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Did Gore put his make-up on with a mason’s trowel?
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Bush should fire whoever purchased his ineffective nasal spray before the debate. His sniffling almost drove me insane.
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The ass-kissing toward senior citizens by both candidates was just maddening. The impression you got from their pandering was A. there is this teeming mass of seniors out there; B. They don’t have a clue about anything, and can be misled as easily as a kitten with a laser-pointer; and C. They all vote. By the end of it, I was ready to say, “Screw 'em all! And their Medicare! And their prescription drugs!”
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Gore was good at doing that “fake-writing” thing while Bush was giving his answers. It’s an effective ploy that lawyers often teach their clients in courtrooms. You saw O.J. doing it quite a bit during his trial. It provides detachment during awkward moments when you are under attack, without making you look aloof. It also keeps you from betraying any emotions. Bush frequently looked at Gore during his answer-giving, and it sometimes made him look pissy.
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Bush was definitely the crankier of the two, but I haven’t decided whether I think it’s a flaw, or if I kind of like it in a refreshing, non-politically correct, Harry Truman kind of way.
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And let me just say, in a spirit of bi-partisanship, that if I heard the terms “richest 1 percent,” “put it in a lockbox” or “fuzzy math” one more time, I would have given Ralph Nader permission to run over both candidates repeatedly with a late-'70s model Pinto.
My own non-policy observation: if Cecil was right about the taller candidate winning, Gore is a lock. The “longer name” hypothesis doesn’t apply this time around.
Geez… I thought this was supposed to be a debate, not a lovefest. I thought of a dozen snappy comebacks while watching the few minutes I did, and I’m not the quickest of wits.
Well, it sure wasn’t Lincoln vs Douglas.
I miss Bill already, although he loves repetition, too.
It was also really annoying how Gore kept stupidly grinning and chuckling all the time. It makes me think he’s stoned or drunk or something.
Bush is mean, and underhanded. He really is. He had a lot of not-so-subtle digs, and I was, frankly, amazed at his audacity. Mean is good. Underhanded is fine. But not when a person is mean AND underhanded. I just don’t trust that man.
Well, from a bleeding-heart liberal who feels nauseous when I think of Bush in the White House, I have to say I think he “won.” Maybe only by a field goal, but I still think he won: he was more at ease, more plain-spoken, less…I hate to say it…wooden. And he didn’t bumble with the language at all, which is, to tell you the truth, one of the main reasons I was watching. There were some points where he slowed down and enunciated each word one syllable at a time, like he’d been coached or something. He attacked in a very sly but not over-the-top way, and his rebuttals were plain and effective. Not that Gore was bad; just a bunch of missed opportunities. Just no real wit from either one, really.
Yeah, the “fuzzy math” thing was annoying, especially the way he used it like he was trying to manufacture a one-liner like Reagan’s “there you go again.” And Gore never really addressed it. I would have said: “Governor Bush, I’ll have my staff send you a calculator, because it’s you that’s fuzzy, not the math.”
Bush did seem a little cranky, but I thought Gore was sometimes arrogant. I think ignoring the fundraiser accusation in the end was a mistake; he should have said something quick and dirty. And he should have slammed Bush for all the “you’ve had seven years” crap, too.
Bush blinks too much, which, if I remember phsychology correctly, is the body language equivalent of “I’m full of crap.” And I agree that staring at Gore during Gore’s answers was a little impish. But I still think Bush’s answers were better delivered and that he edged Gore out (of course, we’re talking about what really counts in pres. debates: style and not substance). But all in all, very forgettable. Oh well. May the tallest, I mean, uh, best man win.
I thought Bush came across really dumb. (Of course, I think Bush is really dumb.) I thought Gore came across as smart, but wooden. (Again, pretty much true to my impressions.) Every aspect of Gore’s end of things seemed carefully calculated, whereas most everything Bush’s preparation seemed designed to make him seem less dumb.
I’m still voting for Nader.
Shit. Of course I’d put a typo in a sentence calling someone else dumb.
“Stupid poetic justice!”
– Homer Simpson
i was upset at Gore…he seemed a little hysterical and pushy, while Bush did come across as being at ease and relaxed. I know what Gore was trying to do, and that’s push Bush’s buttons, which he pretty much failed to do.
As far as policies…well, Gore on virtually everything.
Did anyone else pick up on how Bush slithered away on the abortion thing? He finally descended into actual mumbling.
please god…let Gore win.
I wanted to swat Gore in the head for all the huffing and puffing and sighing and other “sounds” he made when Bush was talking. It was rather juvenile. Bush was irritating too, with his sniffing, but at least he didn’t make annoying sighing sounds when Gore spoke.
I thought Gore was too “mannered”, and almost condescending. About that the little old lady that Gore mentioned in the one - the one that collected cans and traveled with her poodle in a Winnebago. I heard on TV tonight that she is actually not at all destitute, has a well-to-do son who can look after her, and collects cans for a hobby. If that is all true, then Gore really pulled a fast one in bringing her up.
Personally? I think both of 'em were scared shitless, and did a pretty good job of covering it up.
Think about it… this was “The Big One”, everyone’s been talking about this being delayed and how it’ll be the defining moment… a single screw up, even something as innocent as a “Subliminable” or a “I invented the Internet” would have been lambasted on every single Jay Leno monologue, joke article, political commentary, newspaper byline, and coffee shop in the country from now 'til election day.
The fact that neither provided such ammunition (it seems that the late-night monologues will go with the default joke, that is, “Man, them guys is boring”, for the next month) just pays tribute to the practice these guys had.
Oh boy! I thought I was the only one who noticed the ton of make-up on Gore.
The “fuzzy math” thing just made me keep picturing those huge fuzzy dice.
I also thought Gore was too condescending, sighing and chuckling.
I also thought Bush won at the very end when he mentioned the fundraising, and Gore couldn’t even defend himself on it.
though I DID wonder who “Shirley” was, who Bush kept mentioning…
surely
I, personally, was highly disappointed with both.
on a small note, yea, the makeup artist for Gore needs a smaller trowel.
But. The audible sighing by Gore was awful.
Bush should fire his speech writers. It appeared to me that they wanted to have the 10 second sound bite “bullet” and decided that it would either be “why haven’t you done anything about it in 7 years” (apparently too long of a sound bite) or “that fuzzy math”
we’d like better.
and, I reiterate my basic position: I’m damn near begging for feminine product ads back on tv, just ANYTHING other than political ads.
Whenever Bush said “fuzzy math,” I laughed. He never refuted the numbers, just said they were “fuzzy.” I think that’s because he never really KNEW the numbers in his plan. Either that, or he actually doesn’t grasp the whole “math” concept, and can’t add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Maybe both. Bush came across as a “nicer” guy, but I think that’s just his voice…it’s softer. I think that Gore had a real grasp on the issues, and what he wants to do as president. Bush seemed to simply want to make the people think he’s a nice guy and should get in just 'cause.
Jman
I would agree that Gore’s huffing and sighing awful. To me it was very juvenile and rude. I would love to see Al Gore at a middle east peace summit huffing and sighing whenever someone else tried to make their point. One time I swear I saw him roll his eyes.
I also agree that Gore’s makeup was a bit much. Blend the blush in Al!
I thought that Gore was very demanding. He always had to get in the last word and often ran over time. I would be interested in seeing a break down of who spent the most minutes talking. I will be willing to be it wasn’t even.
Finally, did anyone else hear Al Gore use the term “anti-choice” when discussing abortion? Anyone who has spent much time around Great Debates knows those are fighting words. I cringed when I heard him say it just because of some of the discussions I have read there.
I didn’t see the debate (go A’s!) but I can tell you that the sighing thing is something Al Gore has done during debates for quite a while.
I know he did it during the primaries and, if I recall correctly, started doing it during his Larry King debate with Ross Perot back in '93 or so.
I guess most people didn’t get the impression that Bush was about to cry, he looked so scared. I haven’t seen him in a debate before (oh, right, he hasn’t been in a debate before), but I thought he presented very poorly. He never seemed to have any facts at his fingertips. Plus, he really screwed up the question toward the end about how he’d respond in a crisis situation. Ironic, no? Gore seemed to be his usual smug self, but he at least seemed like he had a firm grip on the issues. I’d say he was the winner.
I didn’t watch the debate. Wanted to check out “Dark Angel.”
It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just very very clear to anyone who’s seen Bush and Gore what their core issues are. As I heard on a radio show afterward, apparently Jim Lehrer often could find no differences at all between them.
Now, if Browne, Buchanan, Nader, and Phillips had been allowed to take part, that would have been a debate. But a debate between only two of the candidates? Somehow I feel like I’m being cheated.
Palandine, who’s still voting for Browne
Anyone know if there’s somewhere on the net you can follow the debate live when they go at it again next week?