The Final Round

The last of the 3 Presidential Debates has come to an end, and a very heated Presidential Election is just around the corner. I must say that I saw last night's debate as pretty boring and uninformative. And I must also be honest that I missed about thirty minutes of it (I saw the 1st 45 minutes and the last ten). I did catch much of the Post-Debate coverage and saw the results of many of the immediate polls.

From what I saw, the Debate looked pretty much like a draw, but I honestly felt like Bush had the edge. His defiance and insistence seemed to always trump Kerry's statistical approach. And despite the introduction of a few new angles (like the views on outsourcing and the Black demographic), the debate seemed to be a rehash of the last two.

Tactically, I think John Kerry made a serious mistake in his response to the Gay Marriage question. He brought up the Vice President's daughter, who happens to be a lesbian, in order to essentially say to the President that this issue is both a Republican and Democratic one and that the President's view was wrong. It was a purely strategical move because he could've made the same point without mentioning any names. Just out of common courtesy, you don't bring another man's family into such a public forum without permission. I don't think his misuse of Dick Cheney's daughter's situation will play out favorably for him in the coming days.

As for the President, I think he made a pretty insulting comment to the American public when asked about Outsourcing. The question that Bob Schieffer posed to the President asked, "What do you say to a person who lost their job as a result of outsourcing." The President responded by saying that he'd tell that person, here's some money and a chance for you to go get yourself an education. He said that he'd tell the person to attend a Community College and educate themselves so that they could be prepared for a competitive job market. I was SO taken aback at such a callous and insensitive remark. The implication here is that American citizens aren't academically capable of performing the jobs that are being outsourced. I'd like to remind the President that many of the people losing their jobs to Outsourcing have advanced College Degrees (not to be confused with Diploma's), and the sole reason for outsourcing is for the monetary benefits for companies and corporations. As in the words of Stephanie Tanner (Full House), Mr. President, "How Rude!!!"

All in all, I thought the debates were far better than anyone had anticipated. I also think the 3 moderators were outstanding. And in case you're wondering, yes i did see the Vice Presidential debate. I thought VP Dick Cheney beat Sen. John Edwards going away, but I didn't think any of what either said really mattered much. There was just a lot of mudslinging.

I do hope, as always, that people will continue to consider each point that has exited the Candidate's lips, seek the truth about those points, determine whether those points agree/disagree with their own personal views, and only then make a decision as to whom to vote for.

Finally, continue to log on here at "The Vortex" as the issues will each be individually addressed, as well as my own synopsis of each of the two major Candidates, while I will also introduce you to a myriad of 3rd Party Candidates and where they stand.

Godspeed!
-Maelstrom