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"Gotcha" moments in debates have worked in the past. Will 2008 really be different?

Submitted by Chad on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 9:20am.

photo from CNN

Michael Dukakis in a "classic" gotcha moment -- the Bernard Shaw/death penalty question.

The MSM lives for "gotcha" moments (funny how we never see them against Republicans). But can this year be different? -- Chad

It's Friday and you probably are still bitter (yes, I mean bitter) about Wednesday's presidential debate on ABC-TV. I was deeply ashamed as an American, a voter, and a journalist. And I feel even more shame since I advocated more debates on broadcast TV; I should have clarified that to mean well-run debates. Jon Stewart summed up a lot of my feelings on "The Daily Show."

Obama's message through the sea of insipidness that was Gibson and Stephanopoulos was that the American people didn't want distractions, they wanted a discussion of the issues.

Wednesday night's debacle reminded me of the Bernard Shaw-Michael Dukakis-death penalty question.

In both cases, the questions weren't designed to help the American people learn more about the candidate's positions. They were "gotcha" moments. The words "read my lips" were used in Wednesday's debate; can't get much more "gotcha" than that.

So do you think Obama is correct? Do the American people really want discussions about the issues, or will they get swept up (again) by distractions? Will the American people rise up against the fatcats of the anchors and the pundits and ignore them to find out what we can do to make this country better? Or will the tricks, the distractions work (again) and we sink further down as a country.

Let us know what you think.

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Roviana visited and re-visited

Submitted by Rrrandy Wurst on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 8:35pm.
If Hillary or McCain wins, we will have more of the same Rovian tactics in the future...or worse, because the wealthy/powerful/connected want to discourage thoughtful people from getting involved in politics and voting. If Obama wins, we have a chance of turning toward more substantive campaigning and coverage of campaigns. A chance. ---Rrrandy Wurst (wurstwisdom.com)
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Sick to death of "gotcha" Flag pins???????

Submitted by Colleen Clark on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 1:56pm.

Joan Walsh on Salon said that Obama "stumbled" because he got "irritated."
Millions of the rest of us were "irritated" not to say appalled.
Frigging flag pins. Good riddance to them. Members of the NY Philharmonic
noticed on their recent trip to Pyongyang that everybody wore lapel pins with Kim Jong Il's
picture. Now there's something to aspire to. Let's all be like N Korea.

Re Dukakis - I think that was a little different. He was thrown a softball and he
just blew the answer. He should have said something like, "I'd have wrung the guy's neck.
That is why we have the rule of law. Arrest suspects. Have trials. Keep the execution
of justice out of the hands of the victims and their families."

Colleen Clark
Cambridge, MA

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Tricks Won't Work No More

Submitted by crackerjack on Sat, 04/19/2008 - 1:00am.
"Why not?" "After last Wednesday's debacle, who isn't on to them?" "They set him up." "With one of the so-called moderators just happening to be the former president's right hand man." "Shades of that election night incident in 2008 where the Fox Cable News analyst who declared George Bush the winner in Florida just happened to be George Bush's cousin." "History repeating itself?" "Not this time." "What instead?" "We elect a president who ends the Iraq War, negotiates with Iran plus turning things around here at home." "And then what sort of world?" "It'll be up to us."
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Gutter Politics

Submitted by magicmary on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 12:00pm.
Whenever anyone tries to argue with me I say, Look, all I want is to live in a civil society - can you help me do that? We should all - like Obama - strive to be better people than that. Civil. Cordial. Fact checkers. We should assume that all people living in this country are here because they love it. I love my country, unruly child that it is at times... We can be great again but we all have to rise to the occasion. Together. Yes we can! 1/20/09 - End of an Error!
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Oh and...

Submitted by magicmary on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 12:15pm.
Is it too much to ask that our leaders act as roll models who inspire us to be better people? Oh my God do we need that in America! It's all in how they behave and not what church they go to!
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Throw it back in their faces

Submitted by cagey on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 11:22am.
These tactics will always work with a certain number of people. That is why MASSIVE VOTER TURN-OUT is the remedy, both for this type of politics and for the inevitable voter caging, suppression, and electronic theft of votes that are sure to follow. We cannot afford to make this even close at the polls, and that is up to us and us alone. And when a candidate is attacked, let the media know and donate your money and time to the object of the smear.
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