Dean's response to Kerry's one-on-one debate idea

[Eloriel]

Or actually, Trippi responds to Jordan:
http://blogforamerica.com /

Jim Jordan
Campaign Manager
Kerry for President

Dear Jim:

I received and reviewed your letter inviting Governor Dean to participate in a series of one-on-one debates with Senator Kerry at the exclusion of the other seven candidates running for the Democratic nomination.

As you know, there have been and will continue to be numerous forums and debates that will provide the opportunity for each of the candidates to discuss the issues, to debate their ideas and address their differences with Governor Dean – or any other candidate -- directly. In fact, just last week, Representative Kucinich highlighted the difference between his position and that of Dick Gephardt on the pre-emptive war in Iraq. Specifically, he said, “I just want to say that when you were standing there in the Rose Garden with the president and you were giving him advice, I wish that you would have told him no, because as our Democratic leader, your position helped to inform mightily the direction of the war.”

As you may recall, during the debate in New Mexico, Senator Joe Lieberman challenged Governor Dean’s position on trade, saying – correctly or incorrectly – that it would lead to a “Dean Depression.”

Senator Kerry will continue to have ample opportunity to debate the differences between himself and Governor Dean during the upcoming candidate forums in New York, Arizona and Michigan.

Jim, there are nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for President – each with his or her own ideas and policies and each with the goal of defeating George Bush next November. For ANY candidate to suggest otherwise is presumptuous.

Governor Dean’s campaign has been about returning democracy to the hands of the American people. We believe it is up to the American people to narrow the field – through the democratic nominating process – and not for any one candidate to subvert this process simply because “that suits us.”

We trust the American people to decide what suits them.

Sincerely,

Joe Trippi

[AWD]

1. BURN!!!!!!!!!

[cherryperry]

2. My response from Kerry to Dean:

ouch ouch, oooh, oooh, ouch ouch

Sincerely,

Senator Kerry

[Merlin]

11. Ahhhh Haaaaa Haaaaa Haaaa!

Thanks for the laugh!

[w4rma]

3. I've no problem with this, but Dean can't accept because other candidates

will complain and may start having their own one-on-ones or debates without Kerry or Dean. If Dean accepted it would turn into a real mess.

I think this will backfire on Kerry with supporters of the other 7 or 8 candidates.

[DrFunkenstein]

5. You Wish - This Is Clearly A Response, Not An Attack

"I wish he'd say to my face what he says behind my back," Dean said before disappearing behind the door, a grimace on his face.

"I just wish he had given me a chance to respond to all that stuff — the zero experience on foreign affairs, the NRA stuff, the tax cut stuff," Dean said.

"I would have liked to have responded to that in person," Dean said, relishing the thought of getting mouthy with Kerry.
--

Maybe it's this part that worries him:

Rivals hope his campaign will implode, and Dean said he knows one way that could happen.

"I do have a mouth on me," the former Vermont governor said aboard a small charter plane taking him here from Albuquerque, N.M., site of the first major debate of the 2004 race.

"That is, I generally say what I think so I get in trouble," Dean said.

Could he hurt himself? "If I blew up in a debate or something like that, yes," Dean said. "But I haven't done that in 16 years of debates."

[cherryperry]

10. THE Doctor is in the house!

[markbark]

12. SMALL CHARTER PLANE?!?!?!?

Quoth the poster:
"I do have a mouth on me," the former Vermont governor said aboard a small charter plane taking him here from Albuquerque, N.M., site of the first major debate of the 2004 race.

Has the man lost his MIND?
Do the names Wellstone and Carnahan mean NOTHING?

Message to Dem Presidential candidates:

Fly in big honkin commercial planes, NOT the Buddy Holly/Jim Croce/Otis Redding puddle hoppers!



--MAB

(doffing my tinfoil hat and taking my tongue OUT of my cheek now )

[cherryperry]

25. I don't understand you!

Why was your tongue IN your cheek?

You really think Wellstone's accident was an accident?

Sorry; no way!

Call me crazy (CRAZY); but, have you read any of the 1st reporting vs. the later reporting on the "accident"? It's very interesting!

[markbark]

31. Whilst I find most conspiracy theories amusing...

I find it useful to remove the ol' tinfoil hat once in a while and get a good close shave with Occam's Razor.

I would put nothing past Rove & Co. But to date I've seen no credible evidence that Paul Wellstone and Mel Carnahan were nothing more than spectacularly unlucky.


--MAB

[w4rma]

13. Nah, he really can't. Also, Kerry could be on a Lieberman-like kamikaze

attack. Sen. Kerry could be trying to take both Dean and himself down to help make room for another candidate, like Gen. Clark. (Or if he isn't he may have miscalculated and not realized that this is a possible result.)

The only way Dean could set up a debate with Kerry is if *all* 7 other current candidates agreed to let them go at it without reprucussions. And even then, one of them would probably use the debate as an excuse to exclude Kerry and/or Dean down the line.

Kerry's going to have to get his shots in at one of the upcoming debates, I think.

Like I said, I'd like to see a smaller debate (it gives Dean more face time) but I can't see how Kerry and Dean could pull it off without getting attacked by the other candidates. It's just bad tactics to accept a one-on-one.

[DrFunkenstein]

17. Let The Other Candidates Attack

What effect would that have? People are sick of the babble.

[cherryperry]

8. I think it will, too! n/t

[DrFunkenstein]

4. What's The Matter Colonel Sanders?

Chicken?

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

14. You, like Kerry and Jordan...

...sound like the desperate bully at school trying to goad someone into a fight after school. When you don't get what you want, you resort to silly name calling. Pathetic, really.

[DrFunkenstein]

19. You Want To Hear A Desperate Bully?

"I wish he'd say to my face what he says behind my back," Dean said before disappearing behind the door, a grimace on his face.

"I just wish he had given me a chance to respond to all that stuff — the zero experience on foreign affairs, the NRA stuff, the tax cut stuff," Dean said.

"I would have liked to have responded to that in person," Dean said, relishing the thought of getting mouthy with Kerry.

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

20. That's about the maturity of response I've come to expect from you

What happened to the rational, fair, and intelligent Dr. Funk?

[DrFunkenstein]

23. Which Part Offended?

The Spaceballs joke or the Dean quotes?

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

27. Offended?

You didn't offend me. Just disappointed me, and have for the past few weeks. You are not behaving like you asked people to in the couple of posts asking for no bashing and stuff. You are sinking to a level I had hoped you were above.

[jcgadfly]

30. I don't see bullying here

Kerry and Dean have had and will have several opportunities together. It's not Dean's fault if Kerry doesn't take those opportunities. Kerry may be convinved this is taking the high road. It seems hypocritical to me. Then again, this is the nature of campaigning so I shouldn't be surprised.

Kerry's request for a one-on-one now seems like the guy who yells "You want a piece of me?" backpedaling and looking for a place to escape all the while.

[janx]

6. Pay special attention to the second paragraph...

!!!!!!!!!

[Alex146]

7. Bring 'em on

I'd love to see a Dean/Kerry debate. But that's just me.


Alex

[janx]

16. There will be plenty of time for that, but we can't just

eliminate the other candidates. That's low-rent and presumptuous.

[cherryperry]

18. No, it's not just you!

But it's just not right...unless...somehow, we can get airtime for each candidate to debate each candidate. Actually, that shouldn't be difficult because all the networks used to carry the debates and now they are passing them around one by one. So, to pick up for their current extra greed, each network could start passing around 1 on 1 debates and rotate them as well. A scheduling nightmare, sure, but there's lots of people who would like a job setting it all up, lots of unemployed people, if current staff just "don't" have the
time !

[BattyDem]

9. Trippi rocks!

Isn't it just a little presumptuous of Kerry to whittle down the field of candidates to himself and Dean? I mean, there ARE seven other candidates – probably eight by the end of the week – and anything can happen in four months. It's not that I wouldn't like to see a debate between the two of them, I just think it's way too early to do something like that. Let's see who comes out on top in Iowa and take it from there. It may very well be Gephardt.

[DrFunkenstein]

15. It's An Aside, Not An Alternative

The others are free to do the same. They can even go on the Game Show Network if they want.

[cherryperry]

21. I'm so darn linear!

THE doctor has it all solved w/o having to deal with the other networks.

I love the Game Show Network proposal.

All politics (all games) all day - just great!

[BattyDem]

22. An appearance on The Game Show Network

is not a bad idea. Watching them compete on The Weakest Link could be a lot more fun than a traditional debate.

[DrFunkenstein]

24. Only If McLaughlin Hosts

Ok, I'm amusing myself way too much here. But that would be a pretty awesome show.

<>

You are the weakest link! Bye BYE!

[BattyDem]

26. McLaughlin hosting the Weakest Link

Now THAT'S a show!

[Octafish]

28. Bob Schieffer brought it up. Said DEAN wanted to debate Kerry.

The moderator quoted Dean wanting to debate Kerry one-on-one — Kerry did not challenge Dean, CBS's Bob Schieffer or whatever the turd's name is brought it up. The Face the Nation moderator asked Kerry what he thought about the idea. Kerry said he welcomed debating Dean that way and added it would help "differentiate them" in the minds of the voters.

BTW: Now why wouldn't Dean (or Trippi!) want to debate like that? Would it be that Kerry would point out what he's done as a Liberal DEMOCRAT for 19 years? Would it be Kerry's accomplishments investigating corruption in government? Would it be his heroic war record? What possibly could go wrong? The doctor wouldn't be a chicken, would he?

[shugah]

29. obviously, dean is right

any suggestion that he and kerry have the only positions that people want to hear about is dismissive of all the great dems we have in the race at the moment.

having said that--and yes, dean is not my guy--i'd like to see the letter from kerry (or on kerry's behalf) that was received and reviewed--and yes, kerry is not my guy either.