new saletan on the dem debates
i know we're all probably sick of the post-debate hair-pulling that's gone on around here, but i want to give it another go.
i'm not sure what i think of saletan's work on the whole...i don't often read
slate.
his observations on candidates dean, kerry, clark, lieberman, and edwards (their performances last night) are interesting.
read the article and comment away....my thoughts are below.
dean
He wants to repeal all of Bush's tax cuts; Kerry wants to keep the parts that benefit the middle class. I've seen them spar over this several times, and it's increasingly clear that Dean's position is indefensible and a huge albatross in the general election.
Part of the problem is that the average middle-class person's share of the tax cuts, while low, isn't zero..... But the biggest problem is Dean's stated reason for repealing that middle-class portion: that he has to do so in order to balance the budget. If the amount of money involved is so small that you don't need it as a taxpayer, why is it so big that Dean needs it as president?
i think that's a fair point. the arguement, as kerry has framed it, is a no-win for dean.
so what should he do? 1) he could insist on "fiscal responsibility" (that's good), but ALSO insist that everyone - even those that have benefited the least by bush's policies - take a hit. 2) he could insist that the tax cuts be repealed, and put forth a comprehensive tax reform package - and fast - that includes middle/low-income tax relief. 3) or he could stick to the script he followed when he bagan calling for the repeal: we need the money to pay for health care for every american.
i think options 2 and 3 are best. if he choses 2 he may even want to crib an old gephardt proposal - a progressive flat tax system (i think gep put it out there in '96).
kerry
When Lieberman chided him for voting against the $87 billion appropriation for Iraq, Kerry shot back, "Well, Joe, I have seared in me an experience which you don't have, and that's the experience of being one of those troops on the front lines when the policy has gone wrong." The audience applauded loudly. Kerry went on to give several reasons why his vote was a better way to "protect the troops," but what made these reasons credible was the battlefield experience Kerry had invoked.
wow, i thought the vietnam stuff was truly puke-worthy. that's the kind of "my dick's bigger than yours" shit that grinds me. what i kept thinking as he rambled on was "why did you allow a failed policy to take shape - knowing full well the consequences for 'troops on the front lines'?"
john kerry's courage, and the wisdom he claims to have becasue of his experience in vietnam, did not serve him well during the vote for the war.
clark
On the other hand, Clark looks less honest all the time.... Has Clark not read the transcripts of his appearances on CNN? Or does he think nobody else has?
Clark compounded this insult to our intelligence by joking that he gives credit where it's due--"even Republicans doing something right." Does Clark think if he bashes Republicans hard enough, we'll forget he voted for them and praised them two years ago?
word. 'nuf said
lieberman
i don't like him as a candidate (or a senator for that matter). i won't vote for him in the primaries. and i don't really agree with saletan's appraisal of his performance ("muscular integrity"? how about delusional self-righteousness?). but i've become more appreciative of his presence in the race. he serves as a foil to my candidate on a few issues - i like that. and he seems to at least try to have a sense of humor about himself. my feelings might be less accomodating if he had a chance.
edwards
Edwards' boast Sunday night that he's "written down" his plans.... What's his point? That he's literate? That promises are more solemn when they're on paper? That writing down your ideas makes them more specific?
if edwards' strategy rests on winning the votes of people who
would be impressed by "writin' thangs down", he is not in good shape. those folks are already committed to bush anyway....
more likely, he's got a jackass for a speech writer. come on john, we all
know you can do better than that.