What Will We Learn During/From Tonight's Debate?

[Atticus]

right now they're concerned most with "electability", not issues. they don't stand anywhere yet, except "against the president" and "in favor of the soldiers but not the war (anymore, where appropriate)". john edwards is standing in two americas. clinton and obama are standing on the threshold of being the "first" in history. kucinich is standing near a windmill with a lance in his hand (but i'm voting for him). mike gravel is his sancho panza.

 

and the republican debates have shown that they all oppose terrorism, abortion and "liberal political correctness". rudy said he's against government being involved with abortion, but neither said choice nor pro-life.

 

beacons of leadership, all of them.

[uncle wilco]

if fred thompson enters the fray, would all of his responses in the debate be punctuated by that noise from law and order? "and now, former senator fred thompson...DUN dun....."

 

that would be badass.

[anodyne]

it would also be badass if thompson doesn't announce candidacy until the week before nomination, and then get nominated. how long is he going to stretch this out?

[ikol]

I thought it was amusing to watch the Dems try to rationalize sending their kids to private schools (as if there's anything wrong with it).

 

it would also be badass if thompson doesn't announce candidacy until the week before nomination, and then get nominated. how long is he going to stretch this out?

 

The longer he waits, the longer they get to air Law and Order reruns.

[MrRain422]

Can someone please explain to me what it is that people like about Fred Thompson anyway? I mean, yes, he did portray a tough guy on TV. But the people who seem to be most excited about him are the most hardline conservatives among us, and I don't see what it is about him that makes them so confident that he stands for them. He's a life long panderer, even spending many, many years as a lobbyist. He's no outsider by any measure, but that seems to be his angle. He does not have a history of political activism from any position, and his public life has often shown him to fall on either side or neither side of just about every issue. The Fred-philes seem to like him for his personality (which seems fake anyway) and nothing else. It does seem like the excitement around him has died down somewhat in the last few weeks, but I'm still dumbfounded that anyone was very excited about him to begin with.

[anodyne]

i missed the dems tonight, but i'm set to record it at midnight's rerun. the law and order rerun thing has been mentioned a lot, but i thought the fairness doctrine went out with reagan. i've seen an awful lot more of sen. clinton than sen. gravel.

[ikol]

Can someone please explain to me what it is that people like about Fred Thompson anyway? I mean, yes, he did portray a tough guy on TV. But the people who seem to be most excited about him are the most hardline conservatives among us, and I don't see what it is about him that makes them so confident that he stands for them. He's a life long panderer, even spending many, many years as a lobbyist. He's no outsider by any measure, but that seems to be his angle. He does not have a history of political activism from any position, and his public life has often shown him to fall on either side or neither side of just about every issue. The Fred-philes seem to like him for his personality (which seems fake anyway) and nothing else. It does seem like the excitement around him has died down somewhat in the last few weeks, but I'm still dumbfounded that anyone was very excited about him to begin with.

 

Some of it probably has to do with Republicans, after 8 years of Bush, wanting a President who can speak. Also, none of the other Republicans running are really ideal for a hardcore conservative. None of the major candidates seem to both be solidly conservative and charismatic. Thompson at least appears to be both. I'm kinda hoping Newt will run. That would definitely make things interesting here.

[anodyne]

i wish more people paid attention to thompson's leaking to nixon about the watergate prosecution strategy.