Debate #2 - Friday night

...written in real time during the debate...

Kerry, good answer to first question about wishy-washiness.
Bush, same old words. He still has no idea that he also did not support, then did support the $87 billion vote. Tax cuts - not for unmarried childless middle class people.

WMD - Bush? Diplomacy first? You've got to be kidding. 75% of Al Qaeda? Bush is whiny.
Kerry has to answer Bush's mind-changing charges all the time, but he answered well.
Bush - Still doesn't understand what "global test" means.
Great answer by Kerry.

Iraq nation building. Kerry's plans for Iraq. Nice that he mentions Republicans saying that Bush is incompetent. Kerry's plans for bringing allies together are sensible.
Bush talks about Iraq elections and reconstruction, that they love to be free. Bush knows "how these people think." He talks to them all the time.
Kerry good answer about the "right war" against Osama.
Bush whiny. Twists Kerry's words: "War on terror is not 'only Osama Bin Laden'." Kerry never said that.

Aggravation from other countries. (Is this a domestic policy debate?)
Bush? Values? Oh come on. Unpopular decisions. Right thing to do. Funny that he mentions The Hague; maybe he'll be forced to stand trial there someday. That would be justice.
Kerry brought up Bush's debate here four years ago. Excellent. Bringing up Hans Blix was a good idea.

Bush joke about scowling. Dumb. He's a whiner. Nucular ambitions...ugh.

Draft. Well, it's nice to hear Bush say we're not going to have a draft. Transform military, bringing people back home. When?
Somebody must have told Bush to just stare at Kerry the whole time.
Kerry says stop-loss policy is a backdoor draft.
Bush interrupted the moderator. Not cool.
Bush says Kerry is denegrating the alliance.
Kerry: 8 countries are leaving. Missouri would equal 3rd largest country. Kerry would be a better Commander in Chief. That has a nice ring to it.

Intelligence comes from cooperation. Good idea. Bush doesn't get it.
Bush: mind furiously working working working...
Homeland security budget tripled. 1993 vote to cut intelligence budget. Working hard. Patriot Act, vital. Iraq haven for terrorists. Bush still doesn't understand. He says it requires complete understanding. All he wants to do is run over the enemy wherever they are.
Kerry. Good response. Not enough time.

Domestic policy.
Drugs from Canada. Bush wants to make sure they're safe.
Kerry. Four years ago. Bush wants drugs from Canada. Tells us about the Senate bill that Bush vetoed.
Bush says Clinton does the same thing. What has Kerry done in 20 years in the Senate.
Kerry says "we did something that you don't know how to do: we balanced the budget."

Question about Edwards. Kerry says Edwards is author of patients bill of rights. They're both for tort reform. Kerry: "I have a plan..."
Bush: Kerry is most liberal Senator. Bush doubts Kerry's plan. Frivolous lawsuits - doctors practice defensive medicine. Government sponsored health care would lead to rationing.
Bush says Kerry hasn't addressed it because the trial lawyers won't act on it.

Bush hasn't vetoed a single spending bill. $700 billion spent and not paid for by taxes.
Bush says the deficit is because of the recession and war. Bush doesn't veto because they work together.
Kerry says Bush started with a $5.6 trillion surplus. Now we have $2.6 trillion deficit. Bush says he cut taxes for everybody.

Tax burden question. Kerry will raise child care credit, new tuition tax credit, lower health care. He's shown how he will pay for things. Kerry 1990s pay as you go. Nice mention of three people who would be negatively affected by Kerry's plan. Bush calling Kerry a liar. New spending. Bush: "battling green eye shades." huh?
Kerry says Bush's figures aren't accurate. Kerry and McCain to close corporate loopholes.
Kerry: balanced budget. Did Republicans vote for this? Bush: Kerry voted 98 times to balance the budget.

Environment. Bush talks about off-road diesel engines, increasing the wetlands "by 3 million". Inner-city sore spots. Clear skies initiative. Farm bill conservation reserve program to improve wildlife and habitat. Healthy forest bill; forests not harvested become like tinder boxes. Technology: hydrogen autos, clean coal technology. "Good steward of the land."
Good answer by Kerry.
Bush: Kyoto would cost jobs. Air is cleaner.
Kerry was in Kyoto. Bush didn't try to fix Kyoto; he walked away from 160 nations doing 10 years of work. He declared Kyoto dead.

Manufacturing, wages, competitiveness. Bush does a lot of blinking. Kerry talking about sending jobs overseas. Cost of health care is big cause of lack of competitiveness. Kerry brought up education, energy independence, entrepreneurial spirit.
Bush: Medical liability reform, pooling of small businesses. Energy plan. Less regulations. Legal reform. Don't tax job creators.
Kerry. 96% of small businesses not affected by Kerry plan. Bush and Cheney are counted as small business.
Bush doesn't know that he owns a timber company. "Need some wood?"

Patriot Act. Bush says it's necessary to give law enforcement every tool necessary. He says it doesn' t abridge your rights at all.
Kerry doesn't like the way the Patriot Act has been applied. People's rights are being abused. "Never let the terrorists change the Constitution."

Stem cells. Nobody has been cured using embryonic stem cells.
Kerry. Michael J. Fox "Don't take away my hope." Chris Reeve exercises every day and thinks he can walk again. Embryos frozen from fertility clinics will be destroyed or left frozen.
Kerry stumbling a bit fishing for words today. Bush: blank stare is unappealing.
Bush says embryonic stem cell research involves destruction of life to save lives. Wants to be careful in balancing the ethics and the science. Science is important but so is ethics.
Kerry says the 22 lines of stem cells that are active are contaminated by mouse cells and are not enough. He will open things up.
Bush says the 22 lines already existed. He says he's balancing science and ethics. A lot of people would like this.

Supreme Court. Bush: "I'm not tellin." He wants all of the judges to vote for him. He would pick someone who would not allow personal opinions to interfere with their decisions. He brought up Pledge of Allegiance, Dred Scott case (slavery and personal property rights). Judges interpret the Constitution.
Kerry. Bush said "What we need is some good conservative judges, and that his favorite justices are Scalia and Thomas." Kerry likes Potter Stewart: "mark of a good judge is that when you're reading their decision, you can't tell who wrote it." Kerry brought up women's right to choose.

Abortion is murder. Kerry is religious. He cannot legislate his faith for someone who doesn't believe what he believes. Kerry wants represent all people in the Nation. Kerry doesn't want a rigid idealogical limitations on world-wide family planning. He respects the question.
Bush says we won't spend taxpayers money on abortion. He didn't understand Kerry's answer. Bush signed "unborn victims of violence act". Every child protected by law and welcomed into life. Maternity group homes. Partial birth abortion. Kerry is against, but wants exemption. He doesn't want parental notice. Bush doesn't understand. Kerry understands more possibilities.

Bush's thousand decisions affect millions of lives. Cite three examples of wrong decisions? Okay, is Bush gonna answer this? Maybe not. Today's report confirmed Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
Kerry: President made a huge mistake in not living up to his own standard to build a true coalition and not go into war unless it was a last resort.
Bush: mentions the vote against the $87 billion. "Saddam Hussein was a risk to our country, mam."

Closing statements.
Kerry. Our country is strongest when we lead the world.
Bush. Presidential election is about the future. He just doesn't understand that he's taking liberties away rather than standing up for liberties.