What did I miss? (Serious answers tolerated but not preferred.)
Posted by Jim Treacher at October 8, 2004 07:39 PMYou missed that there actually are some yoyos out there who give a shit about letting prescription drugs from Canada in instead of keeping nukes from Iran out.
Posted by: Mike G at October 8, 2004 07:44 PMDude, it was so awesome! There were these two guys, one was white, one was black, and they were funny, and there were these bad guys, and they chased the good guys, and they had these really cool cameras and weapons, and car chases and things blew up and--oh, wait. That was I Spy.
Never mind. Must have had the wrong station on.
Posted by: Meryl Yourish at October 8, 2004 08:00 PMMy cool readers live-commented for me because I didn't want to watch it. Come on over!
Posted by: La Shawn at October 8, 2004 08:07 PMKerry had painted his face to look like the French flag and prominently displayed the friendship bracelets he had exchanged with Kofi. Bush was nude except for a G-string and tassels.
The mud-wrestling lacked passion, but the pie-eating contest seemed to get at some important issues. The bathing suit competition was the same, tired affair it is every election year. Seriously, they need to dump that thing.
Kerry's Ping-Pong ball trick will win him some votes in the northwest (those guys are total anal fetishists, after all), but Bush came back handily. I mean literally (weird... I thought handjobs were against the rules this year).
Posted by: Russell Wardlow at October 8, 2004 09:17 PMKerry got wood because of a young hottie sitting in the front row. At first it seemed to seal a victory by adding to the whole JFK myth, but (she) rose to ask a question it turned out to be a "he" and Kerry ended the night doomed as the "french" candidate he started as. Charlie Gibson of ABC left with the he/she. The NYT's is giving him raves for a stellar performance as moderator - Stephanoupolus is pissed and jealous on all counts.
Other than that ... just the usual blah blah blah.
Posted by: Dan at October 8, 2004 09:23 PMThe debate began with the feats of strength. Kerry punched Gibson in the stomach and Bush lifted a car over his head, so Bush won that one.
Then Kerry made Bush look stupid by swiping at his face, poking his thumb between his fingers and yelling "Got your nose, bitch!!". The cameras were on Bush's blinking, confused visage for about 13 straight minutes of silence. I think much of the TV adience turned over the channel at this point which tended to give alot of people the impression Kerry got the better of it.
But then Bush's irrepressable populism kicked in. Yelling "It's great to be here in New York City folks! NEW YORK CITY!" to the cheers of the crowd, (the debate was in St. Louis) Bush grabbed long time stage manager Biff Henderson and a camera and bolted out of the studio for a madcap telivised hijink.
I admit I turned over the channel at this point. But I bet Bush won, Kerry sucks.
Posted by: Amos at October 8, 2004 10:45 PM
Bush won on style points from the beginning, when he rode onto the stage on a resplendent white stallion. It reared magnificently during Kerry's answers.
Posted by: Hubris at October 9, 2004 08:13 AMAt one point, regarding the draft, Bush said that he heard "rumors on the Internets". Is there more than one Internet out there?
Posted by: MD2020 at October 9, 2004 09:14 AMYou missed the Red Sox completing a sweep of the Angels on another channel.
Posted by: Mitch at October 9, 2004 09:56 AMyou missed bush asking "need some wood"??
check out a funny video about colelge kids addicted to using google at
Posted by: troy at October 9, 2004 10:31 AM"At one point, regarding the draft, Bush said that he heard 'rumors on the Internets'. Is there more than one Internet out there?"
Technically, yes. But he probably just meant "Internet sites" or something, though. Every now and then he gets tongue-tied, which may have been remarked upon once or twice over the years.
Posted by: Angus Jung at October 9, 2004 10:40 AMMy favorite part was when Kerry grabbed his crotch and threw his other hand in the air making motions like he was riding a bronco.
I was really starting to groove on the whole scene when Bush pretended he was playing Kerry's guitar from behind him during that cool Aerosmith tribute.
I thought the "Love Lifts Us Up Where We Belong" duet was a bit much, but Bush saved it by drawing his ninja sword and lopping off Kerry's arm. The "Kill Bill" blood spray was a nice touch. Kerry kept spinning and spinning, getting blood on people, and I think that lost him points. Nobody likes that.
Posted by: Jeff at October 9, 2004 03:53 PMKerry mimed all of his answers during the first half of the debate in a stirring tribute to Marcel Marceau, but Bush, who punctuated all of his rebuttals with crowd-pleasing six-shooter tricks, won handily. Polls showed that the crowd was turned off by Kerry's beret and black turtleneck, but responded well to Bush's stetson and dinnerplate beltbuckle.
Kerry fared better during the domestic policy portion of the debate. His "free ice cream and candy" plan was a big winner, and the crowd went wild when he announced that he'd bought each and every one of them a brand new Pontiac. Bush, meanwhile, poisoned several schoolchildren, tied a comely lass to the railroad tracks, kicked an old lady down the stairs, and drowned a sackful of puppies.
Posted by: Sean M. at October 9, 2004 06:44 PMKerry forgot his pants and it turns out he has a very small package that kind of looks like Micheal Moore with a cold.
Posted by: Tov Brog at October 9, 2004 06:53 PMKerry lost major points on the dismount, but his rendition of "She Bangs" was quite excellent. And you really should seek out the video of the "walk-off".
Posted by: dorkafork at October 9, 2004 07:15 PMI liked it when Bush called Kerry a bitch and slapped him. Then Kerry called Bush a bastard and slapped him. Then there was some more back and forth slapping and a fireplace came out of nowhere and they started making out in front of it to an AL Jarreau song.
Posted by: Kevin Parrott at October 9, 2004 07:18 PMBush opened a jar of termites, which fell on Kerry and ate him.
Posted by: John Nowak at October 10, 2004 10:17 AMSwordfight.
But not with swords.
Kerry's tall, but he was packing a short sword. Poor guy.
Posted by: Jimk at October 10, 2004 03:12 PMWhy not simply say, "the Edwards family" instead of struggling with the esses?
Posted by: krystalbird at October 10, 2004 05:59 PMThere were questions on foreign policy. There were questions on domestic policy. Then the Death Star blew up and the ewoks danced. The end.
Posted by: Jason at October 11, 2004 01:00 AMThe previous respondents had it all wrong. It went like this:
Bush came out in a powdered wig, some ridiculous high-heeled shoes, and had a tricornered hat under his arm. Kerry greeted him dressed in a Star Trek uniform (yes, it was red) and carried a guitar that was never actually played. The two shook hands, and Kerry then awkwardly tried to do some "urban handshake thang" according to the explanation offered by a seemingly-drunk-or-stoned Joe Lockhart. Bush totally dissed him.
Neither of them could ride the mechanical bull for more than eight seconds, though Bush lost points for riding in a "reverse cowgirl" position. Wonkette's screaming online orgasm was audible all over the East Coast.
When Rod Stewart asked what tree each candidate would like to be, Kerry mentioned those mean trees in the Wizard of Oz that threw apples at Dorothy and her stupid dog, "Frodo". Bush wasn't quite sure a tumbleweed was a tree, but decided (definitely without flip-flopping, according to Karl Rove) to be the Christmas Tree in the holiday classic A Christmas Story--"the one next to that lamp". Kerry and Bush both had a moment contemplating being placed next to "electic sex". Kerry felt bad he missed that one.
In the multiple choice part, Bush used the scantron form to write "KERRY SUX", while Kerry retaliated by using a number 2 and a half pencil. Both scored miserably.
Bush spun fourteen dinner plates while jumping on a pogo stick. Kerry yodeled the score to Raising Arizona, but was a bit off key. James Lileks made a remix, but it was mostly filled with Doctor McCoy saying "Damnit, Jim", a self-effacing reference that only he, Gnat, and some guy shopping at Target found funny.
Then Bush mentioned Dred Scott, saying "Runaway slaves deserve their day in court!" Kerry countered with a Tinker v. Des Moines and raised him a Marbury Madison. Bush slammed a Lawrence v. Texas and melded a Brown v. Board into a strong hand. Kerry pulled all his wife's chips off the board and played slots for the next hour while Bush saw Wayne Newton.
The rest was on Pay-Per-View with Howard Stern as the host. I think it involved shaving porn stars without using the candidate's hands or feet. Both performed well, so America will remain a strong and robust nation unless that Michael Badnarik guy shows up.
Posted by: jon at October 11, 2004 08:44 PM