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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Wednesday, October 06, 2004 How it sounded on the radio Several people noted after the Bush-Kerry encounter that you just didn't experience the same debate if you listened on the radio or read the transcript. Having been forced, by reason of a late drive back from my last business appointment, to listen to the Edwards-Cheney debate on the radio, I can definitely confirm that observation. My first impression was that Cheney seemed somewhat patronizing at times, but that he sounded calm, firm, and in control of himself. And except for a couple of times, he sounded as though he were in possession of the facts. The italics are because I knew better, but for someone who hadn't been keeping up with the facts behind the sound bytes, he sounded authoritative. It was a bit of a surprise to read "first impression" posts, after I got home, that called him snide, peevish, and irritated. Just goes to show how much we convey in body language. [Edit] I've seen a couple of clips from the debate now, and Cheney did indeed seem to at least be stressed, compared to Edwards. Pursed lips and occasional flashes of annoyance, as Edwards continued to pick at topics he obviously didn't want to revisit. One thing that did come through in his voice, toward the end, was a quality I couldn't pin down at the time. It was just a vague feeling that I was hearing the real man under the rhetoric, the same feeling I had when Bush kept calling the Presidency a "hard job." Josh Marshall heard the same thing, and described it far more eloquently:The final point is that in the final half hour or so of the encounter Cheney seemed to grow somehow philosophical in his responses. And I don't mean that in an altogether uncomplimentary way. I thought that was the case in his answer about dividing the country and in a couple other answers that I'm not remembering at the moment. He seemed to be honestly airing the question and thinking them over, tossing out this idea or that, but not with any particular energy or verve. The problem was that had I been one of the Bush Cheney strategists I would be thinking, "How does this answer hurt John Kerry or help the president? What is Cheney talking about?" He seemed just disengaged somehow. I don't usually think much of the sort of comment that I'm about to make. But there was a moment during this 'philosophical' phase of Cheney's performance when I couldn't help but think: 'I just don't know if this guy's heart is really in it. I'm not sure they really want to win.' He was listless. It was like Cheney checked out of the debate about a half hour before Edwards did.Well, you could hardly blame him if he was, indeed, tired of the whole business. Why not just let Kerry win? Let him figure out how to clean up the mess, while Cheney could go back to a far less stressful job than cleaning up after George. Of course, if Bush loses, Cheney might have to answer some awkward questions about Halliburton far sooner than if he were still the vice-President. posted by Liz @ 12:59 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. 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Several people noted after the Bush-Kerry encounter that you just didn't experience the same debate if you listened on the radio or read the transcript. Having been forced, by reason of a late drive back from my last business appointment, to listen to the Edwards-Cheney debate on the radio, I can definitely confirm that observation. My first impression was that Cheney seemed somewhat patronizing at times, but that he sounded calm, firm, and in control of himself. And except for a couple of times, he sounded as though he were in possession of the facts. The italics are because I knew better, but for someone who hadn't been keeping up with the facts behind the sound bytes, he sounded authoritative. It was a bit of a surprise to read "first impression" posts, after I got home, that called him snide, peevish, and irritated. Just goes to show how much we convey in body language. [Edit] I've seen a couple of clips from the debate now, and Cheney did indeed seem to at least be stressed, compared to Edwards. Pursed lips and occasional flashes of annoyance, as Edwards continued to pick at topics he obviously didn't want to revisit. One thing that did come through in his voice, toward the end, was a quality I couldn't pin down at the time. It was just a vague feeling that I was hearing the real man under the rhetoric, the same feeling I had when Bush kept calling the Presidency a "hard job." Josh Marshall heard the same thing, and described it far more eloquently:The final point is that in the final half hour or so of the encounter Cheney seemed to grow somehow philosophical in his responses. And I don't mean that in an altogether uncomplimentary way. I thought that was the case in his answer about dividing the country and in a couple other answers that I'm not remembering at the moment. He seemed to be honestly airing the question and thinking them over, tossing out this idea or that, but not with any particular energy or verve. The problem was that had I been one of the Bush Cheney strategists I would be thinking, "How does this answer hurt John Kerry or help the president? What is Cheney talking about?" He seemed just disengaged somehow. I don't usually think much of the sort of comment that I'm about to make. But there was a moment during this 'philosophical' phase of Cheney's performance when I couldn't help but think: 'I just don't know if this guy's heart is really in it. I'm not sure they really want to win.' He was listless. It was like Cheney checked out of the debate about a half hour before Edwards did.Well, you could hardly blame him if he was, indeed, tired of the whole business. Why not just let Kerry win? Let him figure out how to clean up the mess, while Cheney could go back to a far less stressful job than cleaning up after George. Of course, if Bush loses, Cheney might have to answer some awkward questions about Halliburton far sooner than if he were still the vice-President.
The final point is that in the final half hour or so of the encounter Cheney seemed to grow somehow philosophical in his responses. And I don't mean that in an altogether uncomplimentary way. I thought that was the case in his answer about dividing the country and in a couple other answers that I'm not remembering at the moment. He seemed to be honestly airing the question and thinking them over, tossing out this idea or that, but not with any particular energy or verve. The problem was that had I been one of the Bush Cheney strategists I would be thinking, "How does this answer hurt John Kerry or help the president? What is Cheney talking about?" He seemed just disengaged somehow. I don't usually think much of the sort of comment that I'm about to make. But there was a moment during this 'philosophical' phase of Cheney's performance when I couldn't help but think: 'I just don't know if this guy's heart is really in it. I'm not sure they really want to win.' He was listless. It was like Cheney checked out of the debate about a half hour before Edwards did.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
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PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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