October 2004 Issue
Presidential Debates
In The NewsLatest news from a conservative perspective.
Debate consistency?
The Presidential debate ended last week in a stalemate. Both Bush and Kerry campaigns claimed victory—but we feel that the President took the cake by being steadfast and resolute, in contrast to Kerry's continually changing positions. As the President pointed out: "The only thing consistent about my opponent's position is that he's been inconsistent."
Kerry takes notes on polling performance
The liberal media has skewed the debate in Kerry's favor by publishing dozens of new polls showing that he is now ahead of President Bush. The vast right-wing conspiracy has struck back by claiming that Kerry cheated during the debate. In clear violation of debate rules, video footage of the debate shows Kerry taking a "mysterious object" out of his jacket pocket and placing it on the podium. The Kerry campaign has admitted to "having a pen." But what's a pen without something to write on, huh?
Debate Cheating?
Only hours after the first Presidential debate, bloggers and amateur pundits across the nation were burning with a question many sought to ignore. Did Senator Kerry cheat?
As talk shows played and re-played sound bites of the debate, a slow motion, frame-by-frame shot caught the attention of many. The footage showed a nonchalant Kerry reaching into the right pocket of his suit, removing an unidentified object, and placing it on his lectern before the first questions were asked.
Conspiracy theories ran rampant. Was it a cheat sheet? Was it a pen? Or even the day’s most recent copy of Kerry’s policy positions? In any case, it would be a clear violation of debate rules constructed by both campaigns. The carefully negotiated “Memorandum of Understanding” states:
As allegations made their way around the internet and conservative media circles, the New York Post analyzed a Fox News feed and concluded that the footage actually shows Kerry removing a black pen from his pocket.
In response, Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade proclaimed, "The right-wing attack machine will say anything to steal a debate do-over." Full of penitence, he added, “we plead guilty to having a pen."
Another Kerry campaign source explained to the Drudge Report, "Kerry did not cheat…this is more lies from Republicans, who are hoping for a quick change of subject away from the president's performance, and the new polls." When confronted with the fact that using a pen from his jacket would have violated debate rules, the Kerry staffer laughed, saying, "see you at the inauguration, Drudge.”
The most surprising aspect of Kerry’s “pocket-gate” episode is that it rapidly produced questions about the Senator’s integrity. Though Kerry had a solid performance in the debate, it would not be surprising if he cheated to win. On the other hand, the allegations are hardly astonishing. With a candidate like Senator Kerry, who flip-flops often, integrity is clearly something to question—after all, Kerry was the only candidate who could have debated himself.