October 05 , 2004

There is no need to review again what has already been made both painfully and abundantly clear and repeatedly observed: Senator John Kerry cleaned President George Bush's clock in the first televised presidential debate in the three part series. And although The New York Times and the network TV news media are biased in favor of Democrat John Kerry, and Rush Limbaugh, talk radio and FOXSNews are biased favoring Republican President George Bush, the only dime's worth of difference between the two candidates is in their debate and speechmaking capabilities - Bush doesn't have any!

Not that what either candidate has to say is of any value anyway; this column has always offered that all politicians are liars and will support whatever legislation comes with the largest bribe or political advantage for either themselves or their party. What's best for the people, as well as what is in compliance with the Constitution, are never even remotely considered. The he said/he said scenario only has meaning for Rush Limbaugh and his ilk that earn millions of dollars annually analyzing the meaningless discourse of politicians. For Limbaugh, anything a Republican says is gospel. For Dan Rather, anything a Democrat says is gospel. Lacking is a truly free and independent media analysis of the real issues.

A major distraction related to the Bush administration is the truly annoying and frustrating secret and behind-closed-doors conduct of its government operations. Burning issues, the 9-11 defense non-response of our nation for over an hour, the whitewash and cover-up by the 9-11 Commission, Abu Ghraib, the AIPAC scandal, and now the FBI translation tape scandal, are all quietly disappearing or relegated as gross overreactions, and do not exude confidence. These cover-ups put a premium on any honest discussion that would contribute greatly to putting the public at ease. But the losing war that we were falsely motivated to ignite in Iraq is coming apart, and the fiasco is fragging out of control.

These realities are beginning to reach the public in bits and pieces, driven largely by "leaks" from the true news and opinion medium: the Internet. News and information long known by web surfers is only now hitting the mainstream media. And it is precisely this environment that sets the tone of public expectation that needed to be addressed by the debate. Kerry didn't disappoint - Bush was a sweating, choking, scowling, water-gulping disaster. Considering the precarious position he put us in, destabilizing the entire word into nuclear saber rattling while horrifically increasing the terrorist threat of attack on our own soil, Bush's bumbling in front of the entire nation will not be soon forgotten.

It was indeed the demeanor of the uninformed, one that relies upon established and confirmed party loyalties feigning a comfort zone that is his alone. It exposes a chief executive that is detached, and propped up instead in the daily performance of his awesome duties by unseen, unelected "advisors" and "consultants" that have no sense of responsibility to the public, nor do they ever exhibit any modicum of accountability to the voters. They are the president's "handlers." The present day news and opinion political landscape will not tolerate such an uninformed display on the part of the president.

The tremendous advantage a candidate has in terms of good public speaking is indeed an important asset, and might be useful in offsetting poor job performance. But given the current deteriorating situation highlighted daily via the news from Iraq, Bush's performance was horrible. Even if he shows some comeback in future debates, and argues coolly just as well as Kerry did in the first debate, the next two scheduled engagements will never provide a full recovery. As the debates stray into domestic issues, were a less than stellar Republican execution is now a major liability in terms of job losses, job outsourcing, gasoline prices and the stock market uncertainty attributable to all these and the War in Iraq, Bush is headed for some rough waters.

Bush has set the stage for his own failure. His super secret government cannot now come clean with any astonishing revelations as to the administration's superior handling of anything! The secrets have now been unduly aged, and any truth will at this time be viewed as mere campaign rhetoric. And one thing is no longer a secret: Bush seems clueless as to what is going on in his own secret government and is totally unable to muster any kind of convincing justification without the coaching and assistance from his handlers.

Theodore E. Lang

© THEODORE E. LANG 7/12/04 All rights reserved

Ted Lang is a political analyst and a freelance writer. Visit his new website soon

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