Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy
I watched it tonight at the library. It was pretty fun. Kerry did well, but I wish he threw more punches at Bush.
Some suggestions:
- When Bush accuses him of sending mixed signals
, he could have mentioned the decision to go into Fallujah, and then abrupting pulling out as the troops started attacking. The result of this mixed message from Bush is particular devastating, leading to deaths of US military personnels.
- When Bush repeats the phrase “wrong war, at the wrong time, at the wrong place” to attack Kerry for not supporting the troops, Kerry could have taken the phrase and use it to clearly explain why Bush’s policies are wrong.
It is the wrong war
because Iraq has no ties to Al Qaida; it is the wrong time
because Osama bin Laden is still on the loose, and it is the wrong place
because that’s not where bin Laden is.
I think this would have been a terrific argument against Bush, and it fits in with the rest of Kerry’s argument as well. (You could be certain, but you could still be wrong)
If Bush mentions the necessity of a “multi-faceted war on terror”, then it is yet another point that shows Bush’s lack of focus; he couldn’t even finish up the first target properly to move on to the next one.
The Democrats seem pretty happy about their lead now. Let’s hope this cheerfulness does not translate into cockiness. This debate series is going to be interesting. I look forward to the next debate on domestic issues, as well as the VP debate (Edwards vs. Cheney, fight!)
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