Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Debate Transcript Released One-Day Early
Face-off Overly Choreographed, Critics Charge. A full transcript of Thursday's
presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Democratic
nominee John Kerry was released today,sparking criticism that the debate has
been overly choreographed by the committee representing the two major
parties.
The transcript, full of pre-planned quips and sound bites from both
candidates, is a verbatim reflection of what the actual debate will be on
Thursday night, a committee member confirmed.
"We have shared the written transcript with both President Bush and
Senator Kerry and warned them to stick to the script," said Davis Loudon
of the Presidential Debate Steering Committee. "If they stray one iota,
we're threatening to turn the heat in the room up to 71 degrees."
According to the transcript, the debate will begin with opening statements
by both candidates, after which Mr. Bush will turn to Mr. Kerry and ask,
"Where's the beef?"
Mr. Kerry, totally prepared for this witticism, will reply by saying,
"I've got your beef right here," to which Mr. Bush will reply, "Beef
this."
After Mr. Bush goes on to extol the legacy of Ronald Reagan, Mr. Kerry
will respond, "I served in the Senate under Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan
was an enemy of mine. President Bush, you're no Ronald Reagan."
Jonah Traylor, the Washington correspondent for the Toledo Blade, said
that having a written transcript of the debate a day in advance means that
he can skip the event altogether: "I might TiVo it, but probably not."
Elsewhere, after an earthquake in central California failed to cause any
serious damage, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the 5.9 tembler "a
girlie quake."
I have no idea of the source for this. If you do, leave me a comment and I'll give credit.
| Permalink Here
Face-off Overly Choreographed, Critics Charge. A full transcript of Thursday's
presidential debate between President George W. Bush and Democratic
nominee John Kerry was released today,sparking criticism that the debate has
been overly choreographed by the committee representing the two major
parties.
The transcript, full of pre-planned quips and sound bites from both
candidates, is a verbatim reflection of what the actual debate will be on
Thursday night, a committee member confirmed.
"We have shared the written transcript with both President Bush and
Senator Kerry and warned them to stick to the script," said Davis Loudon
of the Presidential Debate Steering Committee. "If they stray one iota,
we're threatening to turn the heat in the room up to 71 degrees."
According to the transcript, the debate will begin with opening statements
by both candidates, after which Mr. Bush will turn to Mr. Kerry and ask,
"Where's the beef?"
Mr. Kerry, totally prepared for this witticism, will reply by saying,
"I've got your beef right here," to which Mr. Bush will reply, "Beef
this."
After Mr. Bush goes on to extol the legacy of Ronald Reagan, Mr. Kerry
will respond, "I served in the Senate under Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan
was an enemy of mine. President Bush, you're no Ronald Reagan."
Jonah Traylor, the Washington correspondent for the Toledo Blade, said
that having a written transcript of the debate a day in advance means that
he can skip the event altogether: "I might TiVo it, but probably not."
Elsewhere, after an earthquake in central California failed to cause any
serious damage, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called the 5.9 tembler "a
girlie quake."
I have no idea of the source for this. If you do, leave me a comment and I'll give credit.
| Permalink Here
