Bush will be hostile - How should Kerry react?

[AVID]

3rd Final Debate - Fighting for final image.

What will Kerry do?

[nostamj]

1. quiet disdain

for his un-presidential demeanor.

and, a SLAM DUNK on the issues.

[Guaranteed]

2. Push him WAY over the line.

Make him blow up.

When he's going in that direction already, just give him a little added shove and watch him fall on his face.

[endnote]

3. YES YES YES!!! Have Chimpy lose it is the way to go...

[despairing optimist]

11. No, he should fall on his back

That way we can see the sparks fly from his IUD (Idiot Updating Device) as he voids the warranty.

[Pirate Smile]

4. I like it when he stays calm and strong. Bush looks like an immature,

little bully boy.

The funny thing about the debates is that the person who looks like they have a questionable temperament to be Prez is the current Prez, not the challenger.

[glitch]

7. Me too - calm and strong.

And perhaps concerned.

[RevCheesehead]

5. With a big smile and absolute confidence.

Chimpy is squirming and pretty desperate. Kerry already has the upper hand. The more agitated * becomes, the more Kerry should smile. I do this when my brother argues politics with me. When I smile and say, "sorry, you're wrong," it drives him wild with anger!

[Philostopher]

8. I think you're right, Rev.

I think that smile -- not too smug, not too snooty -- is what drove the Naked Emperor on his rampage last Friday night. Just a sort of 'I know where you've been for the last four years, and I know what you did' smile. It's more than just the contrast of the sublime and the ridiculous -- it's the contrast of the real and the surreal.

[colonel odis]

36. yep. the smile will drive bush up the wall.

a bemused look and some well-placed head shakes will make the little one go berserk.

i also think kerry should talk to him as though he's disappointed in a child. not too lecturing or condescending, just enough to let him know how bush has let down the country.

[tedoll78]

6. Presidential.

Make Bush look like a snitty little boy. Give "big-boy" answers, rich with detail and logic.. but not too brainy.

(And take all the chances he can to stand right next to the lil' nosepicker.)

[Tace]

9. You Folks Are Probably Right... But I Think He Should Rip His Heart Out

When Bush attacks, he should strike, then put his foot on his neck
and make him beg for his life. But that's just me.

[Vincardog]

13. HIT HIS BUTTONS WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER

HIT HIM HARD HIT HIM AGAIN AND MAKE HIM EXPLODE IN A PRESIDENTIAL WAY

[AVID]

14. Dream Quote - "You are a liar, you have lied for war

You are lying to get reelected, you will lie and say anything to remain in power.

You have no credibilty!"

[louis-t]

52. I think the rules say they can't use the word

"lie" or 'liar". Just call him "Mr. Bush". That ought to send * right over the edge..

[leftynyc]

35. I agree that he should make him beg for mercy but

he should do it calmly and with a smile is disdain on his face.

[sonicx]

10. smile, stay calm, and

kill him with facts.

[zaj]

12. Understated, bemused mocking ridicule...

Push his buttons while taking the highest road possible...

[USA_1]

15. [slight change of topic]

Bush will call Senator Kerry a "liberal" when the record clearly shows that he is a moderate. Bush's attack ads keep calling him liberal as well.

What should the Kerry-DNC response be?

[MsTryska]

58. "If by liberal you mean

I voted to cut government spending, I voted to reform welfare, even when it meant crossing party lines, and i've voted several times to be tougher crime legislation, then that's fine. I don't mind being that kind of liberal, Mr. Bush."

[rockymountaindem]

16. Kerry should say,

"Mr. President, there's no need to be so beligerant. We're two adult, sophisticated men. Well, at least one of us is..."

Or it could go down like this:

"Mr. Kerry, you are a dangerous radical."
"That's what your wife said last night."

The Scheiffer says "Oh, snap! Do I hear bells, 'cause someone's gettin' schooled" and all such nonsense...

[mitchum]

17. Kerry should say, "Since the President grew up THE SON of a war hero...

he understandably is enamored of the glory and honor of war. BUT since he has never seen combat himself, he does not understand the complexities..."

This will push Oedipus Sux right over the edge

[K rock]

20. This is the last debate.

So I think Kerry can just grind * into the dirt. I wish Kerry would come out and call him a lier. America needs * not just to lose the election, but get his ass handed to him.

[chrislrob]

40. Damn, Mitchum!

That is DEVASTATING! A veritable pupu platter of inadequacy, insecurity, childlike fascination with war, and inability to escape his father's shadow all in one!

Ouch!

[mitchum]

43. Thanks, chrislrob!

And welcome to DU!
However, you have probably already been around here long enough to know that I have a talent for pissing off people with words :)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

18. Calm, unflappable, always civil.

Smile now and then, pound him into the ground with relentless logic and command of the facts, never break a sweat. Look like a president, not a spoiled brat.

[rocktivity]

26. You mean like the man in the red tie in this video?

link

:headbang:
rocknation

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

19. Encourage Bush's hostility - make him blow up like Donald Duck

Quack-quack-quack-quack-quack-quack-quack like in one of Donald Duck's enraged tantrums.

Kerry should field every question and frame every response by attacking Bush's credibility. Bush has made credibility the final centerpost of his house of cards. Bush claims he's a straight shooter and that whether you agree or disagree with him, you always know where he stands.

Kerry should of course discuss his own vision and mention the salient facts. But he should constantly contrast the truth about the economy, the deficit, jobs, energy, education, the environment, healthcare, social security, et al with Bush's misrepresentation of the truth. He should mention Bush's response to the abortion issue by mentioning the Dred Scott reference made in the second debate and how Bush was speaking in code to the Evangelical Christian base, and how he was hiding his true agenda, afraid to talk straight to the American people.

[NightOwwl]

21. Give Bush the patronizing smile.

I love when Kerry does that; I picture him saying, "It's OK George, I'll put you out of your misery soon. Then you can have your milk and cookies while Karen reads you a bedtime story."

But I would like to see Bush in a complete meltdown, so looking him right in the eye and telling him he screwed up big-time wouldn't hurt either. :evilgrin:

[tech3149]

22. If attacked, defend vigorously

If the attack is verbal, remain calm but match the emotion and volume. If the attack is physical (invasion of space), respond in kind or expose opponent's error. In either case, the best weapon is the truth. If the opponent offers a questionable argument or fact, tear it down. If the opponent deflects or obscures the answer, expose it and provide the response they should have.
The Chimp in Chief has little self control and no desire to work hard.
Five jabs and an upper cut & he'll be down.

[rocktivity]

23. Bush is the one who's 0-for-2--leave the hostility to him

He's the one who needs to play catch-up ball, and apparently it's been decided that the way to do it is with knee-jerk (and I DO mean "jerk") aggression. Let Bush initiate the hostility, and only then should Kerry respond in kind.

:headbang:
rocknation

[librechik]

24. Quietly and effectively slap him back--then make the better point

*'s outa gas.

[Lerkfish]

25. withering politeness.....

this is what a friend told me I had when I would get in a debate with someone and they started to lose their grip on their anger. I merely lobbed back in very polite and concerned arguments, never addressing their rage but the more animated they become, the more relaxed and polite I became....but threw in zingers they couldn't counter. Its like good cop, bad cop.
It does two things: it makes them realize they are over the top when compared to me, which makes them self-conscious and they lose their hold on the argument. And, it softens them up when I'm polite, them hand them their @ss on facts.

I think Kerry has been doing a similar thing to shrub, and I think its working. Even if Bush argues better, as long as he looks more out of control than Kerry, the better.

[grasswire]

27. Mike McCurry said it best...

...he said that Bush has a real inferiority complex, and when Kerry smiles that calm smile it just infuriates *.

More of the same, JFK. You could be a little harder on him, but maintain that resolute calm and almost paternal attitude.

[Rose Siding]

61. I remembered what McCurry said in that article last night...

when Edwards was cracking wise about Bush being a cheerleader and about how Kerry should pat him down tonight.

That struck me as the kind of thing McCurry had been saying that Kerry wanted.

[GreenPoet64]

28. I'm not wearing a hearing aid--you don't have to yell !

[KTM]

29. Pondering...

Kerry turns toward Bush after C-Plus Augustus has let loose one of those BS cyclonic one-liners he likes and says something like...

"Mr. President, throughout this campaign you've distorted my record, and twisted my words to try to distract the American people from your own failures. You've painted a rosy picture of a growing quagmire overseas, offered misleading and unrealistic expectations for our economy, and refused to publically recognize any of your adminstrations mistakes.

Over the last four years you have spent more time on vacation, and given fewer press conferences than any modern president, instead choosing to cloak the actions of your administration in a veil of secrecy and shirk the public eye. What appearances you have made have been in front of hand-selected audiences, with pre-determined questions. Yours has been the Oz Administration, hiding out of sight and asking that America ignore the men behind the curtain, asking that we trust you, and assuring us that everything is going just fine while the rest of the world says that it is not.

I believe you have a saying for that in Texas, Mr. Bush... 'Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.' America deserves better. America can DO better. America, Mr. President, knows that's not rain."

[True_Blue]

30. Email that to Kerry!

I love it...'Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.'

That pretty much sums it all up.

[Ron Green]

31. Sound advice...I hope Kerry will say just what you've written, except

the real Texas quote would be "don't PISS on my leg and tell me it's raining."

[rocktivity]

32. Up north, we say

"Don't pee on my HEAD and tell me it's raining."

:headbang:
rocknation

[KTM]

64. Actually,

I always heard it as "Dont piss in my ear," but even GW would agree thats a tad unpresidentialistic...

[Virginian]

45. They haven't had state dinners either.

That might involve diplomacy.

[kentuck]

33. "There you go again"

:)

[rocktivity]

34. If this were a baseball game

We could wave brooms so that Kerry could sweep the series!

:headbang:
rocknation

[DinahMoeHum]

37. Yep. Debate No. 3 = Three strikes and you're out, Chimpy.

a big K for Kerry!

:kick:

[Insomnicole]

38. He should do exactly what he did in the first two debates.

He looked calm, strong, and presidential next to the smirky, tantrum-prone adolescent occupying the White House now.

[Strawman]

39. Respectfully and with poise but do things to push Bush's buttons

like compare him to his dad unfavorably. Or mention that people voted for Bill Clinton because his dad was out of touch, and that sadly the same is true about him. Be polite but make the attacks somewhat personal. This will throw him into full petulant child mode. Maybe then many of these "undecideds" or "leaning-Bush" voters will have a long overdue epiphany about how much of an utter disgrace it is that this a-hole is our President.

[WI_DEM]

41. react like Reagan did with a smile and "there you go again"

[SW FL Dem]

42. LIke a parent reacting to a kid having a temper tantrum

Firmly in control, show his strength and put the whiny kid in his place

[spooked]

44. I like Kerry's "parental" little smile best

[Virginian]

47. Me too

This debate needs to show consistency. Bush has been all over the place on the other two. Kerry has shown maturity and consistency. I think part of what lost the election for Gore is that he was not consistent.
I love the way he smiles like a parent watching a child'd temper tantrum. He has demonstrated patience. Keep on smiling JK, all the way to the White House.

[spooked]

51. YOU GOT IT!!!

n/t

[K8-EEE]

46. Smile. It Was Devestating Last Time When * Was Freaking!

Kerry looked so in control and * looked like a shreiking chimp!

[Lerkfish]

48. good point. I think the chimp hates thinking people are laughing at him.

he should be treated like an emperor, in his own mind, what little there is of it left.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

56. From SheWhoMustBeObeyed's "Furious George Goes To The Debate"

[ciaobox]

49. It's really simple - talk down to Bush

When Bush blows his top, Kerry needs to say, "look, from these three debates it's obvious the President is emotionally unstable. Do Americans really want a president with severe emotional problems in the White House? And what's more, is he getting treatment? You know, an untreated emotional problem can cause a person to make really bizarre decisions".

[BUSHOUT]

50. BURY HIS SHOE UP HIS A$$!!!!

JJ. Kerry just needs to keep doing what he's been doing.

Bush has been hostile before now. He's a paper tiger.

[liberal N proud]

53. With lots of teeth.

from his smile, that will have to be wipe off after watching shrub go down in flames.

[RafterMan]

54. With Judo Chess!

or something...

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

55. Kerry needs to review the last debate's transcripts, and...

...finding the exact moment where Junior SNAPPED, understand how and why it happened and LEAN ON IT tonight. MORE of what he did last time, in an unrelenting fashion.

If you carefully watch the tape of the second debate, Bush visibly flinches, he almost shudders and blinks / squints in what appears to be disbelief when Kerry speaks THIS ONE LINE:

"I'm going to make people feel good about being safe in our military"

...Bush smirked and sidestepped EVERYTHING except when Kerry slammed the military feeling "good about being safe."

THAT is Bush's Achilles' Heel. Telling him that he has not made people safe is like Pavlov's dog pushing the bar and getting a food pellet...it will work every time.

http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004c.html

KERRY: Daniel, I don't support a draft.

But let me tell you where the president's policies have put us.

The president -- and this is one of the reasons why I am very proud in this race to have the support of General John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Admiral William Crowe, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Tony McPeak, who ran the air war for the president's father and did a brilliant job, supporting me; General Wes Clark, who won the war in Kosovo, supporting me; because they all -- and General Baca, who was the head of the National Guard, supporting me.

Why? Because they understand that our military is overextended under the president.

Our Guard and reserves have been turned into almost active duty. You've got people doing two and three rotations. You've got stop-loss policies, so people can't get out when they were supposed to. You've got a back-door draft right now.

And a lot of our military are underpaid. These are families that get hurt. It hurts the middle class. It hurts communities, because these are our first responders. And they're called up. And they're over there, not over here.

Now, I'm going to add 40,000 active duty forces to the military, and I'm going to make people feel good about being safe in our military, and not overextended, because I'm going to run a foreign policy that actually does what President Reagan did, President Eisenhower did, and others.

We're going to build alliances. We're not going to go unilaterally. We're not going to go alone like this president did.

GIBSON: Mr. President, let's extend for a minute...

BUSH: Let me just -- I've got to answer this.

GIBSON: Exactly. And with Reservists being held on duty...

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Let me answer what he just said, about around the world.

GIBSON: Well, I want to get into the issue of the back-door draft...

BUSH: You tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Silvio Berlusconi we're going alone. Tell Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland we're going alone.

There are 30 countries there. It denigrates an alliance to say we're going alone, to discount their sacrifices. You cannot lead an alliance if you say, you know, you're going alone. And people listen. They're sacrificing with us.

GIBSON: Senator?

KERRY: Mr. President, countries are leaving the coalition, not joining. Eight countries have left it.

If Missouri, just given the number of people from Missouri who are in the military over there today, were a country, it would be the third largest country in the coalition, behind Great Britain and the United States.

That's not a grand coalition.

Ninety percent of the casualties are American. Ninety percent of the costs are coming out of your pockets.

I could do a better job. My plan does a better job. And that's why I'll be a better commander in chief.

[henslee]

57. Kerry shows up w/ a hand-held metal detector and scans * for a wire.

Crowd laffs. Dubya scowls. Kerry winks. The rest is history.


I can dream can't I. (I already posted this idea but I always recycle jokes.)

My other smart ass idea: he shows up with a :bush" buldge on his back.

[AVID]

63. I like that idea

[indigobusiness]

59. He should laugh about how Bush likes to muddy things up

with distortions and innacurracies and then spend all the time wallowing around in it...while he would prefer to clarify the issues and debate them meaningfully.

[Joe Turner]

60. Kerry just needs to keep on doing what he is doing

It's working incredibly well. A little more of a pressing attack on Shrub would seal the deal so to speak.

BUT! John Kerry has to be fully prepared for an all out, desperate, 11th hour, relentless attack from Shrub. Shrub is going to try, in his limited vocabulary of 100 words, to paint Kerry as too liberal and too wishy washy to be CIC. That is GUARANTEED.

On the offense side of this debate, hitting Shrub's hot buttons as many have said here, has proven highly effective in unmasking the emotionally stunted Boy Blunder.

There have been many good suggestions on how to push Shrub's buttons to get him in full meltdown mode in this last debate. I hope Kerry's prep people have studied in detail all the things that make Shrub go Batty. There are reels and reels of TV clippings to pull from in planning for this.

Something to be careful about though. While there is no doubt that comparisons to his dad drive him crazy as Kerry has already proved over and over, the Downside is Going To The Well too often. Shrub's handlers probably have, by now, on watching their man go nuts on this, come up with a surprise answer/come-back to jolt Kerry. Something like Lloyd Benson's knockout punch to Qualye. Kerry has to be very careful here.

There are so many things that set off Shrub, Kerry would be wise to find some new ones, something to hit him with out of the blue that he is not coached for but which will induce extreme anger and/or fear in him.

One such thing is Shrub's comments that Outsourcing American Jobs is GOOD. He and his administration have uttered this insanity many times. If Kerry highlights Shrub’s open encouragement of Job Outsourcing and relates it to Shrub’s crony business ties, he forces Shrub to defend the indefensible. If he tries, he comes off as being out of touch with reality. This is a No Brainer.

Another is mentioning Shrub’s month long vacation in August 2001 just prior to 911 after being in office for only 6 months. This will do great damage to the false imagine of being a responsible CIC. Plus he can’t defend his wanton, detached laziness, it’s TRUE. Also, following up the even more damning FACT that Shrub has continued to take more vacation time than ANY president in American History, will really get the Idiot reeling. THIS, while America has been attacked and is waging war overseas.

It totally undercuts Shrubs credibility on the War on Terror and will get him stammering Big Time.

Mr. Kerry may the Force Be With You.

[Bridget Burke]

62. With intelligence, logic...

and a touch of humor.