The Fix Was In

From Thursday night's debates, I came away with the strong impression that PBS's Jim Lehrer had a dog in that fight, so to speak.

I'll pull no punches. To the great unwashed, the undecided.... the debate was a clear Kerry victory. He looked and sounded more confident and was smoother and more polished in every way.

Of course, a deeper look into the facts and transcripts will show that Kerry was all promises and no particulars.... as in, how in the hell does he propose to force Russia to deal with the loose plutonium problem?

I'll guar-an-damn-tee you that President Bush has been doing everything in his power to effect exactly that outcome. I'll further postulate that Mr. Bush simply cannot delve into the details of such programs for obvious security reasons.

That's just one observation. But what really reinforces my belief in Lehrer's complicity in Kerry's tour-de-force in the debates are Leherer's questions to each candidate.

Here, I've extraced just the original questions given to each candiate. Not the follow-ups, but just the initial questions put to Senator Kerry and President Bush.

First, here are some excerpts from Jim Lehrer's introductory statements:

Tonight's will last 90 minutes, following detailed rules of engagement worked out by representatives of the candidates. I have agreed to enforce their rules on them.

The umbrella topic is foreign policy and homeland security, but the specific subjects were chosen by me, the questions were composed by me, the candidates have not been told what they are, nor has anyone else.

For each question there can only be a two-minute response, a 90-second rebuttal and, at my discretion, a discussion extension of one minute.

A green light will come on when 30 seconds remain in any given answer, yellow at 15, red at five seconds, and then flashing red means time's up. There is also a backup buzzer system if needed.

Candidates may not direct a question to each other. There will be two-minute closing statements, but no opening statements.

of course, the above emphasis is mine.

I had intended to write an analysis of these questions on a point by point basis, but I've run short of time to do so. But I think just reading them as they appear will suffice to illustrate the obvious bias.

Feel free to fisk 'em in the comments, folks.

SERIES ONE..... QUESTIONS TO JOHN KERRY.

Good evening, Mr. President, Senator Kerry.

As determined by a coin toss, the first question goes to you, Senator Kerry. You have two minutes.

1. Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?

2. LEHRER: New question, two minutes, Senator Kerry.

"Colossal misjudgments." What colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?

3. LEHRER: We'll come back to Iraq in a moment. But I want to come back to where I began, on homeland security. This is a two-minute new question, Senator Kerry.

As president, what would you do, specifically, in addition to or differently to increase the homeland security of the United States than what President Bush is doing?

4. LEHRER: All right, new question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry.

Speaking of Vietnam, you spoke to Congress in 1971, after you came back from Vietnam, and you said, quote, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Are Americans now dying in Iraq for a mistake?

5. LEHRER: New question. Senator Kerry, two minutes. You just -- you've repeatedly accused President Bush -- not here tonight, but elsewhere before -- of not telling the truth about Iraq, essentially of lying to the American people about Iraq. Give us some examples of what you consider to be his not telling the truth.

6. LEHRER: New question. Two minutes, Senator Kerry.

What is your position on the whole concept of preemptive war?

7. LEHRER: New question, two minutes.

Senator Kerry, you mentioned Darfur, the Darfur region of Sudan. Fifty thousand people have already died in that area. More than a million are homeless. And it's been labeled an act of ongoing genocide. Yet neither one of you or anyone else connected with your campaigns or your administration that I can find has discussed the possibility of sending in troops.

Why not?

8. LEHRER: New question, two minutes, Senator Kerry.

If you are elected president, what will you take to that office thinking is the single most serious threat to the national security to the United States?

SERIES TWO..... QUESTIONS TO PRESIDENT BUSH.

I. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President, two minutes.

Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on November the 2nd would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?

II. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. Two minutes.

What about Senator Kerry's point, the comparison he drew between the priorities of going after Usama bin Laden and going after Saddam Hussein?

III. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. Two minutes.

What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq?

IV. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President, two minutes. You have said there was a, quote, "miscalculation," of what the conditions would be in post-war Iraq. What was the miscalculation, and how did it happen?

V. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. Two minutes.

Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost of American lives, 1,052 as of today?

VI. LEHRER: Mr. President, new question. Two minutes. Does the Iraq experience make it more likely or less likely that you would take the United States into another preemptive military action?

VII. LEHRER: New question, Mr. President. Do you believe that diplomacy and sanctions can resolve the nuclear problems with North Korea and Iran? Take them in any order you would like.

VIII. LEHRER: New question, President Bush. Clearly, as we have heard, major policy differences between the two of you. Are there also underlying character issues that you believe, that you believe are serious enough to deny Senator Kerry the job as commander in chief of the United States?

IX. LEHRER: All right. Mr. President, this is the last question. And two minutes. It's a new subject -- new question, and it has to do with President Putin and Russia. Did you misjudge him or are you -- do you feel that what he is doing in the name of antiterrorism by changing some democratic processes is OK?

They might as well have had Dan Rather as the moderator. The bias would have been indistinguishable.

Comments

[Joel (No Pundit Intended)]

Jim,

Good to hear from you.

FYI about Nuke material in Russia.

In 2000 there was an agreement between Russia and the US to secure nuclear material in former soviet nations. In 2001 president Bush pledged over 500 million to the effort(www.gao.gov). In 2004, US and Russia held a conference regarding spent nuclear materials and both Bush and Putin reaffirmed their understanding of the importance and committment to getting it done.

The US and Russia have also been working together for a couple of years on securing Russian nuke sites. There is an inspection team from the US that goes around and makes security suggestions. Putin is now taking that a bit more seriously too.

[homebru]

Glad you're back, Jim.

The agreement was that Lehrer would get to make up the questions. Given that, I'm only sorry that I didn't hear better (2x4 up-side of the head) answers.

I. "Not before Mr. Kerry completed his pullout of American troops."

II. "We are no longer in search of Mr. Hussein."

III. "The strategic plans of the United States are not available for prior review by members of the press."

IV. "We thought there would be fewer fighters left in post-war Iraq. We expected to kill more of them on the way in."

V. "I'm willing to try for 1,053. How fast can you be packed for a short trip?"

VI. "The strategic plans of the United States are not available for prior review by members of the press."

VII. "Yes."

VIII. "Senator Kerry served in VietNam in a manner that many have called honorable."

"However, since his return, it has become increasingly difficult to restrain from pressing criminal charges against him."

"First in the matter of his perjury before Congress when he testified about imaginary war crimes he and others committed in VietNam."

"Second in the matter of his unlawful contact with the North Vietnamese diplomats in Paris while he was still holding a commission as an officer of the US Navy."

"And third in the matter of his unlawfully collecting a salary for most of the last year while not performing his duties as a United States Senator."

"Without commenting on his performance as a junior Senator, I am concerned that his repeated violations of the law and his apparent pride in those violations revel such a depth of flaw in his character that the possibility of his performance as President of the United States should be viewed with extreme alarm."

IX. "Russia is not America and I am not President Putin. I offer him and his country friendship when they are willing to accept it."

[Rivrdog]

Lehrer had a dog in the fight? Ya think?

I didn't watch the debate. I cleaned my just-purchased Hi-Standard target pistol and watched the Navy-Air force football bame instead.

I did, however, have a belly full (smaller belly now, stands less b.s.) of the Main Media, which for the past week has been blathering on about Kerry and his super-duper debating prowess. The media didn't make many claims for Kerry's points, but just kept saying he would win the debate with them.

Well, we can't have failed liberal expectations, can we? That would cause liberal angst, which AlGore can tell you is bad. Makes you want to grow a beard and become a college perfesser.

So, the Main Media declared Kerry the hands-down winner. Oops, the Cap'n has too.

So friggin' what? They would have declared him the winner if he had failed to show up.

The Rivrdog debated in college. I was pretty good at it. A regular "ruby-throated Tounge-Thrasher". So is Kerry. So what. Aside from being known as a favorite of the District Attorney when he put me on the witness stand in criminal cases I investigated/arrested in, the skill has gotten me nowhere in life. It is not the measure of a man.

George W. Bush has the measure of John "Francophile" Kerry, and it will be proven on election Day.

Bush by 25 Electoral votes. You saw it here first.

[ErrUhmThisIsHard]

Boo Hoo. Bush showed what a bumbling fool he is without his handlers, and Jimmy is upset.

Dubya got his ass handed to him. Trying to spin his glaring loss as being caused by the questions is a sad sight to witness. Almost as sad as Bush's performance. What must the American people be thinking? "THAT blithering idiot is MY president? Holy crap, we're in trouble." The polls bear that out.

Bummer.

Be sure to delete this before any of your zombie followers get a wiff of the truth.

[Rey]

Since when does troll shit have anything to do with truth? As for Bush being stupid how does he keep beating all the "brilliant liberals"? Just a couple of questions for a Sunday afternoon. Welcome back Jim hope things are getting better. Rey

[Cathy]

ErrUhm.....First, lets clear this up. noone had their asses handed to them in this debate. Sorry but you are wrong on that account. It just shows how desperate the democrats are, when they make statements such as the ones you just made.

Everyone knows that Bush is not a great talker or debater. We don't vote men into Presidencies because of their ability to debate. Hopefully, neither do you.

And, where is Kerry right now on the Iraqi war? You first have to know what day it is, who he is meeting with, where he is campaigning at, and how things have went yesterday in Iraq to answer that. If we had a good day in Iraq then he is all for military occupation there, if however, things didn't look so good yesterday then surprise, he becomes anti-war again!

Is this the goofball you want to call President?

[ErrUhmThisIsHard]

Cathy,

It amazes me how Repubs, no matter how their boy screws up, refuse to acknowledge his shortcomings. The Emperor Has No Clothes. Every poll in America acknowledges that Dubya lost. Without exception. But you zealots just refuse to see reality. I predict a lot of suicides on November 3. Lotta dead elephants.

Oh, and the goofball is already pres. I'm voting to get him out. Thanks for asking.

[Cathy]

No, there won't be any suicides in November. As much as I dislike and disagree with everything he is and everything he stands for, IF John Kerry should win this election, and, I say that completely believing he won't, I will stand by whoever is the leader of this Country! Since I have a son in Iraq right now I will be scared to death for John Kerry to be in charge.But, I will Pray that somehow he puts America first and does right by our Military and this country. Personally, I don't think the man can get off his "self-importance" theme long enough to care one bit about anyone other than John Kerry!