Judges scores are in, until they change
Judges scores are in 9.543 for Kerry; 9.245 for Bush, though they are subject to change based on candidate spin.
The first debate between President George Bush (without the "W" what is he?) and challenger John Kerry ("J (there's something missing here) K")was not scintillating television by any stretch of the imagination. The most common metaphor, or simile depending upon the usage of "like" or "as," was that of a boxing match. If what we saw last night was boxing match, then it was one between two candidates, each with a glass jaw, who were prevented from punching by the rules of the debate in which the candidates were not allowed to directly engage each other. That non-engagement certainly seems strange given that the topic was engagement: the "War on Terror," Iraq, military. What we got instead was a figure skating competition: two well rehearsed routines on foreign policy now awaiting the judges' scores before moving on to the next round.
If he were to grip the sides of his face in anguish, John Kerry might look like Edvard Munch's "The Scream" come to life. His face has taken on an even more elongated look of that iconic (and missing) painting. The rigors of campaigning seem to have made the candidate gaunt and thin, as though the fate of the world might soon be on his shoulders.
For his part, the President seemed lost in his own private echo chamber, delivering lines that normally elicit cheers and applause from his non-dissenting audience. This time, however his lines fell flat against the backdrop of silence that audience members at the University of Miami were sworn to uphold, and he breaks in his speech couldn't be dubbed in with canned laughter after the fact.
Over the next day or two, the media spin-doctors will decide who actually "won" the debate. The winner isn't the candidate who performed the best under the lights, but the candidate whose campaign staff makes a better case for victory with the press, who then spin the results to the people who then decide in November based on media interpretations in October. Instead of a Democracy (or Constitutional Republic if you really want to be literal), maybe we should refer to America as "Spinocracy" or a "Mediacraty."
Spinocracy: a political system in which a candidates are elected solely on the ability to turn unfavorable character traits or results into positive traits or results based on misleading or incomplete information provided by the candidate's staff and supporters.
Mediacrity: a political system in which the media decides the outcome of elections, not through an honest assessment of the candidates, but through obsessive polling and improperly weighted stories designed to make good copy.
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The first debate between President George Bush (without the "W" what is he?) and challenger John Kerry ("J (there's something missing here) K")was not scintillating television by any stretch of the imagination. The most common metaphor, or simile depending upon the usage of "like" or "as," was that of a boxing match. If what we saw last night was boxing match, then it was one between two candidates, each with a glass jaw, who were prevented from punching by the rules of the debate in which the candidates were not allowed to directly engage each other. That non-engagement certainly seems strange given that the topic was engagement: the "War on Terror," Iraq, military. What we got instead was a figure skating competition: two well rehearsed routines on foreign policy now awaiting the judges' scores before moving on to the next round.
If he were to grip the sides of his face in anguish, John Kerry might look like Edvard Munch's "The Scream" come to life. His face has taken on an even more elongated look of that iconic (and missing) painting. The rigors of campaigning seem to have made the candidate gaunt and thin, as though the fate of the world might soon be on his shoulders.
For his part, the President seemed lost in his own private echo chamber, delivering lines that normally elicit cheers and applause from his non-dissenting audience. This time, however his lines fell flat against the backdrop of silence that audience members at the University of Miami were sworn to uphold, and he breaks in his speech couldn't be dubbed in with canned laughter after the fact.
Over the next day or two, the media spin-doctors will decide who actually "won" the debate. The winner isn't the candidate who performed the best under the lights, but the candidate whose campaign staff makes a better case for victory with the press, who then spin the results to the people who then decide in November based on media interpretations in October. Instead of a Democracy (or Constitutional Republic if you really want to be literal), maybe we should refer to America as "Spinocracy" or a "Mediacraty."
Spinocracy: a political system in which a candidates are elected solely on the ability to turn unfavorable character traits or results into positive traits or results based on misleading or incomplete information provided by the candidate's staff and supporters.
Mediacrity: a political system in which the media decides the outcome of elections, not through an honest assessment of the candidates, but through obsessive polling and improperly weighted stories designed to make good copy.
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