Did you watch the debates? Honestly, I did not watch the debates. At least not when they were on television. They just didn’t plan them around my schedule very well. But, luckily in today’s technology age I was able to see the debates this week. I watched the first one yesterday and the second one today on the C-Span.org website. And, you know me, I have got to give my opinion. I was going to keep my mouth shut, but I just can’t do it. Bush is driving me crazy.

I don’t think it comes as a big shock to anybody that I am a Democrat. I whole heartedly support Senator John Kerry in this election. However, I was hoping the debates would offer us an opportunity to really see where both Bush and Kerry stood on the issues. This is their one (or I guess three) chance(s) to tell us, the American citizens, why we should vote for them. No more hardball. No more name calling. No more attacks on their opponent. But I was wrong. Unfortunately, this whole election has been played on the playground. If pushing and shoving were allowed, it certainly would have happened in this election. It’s ridiculous.

In both the first and second debates Bush was like a little kid in elementary school that knows the answer. If he wasn’t the President I’m sure he would have just shot his arm up, shaking it rapidly in the air shouting “oh, oh, me, me, me.” At one point in the middle of the second debate Bush jumped up and talked right over the top of Charles Gibson, who was the moderator for that debate, because he was so upset about what Kerry had just said. He continually had a look on his face like he must speak now or he’ll forget what he wants to say. When I think about who I want to be President of this country, who I want to calmly talk to world leaders, who I want to lead us in to (and hopefully, soon out of) war, I want somebody who can remain calm. Someone who can act like a grown up. Someone who doesn’t crack under pressure. Somebody who is not a hot head. Bush is a hot head. He can’t even debate calmly.

Unfortunately, I could hardly concentrate on what was actually being said. I kept getting distracted by Bush’s reaction to everything. I was thinking about the things he was emphasizing, like when he made a huge deal about how he does not own a timber company (which he does, btw, as you can see on www.factcheck.org). He made such a big deal out of that it completely distracted people from his real message. He would say things like “whew” when Kerry was done speaking. After Kerry answered a question about abortion, Bush started his rebuttal with “I’m trying to decipher all of that.” Decipher what?? Did Kerry use big words you couldn’t understand? His emphasis on absolutely trivial things was so aggravating. I have a little advice for you Mr. President. You have some strong convictions. And you need to stand by them. You need to speak out about them. You need help the American people understand your views. But you are not achieving that by acting like a little kid on a big stage. You need to check your snide remarks at the door and act like a grown man when you step foot to the podium.

Bush thinks everything is so black and white. He states John Kerry is changing his position because Kerry voted for the war and is now opposed to it. But that is not at all what Kerry is saying. Kerry (like much of the rest of us) believes that Saddam Hussein is a bad guy. And Kerry was deceived (also like the rest of us) in to believing there really were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. But the weapons weren’t there. That was the sole reason we went to war, but now all of sudden Bush has a whole bunch of new reasons. Bush is the one changing his position to justify his reaction rather then just owning up to it. While challenging Kerry’s response on abortion, Bush said “It’s very easy. Do you support a ban on partial birth abortions? Yes or no.” No it is not that easy. Kerry looks at the whole issue. He takes the time to examine it from every angle. It is not a yes or no question. Kerry used the example of choosing an abortion in cases of life or death for the mother. Should mother’s be forced to give up their own lives because it’s against the law to abort a fetus? Why is the survival of a fetus more important then that of a woman?

On C-Span you can also watch some of the “Spin Room” coverage to see the reactions of people who watched the debates. One woman stated she thought Kerry’s answer to the abortion question was ridiculous. She said he should have just stated his position differs, but he went on to say he’s Catholic and pro-life and pro-choice. I think her reaction is ridiculous. Again, it is not black and white. Such important and life changing issues like abortion are never black and white. What Kerry was saying is he disagrees with abortion personally, but he is a public figure in politics and needs to think of not just himself, but all Americans. He believes it is not his decision to make, but the decision should be left to the mother. He believes it is not government’s right to butt it’s ugly head in to our bedrooms or our bodies. He is certainly not telling Americans to run out and have an abortion. In fact he is saying he is a Catholic and believes we should not have an abortion. But there is a difference between what a candidate personally believes and how best to run our country. Some decisions need to be left to citizens, not government. We are not puppets to be pulled along by our strings by government. We actually have our own thoughts and can make sound decisions on our own. President Bush even alluded to that in his round about response to “who would you appoint to the United States Supreme Court” question. He basically said he would want a judge who would judge fairly and not just on their personal opinion. That is exactly what Kerry is doing with his position on the Abortion issue.

And since we are on the subject…while speaking about only appointing fair judges who won’t judge on their personal opinion, he used the example of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. The phrase “in God we trust” is in direct conflict with our Constitution. We are supposed to have a division between church and state. Requiring kids to say “in God we trust” every day contradicts that. I personally have no problem with the Pledge of Allegiance, but I can fully understand why others do. And if a judge rules to exclude the Pledge of Allegiance from schools I absolutely respect that decision. But that is judging based on personal opinion??? According to Bush it is. I guess what Bush means is he won’t appoint a judge who doesn’t have the same personal opinions as Bush.

So all in all, the debates have done little to sway me in Bush’s direction. In fact they have solidified my position on Kerry. I find Kerry to be a stronger candidate now that I have watched the debates. We cannot have a child running our country. We need a strong leader. Bush will not do. He has not done for four years. His time has come and hopefully he’ll go.