Gephardt in the debate

[Lefty48197]

"This President is a miserable failure. He just doesn't get it. He thinks he knows all the answers. He doesn't respect others."
Go get em Dick!

[Monaco]

1. I have to admit

Gephardt really seemed to be "on" tonight. The line was good in it's original context, but got a little tired after a while. OK Dick, we got the point.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

27. Gephardt was awesome

He clearly led the attack against Bush, and everyone followed. I am impressed with everyone - Moseley-Braun was amazing. Dennis Kucinich held up the Democratic party line, and called the neo-liberals on their wishy-washy corporate trade policies. It's very good for the Democratic party that we had a decent debate about NAFTA, jobs, trade, and the right to organize. Tonight I am happier about being a Democrat than I have been in a while.

[Abe Linkman]

2. With all due respect to Mr. Gephardt (a good man)

If that quote is indicative; Gephardt would be a very weak candidate.

[Cocoa]

4. I think it's a great line

it shows he's perceptive. :-)

[NewJerseyDem]

3. Gephardt did pretty well

I think that he probably did the best of any of the candidates in the debate. He did seem pretty articulate in his positions.

However, I didn't like how he wouldn't shut up after the moderators interupted him. He just kept on talking for like a minute more than he was suppose to. I thought that it was wrong for him to steal time away from the debate that could have allowed for more discussion on more topics.

[Monaco]

5. I agree,

it made him look a little desperate for the attention.

[Avalux]

6. Wish I had seen it

Good for Gephardt.

[madaboutharry]

7. I am sorry

I will never forget that scene in the Rose Garden (or wherever it was) with Gephardt standing next to Bush telling reporters that he was behind the president and supporting the Iraq resolution. Gephardt sold out.

[Monaco]

8. The question was the debate

I'm not saying that I'm willing to forget about that, but, in the debate itself, he reallt did quite well.

[sendero]

12. in terms of...

... performance vs. expectations, I agree totally. I didn't expect much but Mr. Gebhardt held his own quite well IMHO.

[SaveABug]

16. Remember everyone was lied to

in this entire country.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lefty48197]

15. You forgot to tell us that Byrd was in the KKK too

I hate to wonder who you support in 2004.

[Monaco]

17. Just noticed now

welcome to DU Positron!

[Cocoa]

18. we DO want an excellent politician

we want an expert politician running against Bush, and also in the White House dealing with the divided Congress and also dealing with our allies.

Fortunately, all of the leading candidates are very good politicians.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cocoa]

20. I'm interested in what O'Neill was referring to

As a former House Speaker himself, I think he may see these as necessary traits for that role.

Do you have a link to the quote, or some more context?

[rbnyc]

10. He hesitated before saying it the first time...

...then after he was rewarded with audience approval, he repeated it with confidence...over and over again. I'm sorry but it seemed very Pavlovian to me.

[BrewCrew]

11. He's a good candidate

I think it was cheap that the only people who didn't get to answer a question were Gephardt and Kerry on Health Care. Both have pretty impressive plans. It would have been good to hear them address the issue. Oh well. I'm a Gephardt supporter because of his trade policies. I've heard the guy speak at a UAW convention, rallies on Capital Hill against PNTR and Steel dumping, I've also found him amazingly passionate and fired up. So when I hear folks say that the guy has no fire I'm dumbfounded. That Gephardt I saw tonight was the Gephardt I've seen several times over the years.

I hope he continues on that pushing his case. The guy is a "workers rights" champion and would be a great candidate. Folks in the industrial heartland will eat that "son of a milk truck driver" shit up and we need those stands to be W.

[Vadem]

13. Gep had passion tonight. I, too, can't get the view out of mind of

Gep and Holy Joe in the Rose Garden with nitwit; but reading Gep's stand on the issues, and the fact that he has received most of the union endorsements, has watered down my opposition to him a little.

By the way, did you notice that he had some eyebrows tonight? About time they penciled some in for him. It gave his face more definition.

[OneBlueSky]

14. hadn't given Gephart much though, but . . .

he sure rang some bells tonight . . . actually, I thought he and Kerry came across as the most viable challengers to Bush based solely on presentation . . . followed by Dean, Braun, Edwards, Lieberman, Kucinich, and Graham, in that order . . . hell, they're all good Democrats, and any one of them would be a vast improvement over what we have now . . . I'll even vote for Lieberman if he's the nominee (which I don't expect to happen) . . . sure missed Al Sharpton, though . . . and you have to wonder how Clark would/will stack up in this group . . . guess we'll have to wait and see . . .

[dani]

21. it made me giggle aloud

"miserable failure". I thought that was great. :)
You did good tonite, Gephardt.

edit: it's already on the front page of his website:
Gephardt: "President Bush is a Miserable Failure"
http://www.dickgephardt2004.com/plugin/template/gephardt/Welcome/*

[grasswire]

22. he's a good, decent man

...and it's too bad that at the time he could run, America really needs a fresh face. He's paid his dues. I hope he ends up as the labor secretary in the new Democratic cabinet.

[ibegurpard]

23. The problem is I just don't believe him when he rails against Bush

as being a miserable failure, particularly when it comes to the Iraq debacle. Gephart helped make it easier for that to happen.

[pmbryant]

25. His past solidarity with Bush makes his current criticism all the sharper

At least in the minds of independent voters, I would think.

Gephardt stood behind Bush and gave Bush the chance to do the Iraq thing right. Bush not only didn't do it right, but did it so badly that he is now a 'miserable failure'.

I like it.

:thumbsup:

--Peter

[ibegurpard]

26. Well, for his sake I hope it resonates with someone

Cause I sure ain't buying it. The Tip O'Neill quote above certainly struck a chord with me.

On edit: I thought he did well in the debate and if I was watching it cold with no knowledge or opinions of any of them going in, I would've been impressed. I just don't believe it coming from him.

[nuxvomica]

28. Well said

We would have been in Iraq months earlier had it not been for Gephardt, who urged Bush to go to the UN first. He tried working with the resident and the resident screwed him over. So if anyone should be pissed at Bush, it's Gephardt. And he is.

[JeniB]

29. Exactly!

Gephardt backed Bush on a war fought with our allies. He should not be blamed because Bush decided to do his own thing. Gephardt has been getting in his face about it ever since Bush screwed him over. It's too bad that some people can only see the first part and not the rest. I think Bush surprised a lot of people with his "go it alone" attitude.

[jburton]

24. He did very well

I was impressed.

The only thing, why wasn't he saying this a year ago?

[9215]

30. Gephardt stole the show

with the "miserable failure" line IMO. His use of repitition shows he really knows how to get a message across. Plus he emphatically showed how he can solve the economic, employment problems because "he and Bill Clinton already have".

He and Kerry stood apart from the rest with their experience.