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["Toni Hawryluk" <tonihawr AT msn.com>]

I almost missed this until I realized the URL Don copied in 
duplicate .... and missing it would have been criminal.  I am 
delighted also to see that the article has a female author, 
particularly when one puns the "bottom line" - hehehehehe !!
OK - guys, fire at will .... 

From: Don Bowen<mailto:don.bowen AT earthlink.net> 

> http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i19chumpcheck.htm<http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i19chumpcheck.htm>
>  

CHUMP CHECK 2004

DISASTER FOR BUSH:  America Clearly Sees At Last That The Emperor Is Naked

Rambling, Incoherent... and It Was Bush Wiping The Sweat Away (and Drinking 
Heavily) 

by Betsy R. Vasquez

OCTOBER 1, 2004 - How bad was it for Bush?

So bad that FOX News' website didn't even run any poll.  So bad that all Matt 
Drudge could try and boast about on his website was that some Democrat called 
it a draw.  So bad that even Bush's people could only try to say, Yeah, he 
lost, but so what.

Other media outlets have been telling you this election would be close and 
that the debates might be even as well.

We hate to say it (not that much) but we told them so.

Bush got shellacked so badly it was astounding.  He was like a wounded animal 
desperate for a place to hide but not able to find one.

For the past week the right-wing had been joking about how Kerry was a 
sweater, would sweat during the debates.  But it was Bush who the camera saw 
wiping sweat from his brow.  And drinking heavily from his water glass 
repeatedly.  And fumbling through his papers, desperate to find something 
else to say besides the one or two talking point phrases he could manage to 
remember.

There was no escaping or hiding the fact that Bush was not even remotely 
deserving of being on that stage.  He was rambling, incoherent.  His answers 
wandered not only off topic but out of comprehensibility.  In short, all of 
the things the President's handlers have been adeptly hiding from the public 
- that the emperor truly is butt naked - got stuck right out there in the 
bright light.

And now America knows.

Even the Gallup poll, which took  its usual heavily Republican biased sample, 
said Kerry blew Bush away.

These were supposed to, according to the non-Moderate Independent media, be 
Bush's strong points: foreign policy and style.  He got clobbered on both.

He gave answers that were flat out dishonest, huge gaffes that will certainly 
be brought back to haunt him.

"The A.Q. Khan network has been brought to justice," said President Bush, 
bragging about his national security record.  (see:  Washington Post 
transcript<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/debatereferee/debate_0930.html>)

Excuse me?  How about reality:  US Supports A Q Khan 
Pardon<http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/06khan.htm>

As this story reports, "The United States has supported Pakistan President 
Pervez Musharraf's decision to 
pardon<http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/Musharraf%20pardons%20A%20Q%20Khan>
 scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who 
confessed<http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/04pak2.htm> to leaking nuclear 
secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea."

This man, who gave nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran, and North Korea, Bush let 
him get pardoned - and then stood before America last night and said he, "has 
been brought to justice."

Bush even said at one point, "I didn't need anyone to tell me to go to the 
UN."

President Bush's fantasy world has crumbled right before the American public. 
 Last election he came across as one of the average people.  This time he 
showed himself to be one of the "special" children who ride the little yellow 
bus.

And President Bush had a Freudian moment from hell, when he was trying to 
counter Kerry's charge that Bush confused Saddam with Osama and incorrectly 
attacked Iraq for 9/11 instead of just going after Osama.

Bush replied, "Of course we're after Saddam Hussein -- I mean bin Laden."

President Bush didn't even come prepared with any zingers, the usual 
Republican-fed crack lines.

No, on this night it was Senator Kerry who was calm, forceful, relaxed, in 
complete control - and personable and funny.

Kerry brought down the house when he talked about Tora Bora, saying the 
President even "outsourced" the job of going after Bin Laden when we had him 
cornered..

"Just yesterday," said Kerry, "General Eisenhower's son, General John 
Eisenhower, endorsed me; General Admiral William Crowe; General Tony McPeak, 
who ran the Air Force war so effectively for his father -- all believe I 
would make a stronger commander in chief. And they believe it because they 
know I would not take my eye off of the goal: Osama bin Laden. 

"Unfortunately, he escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora. We had him 
surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, 
to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced 
that job too. That's wrong."

What happened last night was exactly what we said would happen way back in 
May in articles like these (see: Look, We Told You Months Ago Kerry Would Win 
By A Landslide<http://moderateindependent.com/v2i10elections.htm> and John 
Kerry, Leader Or Loser?<http://moderateindependent.com/v2i5kerry.htm>)  The 
Bush people had been making the horrible mistake of running against John 
Kerry as if he were Al Gore or Mike Dukakis, whiny sort of weak liberal types 
who let themselves be bullied.  We warned that Kerry wasn't one to let 
himself get bullied, and that he had strength, charisma, and charm that the 
press was underestimating.  No, he was not the smooth-talking southern 
charmer like Bush or Clinton, but he was the quiet, cool Northeastern-type 
charmer.

Last night, the Bushies went up there seemingly without a plan except to have 
Bush repeatedly - and we mean repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatedly, until 
he began to sound like Rain Man - say that Kerry, "changes positions."  "He 
sends mixed messages."  "He changes positions."  "Mixed messages."  "He 
changes positions."  (We are not exaggerating here - I am accurately 
reflecting the number of times Bush mumbled these phrases in incoherent 
desperation.)  "Mixed messages."  "Mixed messages."  "Mixed signals."  "Mixed 
signals."  "Mixed messages."  "Mixed messages."  "Waver."

And he only stopped babbling that mantra when he was saying not one, not two, 
but seven times, that Kerry had called Iraq, "...the wrong war at the wrong 
time at the wrong place," and not seven, not eight, but eleven times that it 
is, "hard work," fighting terrorist (in addition to pointing out twice people 
were, "working hard," at it.)

So people are sitting there, seeing Kerry give actual, coherent answers, and 
Bush is lost, sweating, pounding water likes it's JD, fumbling through papers 
desperately, sneering and looking miserable and angry, like he wants to 
leave, and giving answers that are incoherent rambles laced with flat out 
lies or misstatements.

Over and over, "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place."  
"Hard work"  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place."  
"Hard work"   "Hard work"  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the 
wrong place."  "Hard work"  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the 
wrong place."  "Hard work"  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the 
wrong place."  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place."  
"Hard work"  "This is the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place."  
"Hard work"  "Hard work"  "Working hard."  "Hard work"  "Hard work"  "Working 
hard."  "Hard work" 

Only interrupted by, "Changes positions."  "He sends mixed messages."  "He 
changes positions."  "Mixed messages."  "He changes positions."  "Mixed 
messages."  "Mixed messages."  "Mixed signals."  "Mixed signals."  "Mixed 
messages."  "Mixed messages."  "Waver."

Folks, this was only a ninety minute debate - and Bush only got half of it.

The worst part was seeing the look of the Bush spinners' faces afterwards.  
They were, at first, trying desperately to try and pretend their guy won, but 
couldn't muster it.  Then they tried to call it a draw.  No luck.  So in the 
end they simply admitted the obvious, that their guy lost - which, coming 
from the Bushies, means he really got clobbered.  And, desperately, they 
tried to sell the spin that Kerry won but it won't affect the voters or polls.

Like we've said, this is not an election, it is a chump check.  One candidate 
is not even considerable.  And America saw that clearly last night.

And they saw that the other candidate, Kerry, is no Al Gore.  They had been 
told he was not warm, aloof, unable to connect, a flip-flopaholic.  As our 
John Ashton said, all Kerry had to do was pass the, "I'm not a pushover" 
test.  And there is no question he did so with flying colors.

He nailed points, like about how Bush let Osama get away at Tora Bora, that 
the President had been given a free ride on until that point.  And he made 
important, clear distinctions about Iraq policy.  The press said it wasn't 
clear what the difference was between Kerry's and Bush's positions on Iraq.  
Kerry made it clear again and again:  It's the how, stupid.

He said clearly and concisely, "I've had one position, one consistent 
position, that Saddam Hussein was a threat. There was a right way to disarm 
him and a wrong way. And the president chose the wrong way."

And he was very specific in pointing out what the wrong way meant, and what 
the right way would be:  to win peace, the people over there must trust we 
are not there to occupy their country and take their oil.

"I think a critical component of success in Iraq is being able to convince 
the Iraqis and the Arab world that the United States doesn't have long-term 
designs on it.  As I understand it, we're building some 14 military bases 
there now, and some people say they've got a rather permanent concept to 
them. When you guard the oil ministry, but you don't guard the nuclear 
facilities, the message to a lot of people is maybe, "Wow, maybe they're 
interested in our oil."

When, "The only building that was guarded when the troops went into Baghdad 
was the oil ministry," we created an insurgency, said Kerry.  When Bush, 
"didn't guard the nuclear facilities... didn't guard the foreign office, 
where you might have found information about weapons of mass destruction... 
didn't guard the borders," Bush created the mess that exists there now; he 
wouldn't have made such a mess and will correct mistakes like these now.

And, again clearly pointing out how he would fix the situation in Iraq, 
correcting the mistakes Bush has made, he said, "I will make a flat 
statement: The United States of America has no long-term designs on staying 
in Iraq."

It would be nice to show some area or moment where Bush shined and Kerry 
could use some improvement, but there was none.  Tonight was ugly, a complete 
disaster for the Bushies - and so far, unlike with Gore, the non-M/I media 
hasn't even been able to cover for Bush on this one.

No, tonight America saw that the emperor clearly has no clothes, and they all 
realized, as they gazed upon him standing naked before them for ninety 
painful, tortured minutes, that the naked truth is, the emperor really 
doesn't have much there.