"Bush watched tapes of 1st debate, aides sought to avoid repeat of scowls"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&u=/ap/20041008/ap_on_el_pr/debate_rdp_11



ST. LOUIS - A lackluster unemployment report, troubling terrorism developments and fresh questions about President Bush (news - web sites)'s rationale for invading Iraq (news - web sites) frame the second face-to-face encounter Friday night between Bush and John Kerry (news - web sites).

Only the debate's moderator and the 15 to 20 people chosen to ask questions know what topics will be raised during the town-hall session at Washington University. Kerry has momentum from polls showing he gained from his performance in the first debate while Bush goes in on the defensive. The president watched tapes from the first debate as aides sought to avoid a repeat of the scowls that contributed to negative reaction to his appearance.

"I don't think the American people are going to choose a president on the basis of facial expressions," senior Bush adviser Karen Hughes told CBS's "The Early Show" on Friday. "But as the president joked the other day, hearing that litany of misrepresentations from Sen. Kerry did kind of make him want to make a face, and I think he'll be conscious of that tonight."

Kerry, criticized as times for what some call a stiff and aloof manner, will try to build on favorable impressions from the debate in Miami. The Massachusetts senator holds a slight lead nationally over Bush in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Thursday, reversing Bush's advantage from mid-September. "He just he needs to do tonight what he did a week ago," Democratic Rep. Dick Gephardt (news - web sites) of Missouri told "American Morning" on CNN, "let people know who he is, his plan for America, his fresh start for Iraq, what he wants to do to get this economy invigorated, his energy plan, his environmental plans. He's going to do all that tonight."

[WI_DEM]

1. Karen Hughes is a ...well, I'm too much of a gentleman but it

rhymes with witch. Hmm, she is also a witch, so it rhymes with bitch.

[Beetwasher]

11. I Was Thinking Along the Lines Of Something That Rhymes With

bunt...

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[arwalden]

24. Oh No You Dih'un't!! You Better Don't!!

You go girl! You are so right!! (Be prepared for an onslaught of attacks from the usual crowd.)

-- Allen

[SammyWinstonJack]

32. I'd say that describes her perfectly

:-)

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[doni_georgia]

2. Only way to stop * from smirking is to inject his entire face with Botox

Even though the debate commission has done everything possible to stack the deck for Bush* tonight, they can't control his stupidity nor his smirking facial expressions. We will witness both tonight.

[mimitabby]

30. thanks a lot...

i just laughed out loud and my freeper coworkers are wondering why!!!
lol

[doni_georgia]

39. always glad to be of help :)

:kick:

[mike_c]

3. what they don't understand is that if he holds back...

...expressions of pique, he'll just look vapid. They'll medicate him to the point where all he does is grin stupidly and repeat "Clinton's penis" over and over....

[slappypan]

turn that frown upside down

What I am hoping is that Bush will try not to repeat his previous errors and will go overboard in the other direction with sly winks, simpering, knowing tilts of the head and goofy grins, which will also be repellent in a totally different way.

[Richardo]

12. Count on it.

He'll wildly overcompensate. :thumbsup:

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

18. Mr. Sardonicus

...he'll have his face frozen into a hideous death grin. Smole will be pouring out of his lil' chimpy ears.

Every word that comes out of Kerry's mouth will make him want to grunt, squeal, grimace, groan, smirk, pout, and wet himself.

Karen 'n' Karl will be in the unmarked white van outside, screaming into the tiny microchip embedded deep in his ear canal: "SMILE! SMILE! SMILE!"

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

[central scrutinizer]

16. exactly!

and then viewers will be left wondering - which face of * was just an act or are both of them acts?

[fob]

43. They'll think he's maybe, uh, what's the word? Two-Faced?

:evilgrin:

[SammyWinstonJack]

33. Like he did with his "major policy" speech in Pa.?

Looked to me like the chimp had all that going on. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How in the World anyone can think this immature idiot is Presidential, is beyond me.

[DemocracyInaction]

4. Hey, Karen, you cow girl douche bag!!

Papa lost by looking at his watch and being bored. Nixon lost by sweating. Yes, Karen, the American people do fall for 'image' and that's why you have tried to spin that monkey into a president for 4 years now. You had to just die when you saw him acting like a fool up there with his antics, didn't you, cow girl???

[flordehinojos]

5. they might be able to control his smirks, and scowls and all, but

THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HIDE HIS CRAVEN SOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JuniorPlankton]

6. Hey, how do you think

he "won" the debates 4 years ago?
Media presented overblown sighs by Gore. But it's OK if it's to you advantage, right?

[JPace]

7. I think he's gong to try his "salesman" approach....

but people will see it as not leveling with
the truth and many will be turned off. Too
many facts are out there now that says America
is in trouble on many fronts and this pResident
does not "get it"!
His overuse of "cute charm" will also wear thin
this time as America is in a serious mood and
AWOL will be seen as immature in a time of serious
problems.
By comparison Kerry is going to look like the
calm statesman and wise leader that we need in these
troubled times.

[BlueNomad]

8. ....

"Bush watched tapes of 1st debate, aides sought to avoid repeat of scowls"---by removing some of the rocks in his head thereby relieving all that pressure. It's hard work.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

9. It is! Being president is almost like having to work, dammit! LOL

:evilgrin:

[eleanor]

35. Tee Hee

It's HARD work!!!

[Libby2]

10. Best thing we can hope for

is that Kerry pisses him off right from the get-go.

[mcar]

13. Kerry may not even need to piss him off

I have never seen ** speak when he didn't sound annoyed, especially in Q&A type formats.

They can give him all the pre-debate training they can fit in, they can't erase his pathetic speaking style and his attitude that he shouldn't have to answer to the minions.

[Beetwasher]

14. Bush Doesn't Have the Self Discipline To Control His Subconscious Impulses

and unfortunately for him, that's the source of his facial expressions.

[JI7]

15. so why didn't he just point out the "misrepresentations" and give what he

thinks is the truth ? rather than empty statements about "he changes his mind" why not point out specific examples of it and show how it happened ?

[LoZoccolo]

17. Either way, we win!

People will think it's funny and make fun of how he got this coaching to avoid him scowling again, so they'll make fun of whatever face he makes instead of it!

[SpiralHawk]

19. I saw Hughes on CBS this morning

And she was all atwitter, nervous as can be.

She was Totally unconvincing in all she said -- BS Supremo

[Minimus]

20. Maybe they are using an android bush tonight, 'cause I think it

will be too hard for him to avoid using his asinine facial expressions.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

28. Bernie Ward made an interesting comment on his show yesterday...

...Something like "What if George W. Bush isn't even really human, what if he's just some kind of 3D hologram originating from somewhere deep inside of Dick Cheney?"

:evilgrin:

[Minimus]

34. heehee

[unfrigginreal]

22. LOL...can you imagine chimp trying to process 'facial scowl' and answering

questions at the same time. Walking and chewing gum come to mind.

[Pithy Cherub]

23. Karen and James are

kicking themselves for not explicitly putting in the memorandum of understanding the number of allowable smirks, grimaces and twitches. This bad pResidential behavior was directly related to * having to go to the bathroom from the incessant water drinking...

edited for spelling

[arwalden]

25. Are The Questions Are Screened?

Even if Kerry and Bush* don't know in advance what the questions will be, does SOMEONE screen them? Or is it all impromptu live TV just begging for another wardrobe malfunction moment?

-- Allen

[Stephanie]

26. They're totally screened

and if the audience member veers from the pre-screened question at all they get their mike cut off.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

27. Yes Gibson knows what the questions will be

and the mikes will be shut off if they stray from their questions. That is a concern given that Gibson questioned Kerry about the SwiftLiars on GMA and Kerry responded to Gibson, "You're doing the GOP's job for them." I have no doubt there will be a Swift Liar question tonight.

[maine_raptor]

29. Sorry Karen that dog don't hunt

Hmmmmm, Karen said, "I don't think the American people are going to choose a president on the basis of facial expressions", well then let's just put bit of wisdom into my handy-dandy BushSpeak Decoder (patent pending) and see what comes out:

"George better be charming as hell, or he'll be deader than an armadillo on the interstate at high noon."

Handy thing that BushSpeak Decoder. :eyes:

[sampsonblk]

31. Try having some substance

It wasn't just about the scowls, it was also about him having nothing significant or intelligent to say. If he doesn't have any command of the important facts, his facial expressions (or lack thereof) will not save him tonight.

[Contrary1]

37. Ah, but the picture says it all...

I heard one of his cheerleaders last night say how Dubya only practiced "4 or 5" times for the first
debate, but that he is ready for tonight.

Ready, my ass. The only answer he has down pat is the one for Pickle's question: "On the rocks?" :beer:

[On the Road]

38. Great -- Look How Well it Worked for Al Gore

This advice is what Gore's handlers gave him after the first debate, and the second debate was his worst. He had an unnatural smile, kept agreeing with Bush, and looked restrained and unnatural.

No way Bush is better than this than Al.

[Lisa]

40. if it's any consolation, Bush likely hated every minute of it

He loathes being coached on his presentation style -- despises what he views as trivialities -- and even gets snippy when Laura critiques his mannerisms (the first time, he drove the car into the garage wall, he was so irritated).

[demokatgurrl]

41. I think his only hope is botox. n/t

[npincus]

42. let's see what my smirk-o-meter says tonite in SPMs (smirks per minute)