Sept 30 Presidential Debate "May" be cancelled b/c

[kaitykaity]

of Hurricane Jeanne.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/9/25/123017/864

Uh-huh, yeah, right, sure.

That'd be the reason.



On edit: I heard the Jeanne rationale on a news break
on AAR.

[Maat]

1. It figures.

n/t

[Eric J in MN]

2. this is probably just to lower epectations of Bush

They want the journalists to be like, "We thought he was scared to debate Kerry, but instead Bush had a bunch of zingers!"

Please use the National Media email addresses at

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

to email the pundits with a message similar to this one (in your words)
--------------------------------------------------------
Jusdge the debates based on the HONESTY of the candidates' answers.

Don't say, Bush used a line which gets applause from his campaign audiences, therefore Bush won, even if the line is a distortion of the truth.

Don't say that Bush zinged an insult, so Bush won.

Don't say Bush seemed folksy, so Bush won.

Judge the debates by who tells the truth.
-----------------------------------

[kerryin2004]

18. your linkie isn't working..n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. How conveeenient.

Oh, the hurricane's over? Well, uh, then we can't have the debate because...uh... I have a headache. And I can't find my car keys. And... uh... my dog ate my debate notes. Yeah, that's it....

[soothsayer]

4. Guess shrubbie's debate rehearsals aren't going well

God, he's pathetic

[Rose Siding]

5. The commission is rebelling?

That's a first. It's almost like they think that as the press, they should have some kind of freedom ROFL

snip>
A senior Republican official tells ABC News' Jonathan Karl that the first presidential debate, scheduled for Thursday in Miami, could be canceled unless there is a breakthrough soon in negotiations between the two campaigns and the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The only remaining sticking point, Karl reports, is the reluctance of the Commission on Presidential Debates to sign the agreement negotiated by the Bush and Kerry campaigns.

The commission and the campaigns have been negotiating a side letter the commission (and moderators) would sign instead of the agreement, but the Bush campaign finds the current draft of the letter too weakly worded.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/NotedNow/Noted_Now.html

[VolcanoJen]

8. Rove is setting us all up here.

I agree with Chris Bowers:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/9/25/145429/883

However, what I really think is going on here is an attempt by the Bush campaign to shift the post-debate focus away from the content of debate itself and toward a "Biased Debate Commission" storyline. This would especially be the case if things do not go well in the debate for Bush, and would be very similar to what happened with the CBS memo story. The Republican post-debate spin could center on how the commission and the moderators, who refused to sign the agreement, did not abide to the agreement and were unfair to Bush during the debate (a couple of lame examples will be offered up and hammered over and over again by the VRWC). It is an attempt to make the medium the story, and once again produce the culture war narrative of a small conspiracy of liberal elites working against the President and the majority he represents. It will become impossible for Kerry to win any future debates, because the pundits will be frightened and many people will have the perception that Kerry has an unfair advantage due to the Protocols of the Liberals of Hollywood and Academia.

[kaitykaity]

10. Makes sense to me.

Yeah, he'll keep repeating the same play because it seems to
work for him.

Shultz calls it "reciprocal pick-up," where one RW liar
says something, then another one repeats it, and then another
one repeats it again, and then pretty soon everybody knows
that the RW lie is somehow true.

[VolcanoJen]

13. Rove's "Fair Play" strategy is brilliant, and it's working.

They've now succeeded in scaring CBS out of reporting any kind of bad news until November 3rd, for example.

CBS Nixes '60 Minutes' Story on Iraq War

:grr:

[kaitykaity]

14. Yeah, that just made me sick.

Roll over and play dead time.

If we didn't have AAR I'd have gone out of my mind
a long time ago.

It is kind of funny though how we can pick out Rove's
play now before he even makes it. Too bad there isn't
some way to do a preventive strike on it and squash it
before it even breaks ground.

[Rose Siding]

12. PBS did a piece on the debates last night

I was so proud to learn that the women's organization didn't cow-tow to the parties back when they handled the debates, but I can see how it would play to Bush's advantage to make the commission the "story", taking heat off of him to make any sense in public.

At some point, it will have to be dealt with but deck chairs...Titanic...blah blah

[flordehinojos]

15. Have you noticed how Bush has to hide in a Bubble when he leaves the WH

He is so damn afraid of his own shadow that he is even afraid of any cocroach. So he puts up all these lame excuses about the two debaters not being able to ask questions of each other, the answers being limited to a pitiful amount of time, and now a separate letter of agreement between the parties, the commission and the moderators? I really don't get it but your explanation of it sounds like it is right on target. Preparing the ground for more of the same distortions, excuses, smoke and mirrors stuff the pemeates and pervades bush world--something which is in other words called INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. Nothing should prevent that debate. Where are they planning

to hold it? West Palm Beach?

[flordehinojos]

11. Last I heard the debate was going to be at the U.of Miami in CORAL GABLES

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. They haven't been affected by any of the four hurricanes.

No excuse.

[seabeyond]

7. maybe find another place in all the u.s.

that isnt effect by hurricane. i dont know. not a tough one for me. shit, do it on the senate floor, in the whitehouse, i dont care

[grace0418]

9. Give me a fucking break!

What, nowhere else in the country has an auditorium and 2 50" tall podiums (or podia?)? What a lame excuse.

[snoogins]

16. they planned it around the hurricane

haarp gun check?

[Bluebear]

17. Yes, NO other site in the 50 states is suitable

:shrug:

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. I KNEW he would do that.

Kerry should go to Florida and give a speech on the 30th...just to show how big of a WUS the chimp is. Kerry should do SOMETHING, ANYTHING in Florida on the 30th. Show the sheeple their idiot-in-chief is a big fat WIMP!

[marlakay]

21. Why pick Florida when still hurricane season??

why not pick a different one and do Florida last? stupid stupid. But we are stuck with it so we can just hope that it doesn't hit as bad as they predict.

[npincus]

22. what's the matter? Miami is the only city in America?

[Leilani]

23. But the debate commission is the Dems & Repugs

the no longer have a neutral body, like League of Women Voters running the damn things.

Bush/Rove is playing games...trying to scare Kerry.

The hurricanes are no where near Miami...Kerry needs to go, regardless of the games.

[npincus]

24. Oh wait- that's right: Chimp can't hear the answers in his earpiece if

the wind is howling too loudly.