Georgie Porgie, Puddin' and Pie,Big John Debated and Made Georgie Cry

We can dream, can't we? Xan at corrente posts his hope for John Kerry at Thursday night's debate:

I'll tell ya the line I would most like to hear Kerry say and don't expect to: "Mr. Bush says he will do better at protecting America from terrorist attack. I hope that means that the next time he gets a memo saying "Bin Laden Expected to Attack Inside US" he will do something other than go on vacation."

And Hullabaloo's Digby quotes from and links to James Fallows' in-depth look at the candidates' debating styles, "When George Meets John" (in The Atlantic Monthly). Fallows examines how surprisingly articulate - in retrospect - Bush was early on as governor of Texas. An articulateness that allowed him to avoid directly answering questions more gracefully than he does now. Texans were persuaded and were no doubt pleased when Bush was elevated to the presidency after leaving their state in a shambles.

The episode referenced by Digby reveals more of the ugliness underneath the Bush rock and clashes with the admiration expressed earlier in the article for Bush's speaking abilities. The whole Bush clan, from Poppy and Barb on down, seems to be rotten to the core with viciousness.

Father Knows Best

Lead Balloons at Jerome Doolittle's BAD ATTITUDES shows HOW KERRY CAN WIN THE DEBATES and "send W screaming and drivelling out of control". John Kerry should say:

"Yes, I’m for the Bush foreign policy — the foreign policy of George Bush Senior.

"What is presidential leadership? Presidential leadership is being able to do the tough, patient work of forging a coalition for war — the way your father did, and the way you didn’t have the strength or patience for. Your father had the strength, wisdom, and courage to be commander-in-chief. He could’ve invaded Iraq, but he had the strength to show restraint and the wisdom to know it would have been a disaster.

"Now, his own son has made that very mistake and proved the father right. I commit here to the American people that if I win this election, I will reach out to former President Bush, and seek his wise and strong counsel. Sir, your father was a big man who had the wisdom to know when to fight, and the strength to know when to show restraint. He was strong and wise, you are strong and wrong. You had the chance to measure up to that legacy, and you failed."

The result? Lead Balloons guarantees two things:

Hit on live TV with the message that his father was a great man and that he didn’t measure up, I don’t know exactly what Lt. Yellowbelly would do, but I guarantee two things: first, there is no way Bush could answer that challenge without hurting himself; and second, Kerry’s challenge and Bush’s response would become the most memorable single moment of this entire presidential election cycle. This arrow if properly aimed goes so deep that it would color not only the rest of the presidential race, but the rest of Bush’s entire life.

Please, Mr. Kerry, please ...

Grand Opening of Theo's Impressions & Such

Here's hoping I have the inspiration and motivation to post insightful insights on a regular basis!