According to the AP, the candidates were less than candid about some things last night:
Debate viewers got a gloomy picture of the economy and, perhaps predictably, heard about none of the improvements that have come since Bush took office. For example, Sen. Joe Lieberman declared it would take a Democratic president to “get this economy going,” but the economy has been gaining momentum over the last several months since Bush’s third round of tax cuts took effect.
Weekly claims for unemployment insurance have fallen since April, and economic growth and productivity in the third quarter reached 20-year highs.
Several of the nine candidates criticized the tax cuts Bush pushed through Congress. But none mentioned that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who has served both Republican and Democratic presidents, has cited those cuts as a reason for the recent economic growth.
Using a favored attack line against Bush, Lieberman said “3.5 million people have lost their jobs” and Howard Dean commented twice on the 3 million jobs lost under Bush.
While it is true that about 3 million jobs were lost during the early months of the Bush presidency, that trend has been reversing for several months as the jobless rate has dropped from a peak of 6.4 percent in June to 5.9 percent last month.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who studies political rhetoric at the University of Pennsylvania, said the debate was filled with hyperbole and exaggeration typical of candidates trying to unseat an incumbent president.
In other words, don’t take these people seriously.
Hipocrite
When will you stop supporting people who support murdering people they don’t like?
http://www.nicedoggie.net/archives/003462.html
John Cole
How am I supporting him?
mark
Hey…JadeGold is back! Only with a different name (Hipocrite)!
In all seriousness, Atrios links to this same story, only he calls it the GOP debate spin or some crap like that.
The truth’s a bitch sometimes.
Emma
I think the criticism here is that overtly rhetorical points have no business being in a news story. Will you encourage such rhetorial bon mots on reportage of the President? You will thus despair when, in reporting on Iraq, the media don’t mention the number of dead or the weekly cost of the affair?
If Nedra wants to offer opinion, she should be writing on the editorial page.
Hipocrite
What exactly does the air-power rating in your blog-roll mean?
John Cole
It used to mean something about 11 months ago, but as I have added and subtracted and moved links over the past year, it now means approximately nothing.
The lefties and single issue blogs are still meaningful.
Hipocrite
Do you think you should get rid of it then? As it is now, you are putting The Angry Puppy over quality non-fuckheads like War Liberal, and on the same level as quality quality like Tacitus.
CANCER
Hipocrite,
Why don’t you email John instead of posting way off topic dipshit.
Emma,
Those aren’t opinions, she’s comparing their statements to reality. And yes, I do despair when, on the news pages I see things like, “President Bush said Tuesday after meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that he opposes the apparent interest of Taiwan’s leaders in taking steps toward independence, although he failed to acknowledge that Iraqi insurgents continue to inflict casualties on American soldiers since he declared an end to major combat operations on May 1 in a flight suit.”
HH
The Guardian is printing GOP spin… Eschaton is outdoing the Onion more and more these days.
Kimmitt
Well, yes, debates are fora for hyperbole, especially ones with nine people trying to make themselves heard.
I am very much looking forward to the Bush/Dem debate(s) in 2004, assuming the President agrees to any.
Andrew Lazarus
Job creation is still lagging behind far behind the Administration’s prediction, and somewhat behind the number needed because of natural growth of the labor force. IOW, the employment situation is still poor. Other numbers (I work at a place that does this for a living) look good right now.