exactly, Whisp, exactly! This was a great day for Democrats across this country

Mitt was aloof, lost, and agreeing with everything he could, we should be thrilled. The president just shored up some independents in swing states tonight, probably many of those remaining, even. Let's be joyous! Can't blame Obama for Mitt going off subject every damned minute and Schieffer only stopping him one time.




Get it now, or one of a million other designs! http://www.zazzle.com/gop_keeping_millions_out_of_work_to_put_obama_out_bumper_sticker-128168268305863328?rf=238107662556833486

[tavalon]

77. Within the election as a sporting event, this was a win, win, win, huge win!!!!! Yay, team!

But Will is quite right that it failed the substantive political dialogue test. But hell, everything does as the voting moment comes and goes. Two more weeks of cheerleading and we can get back to trying to hold Obama's feet to the fire, as he asked us to do. As he needs us to do.

[GeorgeGist]

4. I'm with you Will

Off to a good book.

[StrongBad]

5. Also no talk of the European economic concerns, Greek debt, etc.

Lame.

[Electric Monk]

17. or NAFTA, or trade relations with Canada or Mexico

If there was, I somehow missed it.

[AspenRose]

103. Or Scottish Independence referendum.

.

[primavera]

6. Were the previous debates any different?

Let's be honest, these are campaigning stunts, not substantive debates. People who follow news have already long ago made up their minds about their favored candidate; these "debates" are for the myopic masses who otherwise pay no attention to public affairs.

[riderinthestorm]

8. Agreed. Very anti-climactic. And depressing.

They appeared to be so much of the same.... It was a debate between 300 ships or 325 ships....

[aletier_v]

9. No, I agree. I didn't watch it because I find it depressing

Romney shouldn't even be a candidate.

He's old and clueless, pathetic, and he shouldn't even made the primaries, and I'm deeply disturbed he's this close to being president. It says a lot of this country.

[WilliamPitt]

11. Old?

[Neoma]

31. Older than Obama.

[Spider Jerusalem]

78. Old, he's 65

we haven't had a president that old at election since Reagan (Bush I was 64) and have only had two other presidents who were 65 or older at their inauguration: William Henry Harrison (who died a month later) and James Buchanan (who didn't get a second term). Romney may be a well-preserved and youthful 65 (no doubt with the benefit of subtle and expensive plastic surgery) but he's not young or even really middle-aged.

[Tigress DEM]

10. The rethugs are calling in and saying Romney WON.

[NoMoreWarNow]

91. of course they are, but it's all just BS spin

[WinkyDink]

12. It's TV. Hasn't been used to great effect since...Bishop Sheen and "Omnibus"?

[Poll_Blind]

13. Agreed. Obama "won" but the overall debate was jejune.

It's hard to imagine how much more real the whole event would have been had the League of Women Voters been calling the shots instead of the campaigns. But both parties have agreed never to allow such uncertainty again.

PB

[Tigress DEM]

14. The rethugs are calling in and saying Romney WON.

[LiberalElite]

18. You were expecting maybe they'd tell the truth? n/t

[Tigress DEM]

58. NO, it's just mind boggling.

I hear all these sweet voiced women voting for Robme and I wonder how much are they getting paid?

[mvd]

15. Many important issues haven't been addressed in these debates

Including poverty, drones, global warming, etc. Obama is way too centrist for my liking. But he has to win because we can't get more progressive going backwards. Obama another great debate!

[cilla4progress]

16. No, I agree with your points, Will.

But! I kind of did like the last 10 minutes where it seemed where there was some "consensus" between the candidates....at least as to goals, if not as to tactics. It struck me as a conversation over drinks between two guys who have different views, but have some sort of compatibility.

What came through to me was that Mitt came out doing a lot of name (country, Al Qaeda factions) dropping, to show he knows his stuff. Obama, a little stiff at first, relaxed as he got into actual substance, was less showy, but more substantive.

There were essentially no vigorous attacks on the President from Romney .... for some reason. I guess Romney was trying to display equanimity.

It did get repetitive after awhile, but our President maintained his focus, while Romney's hair fell apart, and he ... sweated???

[femrap]

42. Romney has no clue

about Foreign Affairs. He probably paid of Bob not to mention China, Brazil, India and Russia economics.

Listening to Kerry now....giving RobMe hell....saying he's scary. Doh!

It's a Campaign of Hate...Many hate Blacks/non-Whites. And I hate the Rich and Self-entitled.

Please let Obama continue to lead our country even though he has made mistakes that favor the rich and non-democratic policies.

Shit....I said I wasn't going to get involved in this Circus and here I am. My loathing of RobMe is that strong. And probably has a lot to do w/ the fact that my entire family are Repugnants w/ tons of Repugnant signs in their yards. I'm so sick and tired of stupid people who THINK THEY ARE RICH....what a joke.

I need to move to Denver (did you see '60 Minutes' last night) and find the peace of Mary Jane.

Ohio is just too much to bear. Get me out of here.

[tyroneous]

45. the real rich

I think you hit it right on the head. A lot of middle class republicans think they are "rich". When in fact, the republic party is only interested in the "real rich". Not the middle class.

[femrap]

98. I've told many here in

Ohio that there may be only 3 people in this entire state who are RICH: Wexner (Victoria Secrets), the United Dairy guy (I think he died recently) and the dude who started Progressive Insurance up in Cleveland (but he is for legalizing pot). I have a terrible time remembering the names of the Rich. Maybe that's a good thing?

Welcome to DU!

[Ellipsis]

19. I understand where you're coming from but Romney was still the crack spiders bitch

[Aerows]

20. Romney got his

butt handed to him. He wandered off into the weeds in the middle of it, and made me laugh hysterically.

[marions ghost]

27. yeah those weeds...

"8th grade math"

[Aerows]

41. He practically wandered off

and got hit by a taxi cab. He didn't know what the hell he was doing.

[marions ghost]

43. Like when

.....Ronnie Raygun took off down the Pacific Coast Highway....

Definitely weird. He was babblin almost as bad as Mz Palin for a little stretch.

[Gregorian]

21. I see it just the opposite. The American people allowed it.

It doesn't seem obvious to many, but the problems we face are not two men, but millions of Americans who just don't know much about anything. And who can blame them when they're sick, busy, poor, uninformed.

I agree with your post. But I take a different perspective on it. I talked with an old neighbor today. He hung out with JFK at Harvard when he was in college. He's old. He called Mitt a comedian. But he also agreed that the problem is with the people, not the moderators, or candidates. We get what we deserve. And 30 years of laziness are coming home to roost. Laziness isn't the proper term. More like acceptance. Letting the drug war proliferate. Letting the repealing of the Fairness Doctrine go unnoticed. Letting the media go from a watchdog to a lapdog.

It IS depressing. The first step toward the long road of resuscitation is by keeping Romney away from the White House.

[WilliamPitt]

24. How do people get more informed

when this is the meager gruel they have to feed on?

[Gregorian]

46. Like a recovering alcoholic. Slow and steady. And pretty near impossible.

It's rough to watch.

But then, I was a fool, and an alcoholic. I don't know what I am now. Haha. But I have been on the podium at a bike race where Levi Leipheimer raced, and I'm old enough to be his father. It CAN be done.

It's so difficult when you see the path clearly as you obviously do. In some ways I'm optimistic.

[femrap]

48. The people may be stupid

but tons of them are RACIST, not stupid. They are filled with HATE. They are my family. I know them up close and personal. They'll vote for a MORMON before they'll give Obama a second term. And we're talking major FUNDAMENTAL XTAINS. Wacko Bible Thumpers.

I just hope that the people who HATE THE RICH AND SELF-ENTITLED will get out and vote thereby outnumbering the Racists.

I live in OH which is very stressful...and I have to tell you, there are a lot of stupid people here. Dumb as dirt. I have to minimize the time that I spend outside my home because all I see and hear are extremely stupid people.

For example, there's a truck wrapped with Duck Tape so it doesn't fall apart....and sure enough, there's a Romney sticker on the dilapidated bumper. I'm so sick of it.

All I say to them is: "I bet you're glad there is no law against being stupid. Do you think you're rich like your boy? Do you think he gives a rat's ass about you? WAKE UP!"

One thing that has worked for my GOTV is: "THIS IS THE ONE DAY THAT YOU ARE EQUAL TO A BILLIONAIRE. YOU CAN CANCEL HIS VOTE." Pass that around...it seems to work.

[just1voice]

71. I, too, avoid all the (R)s I can here in Virginia

They are extremely stupid and extremely vocal and proud of their ignorance. They gleefully support torture, perma-war, economic lies and racism. In 2008, the local (R)s decided the best idea for the election was to brand all Obama supporters as traitors; my hideous (R) neighbors still feel that way. I rode past a yard sign yesterday that read "America vs. Obama".

The (R)s here live in the most hateful state of mind I've ever seen, it's gotten much worse over the last 12 years. It's to the point now that there are 2 completely separate societies in the same neighborhoods all across Northern Virginia. If a person dares to mention politics in public, people start looking around hoping they don't get verbally attacked by some insane (R).

[NoMoreWarNow]

88. wow, that's insane.

New civil war brewing?

[femrap]

102. W is the one that made

stupidity a wonderful trait....and the intelligent people were called 'elitists.' Total manipulation by the MSM and Rove.

I'm in a pretty redneck/repugnant town so it's difficult for me.

I used to have a neighbor who was RW his entire life....he was 83 years old and we'd talk politics. He enjoyed me only because I could meet his arguments. I told him that you RWers are so mean! And he said, "That's how we win...we're mean." He passed away a few years back. I always thought he was too mean to ever die.

But he wasn't hateful. He enjoyed a good debate. He was an educated man....and he loved his dog. Animal lovers can't be all bad.

The dumb ones scare me...they're typically racist and certainly don't like a woman making good arguments against them. So it's best I just stay as far from people for the next 2 weeks.

I hope someday that the Repugnant party can return to its Moderate State. Gee...George Romney (Mi$$'s) dad was a great guy even though he was a repugnant. That's when the 2 parties worked together and really tried to hammer out a compromise.

Welcome to DU.

[NoMoreWarNow]

87. those types are depressing in the extreme

you sort of wish they do get screwed by Mitt, if the rest of us didn't have to suffer too.

[femrap]

101. In 2010

the Repugnants elected Kasick as Governor and he immediately went after public employees to bust their unions. The Repugnants were up in arms....he had never mentioned this in his campaigning. So the people found out the hard way what the repugnants can do to them.

It was SB5...and Ohioans went to the polls and voted it down!!! I think that's why OH is leaning Obama...they were fooled once and hopefully are smart enough to get fooled twice by Mi$$.

Welcome to DU!

[eridani]

63. +1000 At first I was disappointed by no mention of climate change as a security threat

A lot of our defense analysts seem to think that, at least. But my husband pointed out that this is a very complex topic, and that a large chunk of the audience was too ignorant to sort out the subtleties, which would have resulted in a snarl of distracting fact-checking nightmares. I have to agree with him on that.

[Blue_Tires]

105. +1

[ecstatic]

108. +1000

We're in trouble. Too many idiots! An unchecked media... etc.

[SalviaBlue]

22. The fact that Romney is legitimately being considered is sad.

[Grammy23]

106. I agree completely that it is a sad day when they best they can offer is Mitt.

But then, look at what the whole field of Republican candidates looked like and Mitt seems like the sanest guy in the room and a rocket scientist on top of that. Can you imagine what last night would have looked like with Rick Perry, Rick Santorum or Herman Cain as the top of the Republican ticket??? Come to think of it, that would have been an interesting sight to see. As it is, maybe we are witnessing the end of the current Republican party. Can't a girl hope?

[SalviaBlue]

107. I'm sure they (media/pundits/GOP) would be giving them the same

legitimacy... like they did Palin. We are in Bazarro World. Or, we are two different species. I don't understand them at all. To me, Rmoney is CLEARLY unqualified and Obama is CLEARLY Very Qualified.

[porphyrian]

23. These debates are not for honest important discussion any more, if they ever were.

These are opportunities to manipulate the populace while media corporations profit, not to mention businesses at the chosen debate locations. In that sense, they are fairly indicative of the American way of doing things and our loss is no different than that of any other night. However, that is not to say that we shouldn't have this discussion with the President when he is reelected, or that we should continue to accept the current nature of these debates.

[Jennicut]

25. Most debates are not meant to be educational. They are for show.

The moderators ask the questions and well, it was Bob Schieffer. I don't expect much, except for Obama to do well in this arena.

I would say on pure substance the VP debate and the 2nd Presidential debate were the most interesting.

[Canuckistanian]

26. They agreed on too much

I would have liked to see more fireworks, especially on China.

Sensata wasn't even mentioned.

[marions ghost]

32. Obama referred to it tho not by name

--------

[NYC Liberal]

33. More like, Chameleon Romney agreed with Obama's positions in order to sell himself as a "moderate".

It's not the first time.

[Cha]

61. Willard was "agreeing" with President Obama and trying to turn himself

into Pres Obama Light or something.

[freshwest]

28. Will, the budget deal that is coming into effect will reduce defense spending by a great deal.

I suspect a great deal of Romney's support is not from any form of ideology or love for America, but will come from those directly receiving dollars from private contracting jobs.

Those who are making the big bucks and vote for Romney are voting their economic interest against the rest of us, who they see as losers and don't care if others starve. Because they will get theirs first, they always have.

It's been brought up more than once on the board that the MIC corps are freaked out about the coming cuts, so much so that their share prices have gone down. Whether this will happen, I don't know. But Obama has put the machine in motion to do this. The GOP were trapped by their intransigence on BS issues they were using to hurt poor people.

The talk is all fine and good to have, but really, the wheels are in motion. We don't have now, and have not had for many years, what the MIC media call 'an enemy.' People are tired of this and want action. More haggling will be done to reduce the amounts. But it's past time for this and most of us know it.

Now to deal with those who will truly lose money in this course of action -- and they will be screaming for continued privatization of all functions of government, like a junkie wanting a fix. It's going to be very ugly, maybe violent.

[marions ghost]

35. Obama did refer to cutting defense spending

-------

[suffragette]

29. Every time Romney said "peace" I kept thinking of Pax Americana and PNAC

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021608274


Still shuddering about that.

[bigtree]

30. heh, he won - but failed?

I did hear the President talk about how changing our priorities in Defense would mean that we can focus on our economic challenges at home. I think he mentioned that a couple of ways.

[Cha]

62. President Obama Won tonght and in that Respect.. The American

People Won.

Like there would be any real discussions on geniune foreign policy with mitt romney and Bob Schieffer 2/3rds of the mix.

[jsmirman]

34. Yeah, you tuck in with Maddow and Chris Hayes - but I'm not down with it

Do I find it disturbing that there are not two or more separate positions on our foreign policy? Yes.

THAT EXISTED PRIOR TO TONIGHT.

This debate was about winning, and Romney being a weak-ass, know-nothing punk.

Here is the fact: Romney would be utterly disastrous and dangerous internationally.

So your choice is Obama or someone who puts everyone on earth in peril.

I'm sorry, but the choice is clear, for better or for worse.

[WilliamPitt]

50. Very good point

Thanks.

[jsmirman]

57. It's sad, but I've never been posturing when I say Romney terrifies me

as the man in charge of our foreign policy.

He scares me to death.

[NoMoreWarNow]

90. he scares me all the way around

I honestly think he has the ability to finally destroy this country-- anything decent it still stands for anyway

[NoMoreWarNow]

89. exactly my sentiment

[GreenArrow]

37. Dancing With the Stars

for highbrows.

[mopinko]

38. can the copd require that moderators were on the debate team in college?

and know how to write a fucking question?

[nolabear]

39. Yeah, I agree. Foreign policy isn't anyone's number one and everyone's exhausted.

But I think it settled the election. Obama will be president.

[OSPREYXIV]

44. The President was engaged in a dialogue with the American people

Romney was a robotic nuisance. At subliminal levels, he was bumbling, erratic, disjointed and
simply strange. The image that kept coming to mind was that his needle arm was jumping out of the groove. He's a museum relic from the age of Mitch Miller, Pat Boone and Lawrence Welk.
The man has mental tail fins.

IMHO the lowest common denominator stays low in these events for a variety of reasons. Would be just as easy to imagine the other Mr. Pitt offering criticism of Obama's rhetorical fireworks, saying he'd gone over the heads of his audience. Just as well, I never got the impression that has ever been his strong suit. He is genuinely thoughtful and speaks like a man who is thinking about each word before we hear it.
Fundamentally, we are in agreement. The level of discourse in the debates we have seen has been sub-par. But, when the opposition refuses to step up to the mark and flings nothing but horse shit and lies, you have to rely on the large caliber weapons. Forget finesse.
(Give me half an hour of question time on the House of Commons any day of the year. Sheer entetainment and intellectual fireworks for the disinterested spectator.)

We are facing a terrible crisis; it is one of our own making. Our industrial base crumbled while we watched the ruling elites screw it up and all the commentariat did was nod their heads like felt-covered rear-window puppy dogs. Now we have to do exactly what the President has been talking about: get the country into to the 21st century.
Mitt just wants to go back to the future.

[gulliver]

47. Put down the bottle, WillPitt, you've had enough.

You think the American people lost tonight? Really?

I think you need more sleep, a balanced diet, and maybe some vitamins. You should not let yourself near a keyboard for a while.

[RBInMaine]

49. Oh Christ, can you people just sink the naysaying and enjoy the victory. GAWD.

[Bucky]

51. You bastard!

What else would you expect? No one gets to be Consul if they don't protect the Empire. Drone strikes seem horrible for the intimate measureability of the death they deliver, but they represent a fraction of the numbers of innocents that would've been killed by cruise missiles 20 years ago or napalm saturations 50 years ago. War is always going to be ugly, but the trends in warfare, going by raw numbers, are trending in the right directions. War is always going to be too prevalent, but the world is a less deadly, less violent place than it was at any time in the 20th century. Progress is maddeningly slow, but that's the way history creeps along.

After Obama's 2nd term, we'll be four years closer to truly peaceful world.

[NotThisTime]

53. No flames, this was no foreign policy debate

[Telly Savalas]

54. You chose to watch a TV show with Romney over the Bears-Lions

I could have told you before you started that it was a waste of 90 minutes.

[Solomon]

56. Oh for fucks sake. Obama did his job which was to

make it very clear what the choice is between the two candidates, despite Romney's attempt to muddy the water. Thats all debates are ever about, delineating the choice. Why move the goalposts now? Oh wait, my bad. We always move the goalposts where Obama is involved.

[Cha]

65. Yes, and it Certainly Was NOT a Waste of Time! The American

People WON because PBO WON. Hell, Our Lonely Planet WON!

Thanks President Obama!

[just1voice]

60. No mention of (R)s supporting torture either

It's just the worst crime any society can commit other than genocide but who cares when there are important things like Big Bird to discuss and decades of (R) economic lies to recite.

I agree with you, it was a worthless waste of time.

[cliffordu]

64. You and I agree completely on this.

Weird, but true.

[Bonobo]

67. Me too!

Go figure.

[cliffordu]

68. Well......that's nice.

about our other dustup...

[Bonobo]

69. More like this...

[cliffordu]

72. Well...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH



Not fucking likely.

[desertduck]

66. What you wanted to see tonight required TWO competent debaters.

Clearly, only one showed up. Romney couldn't DO anymore than what he did. He was clearly in way over his head. The lack of experience showed. In a normal and balanced world, candidates like romney would NEVER get this far. But that is where we are in this world. Sorry to disappoint but i would MUCH rather not have a "livelier" debate where the MSM are given far more opportunities to spin and lie against obama's campaign. Get the win and get out.

[NNN0LHI]

75. Good post and I agree with you

[FloridaJudy]

70. I'm with you, Will

At any time, I expected them to bring up Kimoy and Matsu, which were the burning issue of the 1960 debates.

But does anyone give a shit about Kimoy and Matsu today? Does anyone even remember what they are? The debates are just the political equivalent of a beauty pageant's talent show. Everyone pretends to be interested, but then most go off and pick the candidate they like on the basis of their cat's name or some other bizarre criteria, and not on who sang Madam Butterfly the best.

[Art_from_Ark]

73. "Quemoy and Matsu" was a burning issue in the mid- to late-50s

because the issue could have dragged the US into a direct war with the PRC, and American leaders were even bringing up, indirectly or even directly, the possibility of using nuclear weapons as a last resort. So it was a damned important issue back then.

[FloridaJudy]

74. I was just a kid at the time

But what I remember from that debate was that Kennedy and Nixon seemed determined to outdo each other in appearing to take a firm stance on the issue. Neither of them seemed to have a coherent plan, but Kennedy looked suave and composed, while Nixon looked nervous and sweaty, the way Romney looked last night.

Both of them later proved to be pretty bellicose, but I still think Kennedy was the better President.

[Art_from_Ark]

111. It's not surprising that they seemed to want to outdo each other

That was the "be tough on Commies" era. I'm kind of glad I wasn't old enough to understand what was going on back then, it would have been pretty nerve-wracking.

[tavalon]

76. You'll get no flame from me

I hate the preprocessed spam they give us in debates and ignore really important things. I think that's a lot of what sparked Occupy Wall Street and bless them, they did change the dialogue for a while. But mostly we are expected to be happy sheep, grateful for the crumbs they drop for us.

I'm trying to ignore all of this for just a few more weeks to keep my spirits up, but I'm going to become a thorn in the Obama administration's side about these and a few other topics in the second term.

[polichick]

79. Neither mentioned CLIMATE CHANGE when they were asked...

...about the biggest challenge ahead. SO FUCKING SAD.

[NoMoreWarNow]

86. they are both too afraid to, because it might turn off voters--which is indeed pathetic

but the next president WILL HAVE TO deal with this.

[SmileyRose]

80. No flames from me either.

Huge lost opportunity there.

With Bob Scheiffer I expected no different. He didn't interject his own ideology but that's about all I can say for him.

[rucky]

81. Not sure if this cheers you up, but we're cutting defense in about 3 weeks

without any political risk to Obama or Democrats.

[OldDem2012]

83. You've already flamed yourself...I won't be piling on.

[Ilsa]

84. The Dumbing Down of America Project has succeeded

Beyond their wildest dreams.

[NoMoreWarNow]

85. yep-- this is what the brain-dead Rethug party has brought us to

but for once, I could revel in the Dem candidate being the tough guy, at least.

The debate was just an exercise in rhetoric (which Obama easily won), because we already knew there was little difference in foreign policy substance between these two.

[lunatica]

92. Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory again!

Your whining is getting predictable.

This is a Presidential debate during a Presidential campaign that can only last 90 minutes, out of which Romney ran the clock out on talking about the economy every chance he got.

[DinahMoeHum]

93. At this late point in the campaign, educating the public

with comprehensive political anaylsis re foreign policy issues and complaints is BULLSHIT.

The ONLY thing that counts right now is scoring points and WINNING.

Sorry you're so glum right now.

[99Forever]

94. Sounds like it went..

.. as I would have expected. Thanks for your analysis, it tells me that my choice to skip it, was the right one. (Frankly, I wish I had been wrong and it had been substantial.)

[Crewleader]

95. I agree with you William

[sarcasmo]

96. Thanks for the recap, glad I watched Monday night football.

[bvar22]

97. The League of Women's Voters agrees with you.

The League of Women's Voters hosted the last Presidential "Debate" in America in 1984. After that, we have had only Campaign Marketing Events more notable for what is NOT discussed than for what is discussed.

[font size=3] " The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."[/font]
—League President Nancy M. Neuman, LWV October 03, 1988

[WilliamPitt]

100. Posted that to my Facebook page

It took off like a rocket.

Thank you.

[bvar22]

104. I'm old enough to remember when LWV hosted the Presidential Debates.

Our descent into Talking Point politics,
and the out-of-bounds-markers set by the marketing departments of both political parties more than saddens me. This channels the Political Awareness and National Dialog of our nation in a very shallow but comfortable box.

President Obama did a good job last night,
especially given what he had to work with,
but there is MUCH that NEEDS to be forefront in the National Discussion that is being swept under the rug.

This is not solely the fault of the Political Parties.
It seems to me that every time a serious, in depth discussion of ANY issue begins anywhere in this country, it is quickly shouted down, derailed, and hi-jacked by Partisan Mouth Pieces and Sloganeers.

Media spawned category for judging the recent debates:
"Who had the Best One-Liner"





You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their rhetoric, promises, or excuses.
[font size=5 color=Firebrick]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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[progressoid]

109. That's too bad. The WLV will be missed (at least by some of us).

But I can't blame them. Nor can I disagree with them.

[JI7]

110. this is something new to you ? debates have not been about substance ever since the whore media

thought there was something great about "there you go again" after Carter asked a very important question about issues that matter.