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Helen Thomas, Lynne Stewart, a vat of anchovies and me ... indeed!
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LIVE, FROM WHO'S YOUR DADDY STADIUM!!! Debate/Baseball Thread

Ok, ok, not live. As I said earlier, I'm going to try to live blog both the Yankee-Red Sox game AND the debate.

5:34: So far, it's the bottom of the 1st, the Yankees are up 1-0 with 2 on and none out. Yankee Stadium is electric. Good times.

5:38: And Martinez escapes with only one run scored ... Martinez has great stuff but mentally, he seems off ... of course, he did strike out 2 and retired his last 3 batters. BTW, Al Leiter is doing a great job giving a pitcher's insider perspective.

5:46: John Lieber is pitching for the bombers ... I have a feeling we're gonna need a few more runs ...

5:48: Speaking of pitchers, I hear that Schilling may not be able to pitch again ... as much as I root for the Yanks, that would suck. I hope that he is good to go in game 5 ... and that the Yanks take it in 4. Middle of the 2nd, 1-0 Yankees.

6:03 The Yankees didn't score in the second but they got 2 on and are really getting his pitch count up ... 46 through 2 innings. Time to see what's going on in the debate ...

Debate: 6:05: OK, I missed the first question ... domestic security, apparently ... I'm just happy to see that Bush finally lost the smurf tie ... and Kerry compares himself to FDR, JFK and Reagan ... what, not Christ, Ghandi and Mohammed??

Debate: 6:07: I thought that this was going to be about domestic policy ... first debate issue: Did Bush say that he was unconcerned with Osama bin Laden ... Factcheck.org will let us know soon enough.

6:11: Back to the game ... 2 outs in the top of the 3rd, man on 3rd ... and a fly ball out ... back to the debate ... 1-0 Yanks.

Debate: 6:13: One thing is clear ... Bush is MUCH better than he was in the first debate ... no painful pauses so far. Kerry: I have a plan!!!

Debate: 6:15: Ceiling fans? Importing ceiling fans from China? Is this a national issue? So far, a tactical draw ... both men look pretty good, no major blows on either side.

Debate: 6:19: And we have our first canned line from Kerry ... says that Bush on fiscal responsibility is like Tony Soprano on law and order ... *shrug* ...

Ballgame: 6:23: Middle of the 4th, still 1-0 Yankees. Way to go Lieber!!

Debate: 6:25: "It's your money." That is always a good line. But Bush needs to get off of the 98 votes, etc. That's enough. "Ted Kennedy is the conservative Senator from Mass." That's a great line. Bush is really handling the homosexuality question well. I don't agree with his view, but he's handling a potentially dangerous issue pretty well.

Debate: 6:28: Kerry once again uses Dick Cheney's daughter ... honestly, he and Edwards deserve to get kicked in the teeth for that ... and I don't mean figuratively ... and "we are all God's children??" I thought that Bush was supposed to be the Religious fanatic.

Debate: 6:33: Bush hits Kerry on partial birth abortion, without response. Bush laughs at a question and, when asked about who is responsible for health care costs says "well, I hope it's not the Administration." Expect the Kerry people to grab on to this as an example of Bush not taking responsibility.

Ballgame: 6:36: Lieber has a shutout through 4 ... and has thrown 37 pitches ... that is a VERY low pitch count ... excellent.

Debate: 6:38: And Kerry, once again, calls Bush a liar ... "misleading America" ... Kerry: 2 leading national news networks have said ... " who are those, I wonder? CBS & ABC, maybe? The mainstream media is for Kerry? Quel Surprise!!

Debate: 6:41: Bush goes after "leading news organizations" ... with a CBS moderator ... now that's ballsy ... and smart, frankly ... Bush needs to learn how to finish answers more smoothly.

Debate: 6:45: Social Security: Kerry takes on Alan Greenspan ... is there a more trusted money man in America than Greenspan? Missed Bush's answer to watch Sheffield strike out ... Bush says "I didn't hear a plan." Join the club, Mr. President.

Debate: 6:51: Immigration policy ... Bush answers like a man used to giving speeches ... he pauses for laugh lines. This is a dangerous issue for Bush's conservative base. I like his answer, though ...

Debate: 6:58: Kerry wants to raise minimum wage to $7.00 an hour nationally ... and small businesses and restaurants throughout the nation close their doors and unemployment goes way up. Bush refers to some minimum wage plan that he suppported in passing ... I wish he had stayed on that for a bit ... and he goes to No Child Left Behind ... he's going to get hit on not fully funding it ... and he should have a great response ... we'll see ...

Debate: 7:01: Bush has 2 minutes and answers the abortion question in 15 seconds ... squanders a golden opportunity. And now we have the first instance of Kerry seaking directly to the President ... that's a move to his base ...

Debate: 7:04: Kerry wants to increase the military ... and health care for everyone ... and full funding for No Child Left Behind ... and a massive middle and low income tax cut ... and save social security ... yeah, I believe him ... that's credible ...

Debate: 7:08: Now Kerry has a "truth standard" instead of a "global test." And Bush FINALLY hits him on his 1990 anti-war vote ... a bit too weak, a bit too late. So far, the debate is a dead draw ... and that's good for Bush, since his expectationse were lower ... And now Kerry is going through his resume when discussing the Assault Weapons Ban ...

Ballgame: 7:12: Unbelievable performance by Lieber ... shutout through 6 ... ONE hit ... amazing.

Debate: 7:14: About Bush's demeanor ... positive, smiling, standing straight ... MUCH better than the first debate maybe even better than the second ... he gets a softball religion question ... and knocks it out of the park ...

Ballgame: 7:18: Speaking of knocking it out of the park, 2 RUN HOME RUN OLERUD!! 3-0 Yanks ... You know, the Yanks have a knack for having unlikely heroes ... I just FELT that it would be Olerud tonight. Honest.

Debate: 7:21: How the hell does Kerry manage to fellate John McCain all the way from the podium? Amazing.

Debate: 7:24: Last question and it's a softball about the wives ... and Kerry steals a Reagan line about marrying up ... I cannot believe that stem cell research didn't even get mentioned ... unless I missed it ...

Debate wrap up ... Bush did fine ... so did Kerry ... more or less a push ... like I said, that's a win for Bush because of how bad he looked in the first debate ... Bush did better each and every time ... Kerry did well at first but he plateaued ...

Closings: Kerry: Oh, he couldn't stay away from Vietnam in the closing ...

Bush: Solid, optimistic closing ... time for the LLL to look for suspicious bulges ...

Ballgame: 7:32: Seventh inning stretch: Who is that singing God Bless America??? It's like they combined the genes of Pavarotti and Barry White ... WOW.

Final Debate point: Everybody expected this to be Bush's big weakness. He did VERY well. If I have to name a winner, I'd say it's Bush on optimism and positivity ... though his "I never said I wasn't concerned about Bin Laden" is going to be a Kerry commercial.

Ballgame: 7:38: Wow, what a play by Mueller, Red Sox' 3rd basemen on a screamer by Rodriguez ... that would have been a double ... On the other hand, the Yanks are 1 inning away from Mariano Rivera ...

Debate: I love the fact that the Fox News guys are ripping Kerry/Edwards for their disgusting exploitation of Dick Cheney's daughter.

Ballgame: 8:06: Mariano Rivera is in the game with a man on 3rd and 2 outs in the 8th ... 3-1 Yanks ... and he strikes out his man ...

Ballgame: 8:15: Did anyone at all believe that Schilling and Martinez wold be 0-2 after the first 2 games?? Maybe someone expected one of the relievers to take a loss but Schilling and Martinez?? I don't think so. One worrisome stat ... the Yanks have stranded a ton of runners in the first 2 games. nevertheless, going into the last inninf with a 2 run lead and Mariano Rivera pitching? You have to like that if you're a Yankee fan.

Ballgame: 8:20: Did I say 2 run lead?? 3-2, 2 outs, bases loaded ... and ... Rodriguez pops out ... Bring on Mo.

Debate: Larry King is quoting the world's most bogus poll ... CNN.com ... is it ignorance of what's going on or plain malice toward's Bush?

Ballgame: 8:26: Top of the Ninth ... 1 batter, 1 broken bat grounder to 1st ... Note, Fox is replaying the debate after the game ... they're so considerate ... Ramirez gets a double and big David Ortiz is up ... have I mentioned that Rivera has 2 blown saves against the Red Sox this year and Ortiz has a great batting average (.538) against Rivera? No? I don't want to think about it either ... and ortiz strikes out ... he's only hitting .500 now ...

Ballgame: 8:33: Kevin Millar up, Ramirez on second, 2 outs and ... Strike 3 ... BALLGAME!! Yanks 2, Red Sox 0 going to Boston ... The Sox have Arroyo and Wakefield for games 3 and 4 ... heh ...

Posted by: Jheka at October 13, 2004 15:35 | link | comments (7) |
the election

Comments:

#1  14 October 2004 - 05:44

 

I think it was a close Kerry win. I think Kerry won big on substance while Bush won monster-big on personality.

Bush's answers to the questions about abortion, faith and his marriage were almost enough to make up for his utter failure to say anything of substance about his own "policies." Unfortunately for Bush, there was too much specific fact-checking by Kerry (economic indicators, Pell Grants, OBL) to give the debate to Bush. A very good performance by both candidates. My liveblog has more detail.

-ugarte

Anonymous

#2  14 October 2004 - 09:10

 

I think the Red Sox really won.

papijoe

#3  14 October 2004 - 09:30

 

papijoe: Is that what all of the internet polls are saying??? LOL!!
You know, now that I think about it, if you had a poll on CNN that asked "Who REALLY won last night's Yankees-Red Sox game?" The Sox would get >50% of the vote. I'm convinced of this.

Jheka

#4  14 October 2004 - 11:06

 

You didn't know that Bush said he was unconcerned with OBL? That's practically my #1 Bush compaint.

Annonymous

#5  14 October 2004 - 11:14

 

I thought he said it but he denied it so vehemently that I thought I'd wait for confirmation. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to say, but OBL isn't Al Qaeda. If he blew up tomorrow, Al Qaeda and Islamism would still be there and little diminished since, whether he is dead or alive (and we don't know, do we?), he's not exactly leading anyone at the moment. Still, a gaffe for Bush.

BTW, my prediction: We capture al-Zarqawi within the next 2 weeks.

Jheka

#6  14 October 2004 - 11:22

 

It's not his leadership skills that I worry about so much, it's his $$$. Besides, I'm evil and would take great joy in his long, slow, painful death.

My prediction: We foil a gigantic terrorist plot that would have been devastating, within the next two weeks.

Annonymous

#7  14 October 2004 - 11:33

 

Well, if there's a gigantic terrorist plot (and, given Spain, that's hardly a stretch), let's all hope that we foil it. As for OBL's money, I don't know that he has that much that he can still access. I'm with you on the painful death thing, though.

Jheka

Comments:

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