Debate question...

Factual Questions
1

I’m not asking who you think won the debate, nor am I trying to start a debate

I didn’t watch the debate last night but listened to the ‘pundits’ and ‘experts’ afterward. The general consensus among them was that the debate was pretty much even.

This morning, I logged onto several prominent news sites and took part in all of their polls asking the question of “Who won the debate”. Probably by a 3-1 margin the voter said Bush won. Now if I didn’t hear any of the experts or read on the debate but only looked at the polls, I would have thought that Bush tore Gore a new arse last night. Obviously your opinion of who won will be influenced by your political leanings.

Are internet users that much more conservative or Republican? I know the polls aren’t scientific but wouldn’t democrats have just enough opportunit to skew the results?

2

Actually, I thought the Libertarians won.

I saw the debate and heard comments from various sources, each claiming who had won and why, which made it obvious to me to whom that source’s bias was, since (as a fence-sitter), I saw them both equally strong (and weak).

But no, the internet is primarily Dem. since Algore invented the thing, right? Or, perhaps a conservative group or individual (Rush Limbaugh?) rallied troops to vote on that particular site.

I really don’t care what someone else thinks about who won, since the Libertarians deserve the crown.

3

Someone I know brought up an interesting theory. All we’ve heard about with the debates is how W was afraid to debate Gore, that Gore would tear him a new one, that Gore was a master debater (no jokes, please ;-)), and that W was gonna be exposed for the idiot he was.

In doing this, expectations were lessened for W and raised for Gore. So in yesterday’s debate, which I thought was rather equal in plusses and minuses for both parties, a lot of people thougth that since W didn’t look like an idiot, he must have won! IOW, W did better than expected, while Gore did worse than expected, so people are judging the two candidates based on possibly false prior expectations, rather than against each other.

4

I’ll keep my biased opinions out of this. But, of the suppoedly random polls I’ve heard, they’ve been within 3 percentage points of each other with a +/- of like 4%. All the polls I’ve seen that showed any of them in a huge lead came from extremely biased sources. I know, because I visit most of those sources everyday. :slight_smile:

5

Here are my notes that I took during last night’s debate. For what it’s worth, I think that Gore came out ahead. Bush did a lot better than I expected him too. He has definitely brought up his public speaking a notch or two.

Please excuse me if these notes seem to wander, they are loosely assembled from last night’s viewing.
Did anyone see the Frontline documentary on the careers of Gore and Bush? Both of these weasles have had their skids greased for their entire lives.

I’m watching the debate right now and it’s really disturbing to watch them dance around their own most vocal positions. For how much Gore has questioned the credentials of Bush, he instead calls his political agenda into question in order to appear to question his skills.

Bush prinks about the serious issue of Gore’s integrity and any backwash from his involvement in the Clinton administration. Instead he attacks Gore’s intentions to grow the size of government (a serious issue) so that he is calling something into issue.

Both of them neatly wrapped this up in the issue of tax refunds from the surplus (totally stupid thing). They contrast self-determination (Bush) versus federal oversight (Gore) in the disbursment of what will be a small amount of change to anyone involved.

Just watched Bush lose his composure about Gore’s ability to produce numbers quickly. Gore has obviously done his homework.

Women’s Choice:

Gore hammered Bush completely on this issue. Using Bush’s reference to Scalia and Thomas as touchstones for the issue of choice, he snapped Bush out of a blather of misdirection about a “Culture of Life”. Bush managed to include euthenasia, youth violence and partial birth abortions into his response to the question of the new abortion pill (RU-486). Too bad he completely waffled on the question of whether or not he would use position appointments to alter administration policy on RU-486.

Understand that however pro-choice to the bone I am. I also agree with the pro-life slogan, “Surely we can do better than abortion.” I believe that RU-486 is another important tool for a woman’s right to self determination. That said, Bush blatantly failed in his attempt to sidestep this important women’s issue. Gore, to his credit, took a very strong stand on this issue in no uncertain terms.

(I feel that Bush’s transparent appeal to the “moral majority” is outright insulting in a country that is supposed to have Freedom of Religion. I’m all in favor of reducing the abortion rate. I think that better sex education will be a prime mover in doing so. Better distribution (outside of public schools) of contraceptives and and RU-486 will go a long way to reducing the abortion rate. I just feel that a body that is a majority of men should not have the right to politically determine the self control of each woman’s destiny )
Bush, “Gore will use his supreme court appointments to subvert the legislature.” This outright slur is evidence of the extreme difference of view point held by the two. Bush thinks nothing of overturning of a law that is the will of the people.
Education:

Again, Bush would not come out and openly support his own stand on school vouchers. As much as I hate the concept of government social programs, education is such a serious concern for this country that we must have nation-wide concensus on the quality (and content) of school curricula.
AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

I’ve just realized that Gore is the Democratic version of Ronald Reagan.
If Gore ever uses the term “lockbox” and Bush uses “fuzzy mathematics” they should both be shot.

Only at the end did either candidate out their big guns about experience and moral qualification.

Ho Hum.