Presidential debate 1

[YngwieJ]

Nothing in the debate really surprised me. Both bent the truth to a fair extent. I wasn't really happy with Romney's answer on the assault weapons ban, and I believe he even said that the US has a ban on assault weapons. But as far as I know, that ban expired back in 2004 and was never renewed (correct me if I'm wrong).

Obama completely dodged the question on Libya security and talked about what the administration did after the attack and I was really surprised that Romney didn't address the security issues before the attack. Instead they both ended up arguing over whether Obama called it a terrorist attack or not, and that took far too long. Romney had a huge chance in the Libya discussion and he missed out. As most pundits are saying, this was really the turning point in the debate and I'd agree.

The debates are really nothing more than a bunch of empty rhetoric and neither candidate will pursue or keep all of the promises that they claim in these debates, so it's really upsetting that many undecided voters make up their minds based on what they hear and see in the debates. I think the League of Women Voters summed it up pretty well in 1988:

"The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates...because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."

League Refuses to "Help Perpetrate a Fraud" | League of Women Voters

 

[Jakke]

 

[Watty]

You guys hear about how they're ripping the girl who asked about the equal pay? I hadn't bothered to look to see if it was true, but it serves a prime example of how stupid people are with their "public domain" on twitter....

 

[flint757]

Didn't watch the debate this go around so no idea what you are talking about, but not surprised if it were in fact true.

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

 

[Watty]

Didn't watch the debate this go around so no idea what you are talking about, but not surprised if it were in fact true.

Turns out the gal had posted things like:

1) Getting wet when someone said "happy hour"
2) Loving the equivalent of Four Loko #blackout
3) Fuck Tha Police

Among other things...

 

[highlordmugfug]

Keith Ablow goes on my list of shitheads.

 

[lurgar]

Turns out the gal had posted things like:

1) Getting wet when someone said "happy hour"
2) Loving the equivalent of Four Loko #blackout
3) Fuck Tha Police

Among other things...

No fun allowed if you want to be serious ever. I guess if you can't answer the question decently enough then you start to look elsewhere to blame or to divert attention.

 

[synrgy]

 

[flint757]

If that's true then why does he keep claiming that Obama failed. If he thinks Obama hasn't created jobs then he's met his expectations right.

 

[Watty]

No fun allowed if you want to be serious ever. I guess if you can't answer the question decently enough then you start to look elsewhere to blame or to divert attention.

I agree with the second part of your statement; attacking her for asking a question that involves more than 50% of the US population trivializes the issue to the point of incredulity.

However, I would take issue with your preface to that statement. In what way is killing your kidneys and blacking out fun? I've never been drunk or even buzzed, so maybe there's some magical thing that happens when you pass out, but inviting rape, theft and general mischief doesn't sound like a good time to me...

 

[flint757]

In terms of mistreating my body drinking is my least favorite.

Don't enjoy hangovers and I typically go overboard (in the moment it is fun)...as such I just don't drink very often.

I think his point was she can be serious at any point in time and live a fun life outside of the serious conversation. Fun is definitely not a universal concept.

 

[Watty]

I think his point was she can be serious at any point in time and live a fun life outside of the serious conversation. Fun is definitely not a universal concept.

Heard, and it's what I figured he meant, but it didn't necessarily come across as such.

 

[lurgar]

However, I would take issue with your preface to that statement. In what way is killing your kidneys and blacking out fun? I've never been drunk or even buzzed, so maybe there's some magical thing that happens when you pass out, but inviting rape, theft and general mischief doesn't sound like a good time to me...

I don't really drink either honestly. I just don't like that this woman has made some questionable decisions with her partying and some conservative pundits are using that as a way of discrediting her. I hate that crap when it happens to any particular side of an issue and I don't see the need for it. It's not in the same league as this, but I do remember when Sarah Palin was announced as the VP pick for the GOP, there were some nasty rumors from the left about how she was covering for her daughter being pregnant and it was really childish and pissed me off.

On the other hand, if this question were something along the lines of "I'm a single mother on welfare, what would you do to help me get on my feet?" and then it was discovered she had been tweeting about blacking out from drinking and other bad decisions, then yes, this would definitely discredit her.

Hopefully I'm not rambling too much; I can clarify what I mean if something is confusing.

 

[Watty]

Nah man, I gotcha....I just hate being lumped in with the crowd my age that gets blackout drunk on a regular basis. Whenever it comes up in conversation (as I perceived it did...), I get a bit animated. Thanks for getting us back on topic regardless!

 

[Grand Moff Tim]

 

[flint757]

Can someone fill me in on the joke that I've been seeing about this binder.

I assume it is debate related and I decided I don't care about the debates anymore as college is a tad more important (already made my decision as well) so I didn't see it...

 

[lurgar]

Really odd comment by Romney during the debate.

 

[flint757]

Not sure how his history translates for the whole country compared to an actual bill that got signed.

Reminds me of his comment about illegal immigrants working under him 'accidentally'. Not sure if looking for exclusively women is a good idea either, the idea is just to treat people equally. Some people just don't get it, but he phrased that quite odd.

 

[Adam Of Angels]

Yeah, imagine if he had said, "I had binders full of black people that we could choose from." I know he meant well, but I think he's too far out of touch to get it.