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Tim Russert, the not so objective moderator, began with an attacking question to George Bush, concerning a Steve Forbes campaign ad which says Bush raised taxes while Governor of Texas after pledging not to do so. Sadly, Russert showed his Democrat lapdog colors right from the beginning, taking great relish at asking Bush this misleading, yet posibly damning, poor excuse for an opener. Bush denied it and Forbes was made to look quite silly, as he was allowed to explain by whimpering that it actually was a proposed " sales tax ". As a semi-rebuttal, Bush pointed out that Americans are sick of " negative advertising ". Keep this negative advertising point in mind, as the debate came full circle and this resurfaced close to the end.
John McCain answered a question accusing him of " class warfare "...still another attacking question by the moderators. Bush was also asked about the class warfare, but in the context of his tax cut proposal. Bush replied, " I believe everybody should have a tax cut ". He referenced the way the Democrats have been calling his plan a " risky " tax scheme, saying it was " risky to leave the money in Washington ".
Trying to hammer the GOP group on the First Amendment, the left wing leaning moderators asked Orrin hatch about filtering out the pornography from the content of internet connected computers at the public library. Hatch obviously has strong views against smut and his answer was a firm YES. Gary Bauer was asked about the same subject and he defended " traditional family values ", puting " pornography " and " same sex marriage " in the same paragraph ( to a rousing round of applause from the audience ).
Alan Keyes took offense at the line of questioning, saying, " They'll use the first amendment to destroy our children's heart and souls ". Fielding a question on the tax system, he strongly opined, " We have given away control of our money...the income tax should be abolished ".
Still looking for something to ambush the GOP, Russert asked McCain some theoretical questions about what he would do in a hijacking situation, ala' the recent Indian debacle where both terrorists and hijackers were released by the authorities. His response to the question of, ' Would you negotiate with hijackers? ', was a firm, " No, never ". He said he would have ordered them to " shoot out the tires once it landed ". Russert tried to embarass McCain by playing out a scenario where hijackers began shooting passengers one by one. McCain refused to bite on this one so Russert brought up John Rocker, a baseball pitcher who expoused racist views. Bush used this opportunity to chime in that we need someone in the White House to set a good example!
Finally the moderators found something they could sink their teeth into; the fate of a Cuban boy who wound up in Florida and is awaiting extradition back his homeland to be united with his natural father. Alan Keyes said, " I think the boy should stay in freedom ". Gary Bauer pointed out that, " the President released Puerto Rican terrorists to help his wife in her election for the Senate in New York ". Here came George Bush's only mistake of the night, when he said that he wouldn't return the boy to a place like Cuba, nor would he open up Cuba for trade the way Clinton has been. Gary Bauer said that he ( Bush ) made a great point not to trade with communist dictatorships and it made a great point of why not to trade with The People's Republic of China. We all know Bush favors open trade with the PRC and he and Bauer went 'round and 'round for a minute or so. Outraged with the only bickering of the debate and Russert's obvious bias, Alan Keyes preached, " The way you seem to measure compasion is by how much money we throw at the problem... money cannot solve every problem ".
Then the individual candidates got to question one another, but only once per person. Forbes asked Bush about abortion, seemingly not remembering that Bauer has been beating that dead horse to a pulp. Not getting exactly the answer he was looking for, Forbes said, " I am listening, George ". Bush came back swiftly and skillfully with, " No, you are interrupting "!
Bauer questioned McCain on, believe it or not, gays in the military. To illustrate the differing positions of the GOP and the Democrats, he began with, " The Vice President has said that he would only appoint officers who agreed with the gay rights agenda ". McCain responded that, " the policy of don't ask, don't tell is working ".
Keyes got testy again, describing the blossoming new condition in America as, " Government by the media, of the media and for the media ". Bauer had one last memorable line, as he urged us not to, " worship at the alter of free trade at all costs ".
Then came the Bush/McCain love-fest. Bush didn't ask a question. Instead, to McCain, he pointed out a million acre land grab by the Clinton Administration in Arizona ( remember the Utah low sulfur coal land? ). Anyhow, this allowed McCain to describe the years of work it took him to create a federal reserve and how Clinton did so on a whim without consulting a single resident.
Oh no, the lovefest is not over yet. Russert tried to stir up some trouble with comments and question about negative campaign advertising. It backfired on him, as Bush and McCain stepped from their podiums and shook hands, agreeing not to run negative ads ( see, what I tell ya', huh! ).
After Russert read some questions from the local college students, the candidates each had a chance for a short statement of just over a minute. McCain wanted to bring back respect to the White House, while Bush wanted to " reform " everything. Forbes claimed he was an " outsider " and Keyes wanted to " save the life and the future of our country ". Hatch pointed out that " the people are scared to death...they lock their doors ", but Bauer could only push the abortion button.
I believe that George W. Bush was the clear winner of this debate, possibly the first clear-cut victory for the front runner. One thing is for sure, the two top dogs, Bush and McCain, have become friends!
- Bongo ( NOx anyone? )
