No, I think it's just a reaction to Fox attempting to link Obama to terrorism several times recently.
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No, I think it's just a reaction to Fox attempting to link Obama to terrorism several times recently.
Cancelled Presidential debates smack of manipulation by ?run and hide? candidates
AUSTIN (TX) -- The cancellation in the past two days of two planned nationally televised debates because of candidates? ?scheduling conflicts? and unwillingness to participate smacks of ?manipulation by some candidates who would rather run and hide than defend their records and their positions on the war,? Ohio Congressman and Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said today while campaigning in Texas.
Widely publicized Presidential debates in New Hampshire in April and in Nevada in August were cancelled after some candidates either backed out after agreeing to participate or declined invitations to attend.
?Whatever their excuses, some candidates are clearly trying to avoid any head-to-head public debate where they will have to answer tough questions -- questions about their votes in favor of the Iraq war, their votes in favor of trade policies that have wiped out millions of American jobs, their votes in favor of abridging Constitutional rights by approving the Patriot Act, and their collaboration with insurance companies and pharmaceutical corporations to deny Americans adequate health care protection.?
Kucinich said ?it?s an insult to the voters, and the height of cynicism, for candidates to refuse to take the public stage and subject themselves to public scrutiny.?
The New Hampshire debate was announced on January 12. Only two days ago, Kucinich pointed out, did some candidates back out because of ?scheduling conflicts.?
?Is it possible that the real conflict was having to take the stage to defend their votes to fund the war?? Kucinich asked. Votes in the House and the Senate on a $100 billion supplemental appropriation are expected soon.
Other candidates were trying to sidestep the Nevada debate because they claimed that the sponsoring television network, Fox News Channel, was conservatively biased.
?If you want to be the President of the United States, you can?t be afraid to deal with people with whom you disagree politically,? Kucinich said. ?No one is further removed from Fox?s political philosophy than I am, but fear should not dictate decisions that affect hundreds of millions of Americans and billions of others around the world who are starving for real leadership.?
Kucinich said ?the public deserves honest, open, and fair public debate, and the media have a responsibility to demand that candidates come forward now, before the next war vote in Congress, to explain themselves.?
?I?m prepared to discuss the war, health care, trade, or any other issue anytime, anywhere, with any audience, answering any question from any media. And any candidate who won?t shouldn?t be President of the United States.?
EDITORIAL: Meltdown over Fox
Network co-sponsors state Democratic debate -- oh my!
Hard-core liberals can't stand the Fox News Channel. Passing a television that's tuned to the conservative favorite forces many of them to close their eyes, cover their ears and scream, "La la la la la la la la la!" Then they dash to their computers and fire off 2,500 e-mails condemning the outlet, none of which are ever read.
But liberals' aversion to Fox News has finally gone over the top. The Nevada Democratic Party had agreed to let the right-tilting network co-sponsor, of all things, an August debate in Reno between Democratic presidential candidates. Party officials were serious about drawing national attention to the state's January presidential caucus, the country's second in the 2008 nominating process. What better way for the party to reach conservative and "values" voters who might consider changing allegiances?
But the socialist, Web-addicted wing of the Democratic Party was apoplectic. The prospect of having to watch Fox News to see their own candidates would have been torture in itself. So they set the blogosphere aflame with efforts to kill the broadcast arrangement, or at least have all the candidates pull out of the event. Before Friday, the opportunistic John Edwards was the only candidate to jump on that bandwagon.
You'd think the deal called for having Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter mock the candidates between comments. No, even unfiltered, unedited, live debate between loyal Democrats couldn't be entrusted to Fox News.
The approach of outfits such as MoveOn.org is so juvenile it's laughable. Imagine if every political organization created litmus tests for news organizations before agreeing to appear on their programming. Republicans would have boycotted PBS, CBS, NBC, ABC, National Public Radio and The Associated Press decades ago.
This hyperventilation results from the fact that far-left Democrats have no comparable media outlet, nor any widespread national appeal, for their radical views in favor of heavy-handed regulation, wealth redistribution, diplomatic capitulation and economic protectionism. So they attack their rivals' messenger with a reckless barrage of rhetoric that cuts down their own allies with friendly fire.
By Friday, the Nevada Democratic Party caved in to the lunatic fringe and beganseeking a more "appropriate" television partner.
Comedy Central, perhaps?
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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Show a little respect Lan. His full name is Barack HUSSEIN Obama. Let's not insult him by ignoring his origins and heritage.Quote:
Originally posted by LanDroid:
No, I think it's just a reaction to Fox attempting to link Obama to terrorism several times recently.
Apparently Obama does not see Osama bin Laden as most Americans see him:
"Fox's Roger Ailes made a remark last week about the similarities between the Illinois senator's name and al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden.
"I didn't take great offense at the joke," Obama said in an Associated Press interview while campaigning in Iowa. "I have been called worse."
Really? I would be quite offended if someone compared me to that filthy, murderous coward hiding in a cave somewhere...
Pretty soon, everyone will be running for president [img]eek.gif[/img]
Updated: 6:08 a.m. PT March 12, 2007
WASHINGTON - Not enough "star" power for Fred Thompson in a GOP presidential field that includes some of his friends? Whatever the case, the actor and former Tennessee senator is considering getting into the 2008 race.
Thompson, who plays district attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's drama "Law & Order," said Sunday, "I'm giving some thought to it, going to leave the door open" and decide in the coming months. "It's not really a reflection on the current field at all," he said.
"I'm just going to wait and see what happens," Thompson added. "I wanted to see how my colleagues who are on the campaign trail do now, what they say, what they emphasize, what they're addressing, and how successful they are in doing that, and whether or not they can carry the ball in next November."
Thompson, 64, said he was pondering a run after former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and other Tennessee Republicans began drumming up support for his possible GOP candidacy, citing his conservative credentials.
"I think people are somewhat disillusioned. I think a lot of people are cynical out there. I think they're looking for something different. ... and I think that they're going to be open to different things," he said.
"It will be interesting to me as I listen to people and learn and watch what's going on and what's the reaction, and the poll numbers and so forth, as to whether or not my instinct on that is right."
Where he stands
On the issues, Thompson said he:
Is "pro-life," and believes federal judges should overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision as "bad law and bad medical science."
Opposes gay marriage, but would let states decide whether to allow civil unions. "Marriage is between a man and a woman, and I don't believe judges ought to come along and change that."
Opposes gun control, and praised last week's 2-1 federal appeals decision overturning a long-standing handgun ban. "The court basically said the Constitution means what it says, and I agree with that."
Supports President Bush's decision to increase troops in Iraq. "Wars are full of mistakes. You rectify things. I think we're doing that now," he said. "Why would we not take any chance, even though there's certainly no guarantees, to not be run out of that place? I mean, we've got to take that opportunity and give it a chance to work."
Would pardon former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice now, rather than waiting until all his appeals are exhausted. Thompson is a fundraiser for Libby's defense.
Minority counsel during Watergate
Thompson said he was not setting a deadline to make a decision and believes he won't be at a disadvantage if he waited until summer. "The lay of the land will be different in a few months than it is today, one way or the other."
He added, "One advantage you have in not ... having this as lifelong ambition is that if it turns out that your calculation is wrong, it's not the end of the world."
Thompson, the minority counsel in the Watergate investigation, was elected to the Senate in 1994 to fill the unexpired term of Vice President Al Gore. He was chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and left the Senate in 2003 to resume his acting career.
Thompson has acted in films such as "The Hunt for Red October," "Cape Fear," and "In the Line of Fire."
Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who is pursuing the Democratic nomination for president, said Thompson was as qualified as anyone "to credibly throw his hat in the ring." Added Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: "I think he makes a great president in the movies and he might make a great one in real life."
Thompson was interviewed on "Fox News Sunday"; Biden and Graham spoke on CNN's "Late Edition."
You know, maybe the country is reddie for Freddie, maybe he'd make a great President, but I'm sorry, I am not going to vote for a man who, at his press conferences, is going to talk with that swarmy draw and say things like "McClain......McClain.......McClain.....
(Editor's Note: If you haven't seen Die Hard II, that subreference wasn't funny because you didn't understand it; if you did see Die Hard II, that subreference wasn't funny because, well, most of my stuff isn't; either way, the moral behind my message is, the first Die Hard may be the greatest move ever, the last 2 sucked and I am not that geeked-up over the 4th one, which comes out this summer, 19 YEARS after the first one).
found this after reading your thread travFox really seems stick in some peoples throats
Hint to Beachcomber: Roger Ailes called Obama by his full name. I'm sure Obama has been called worse. [img]confused.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">what about this guy next potusQuote:
Originally posted by Beachcomber:
Good. So far not one of them has been worthy of voting for.
<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ March 12, 2007 12:04 PM: Message edited by: Beachcomber ]</font></font>