Tammi's World

About Last Night

First and foremost - Thank You for the Apology ShadowBoxer. I appreciate it. I haven't responded earlier as I was on the road, and felt you deserved a post of your own, with thought applied. :-)

Also - do I have a great family or what?!? You guys rock. I had this image of standing there with ya'll behind me holding pitchforks. (ok - I'm a farm girl at heart, give me that one, will ya!)

I'd like to try and address some of the points that SB brought up in his comments. I'll give them the best response I can, given I've spent the day running numbers. :)

1. I think the outrage (real or otherwise) that some people are displaying about Kerry 'breaking the rules' by bringing a pen to the debate is vastly overblown. You're entitled to your opinion, and this is mine.

Yes, Kerry was aware of the rules as they were agreed, and that is why he saw the rules probably more in terms of their spirit and intention than their strict literal interpretation. The rules about not bringing anything to the table were designed to prevent props that could be used to illustrate a point, as well as anything that could be used to cheat, such as for example a crib sheet. I'm guessing Kerry always carries a pen with him, and he is used to making notes every day. I doubt very much that it occurred to him that this would be seen as violating the rules - since he was aware of the reasons for those rules.

Having said that, Kerry did violate the letter of the agreement, but not the spirit. Bush did so as well, as you've already acknowledged in your other post, once you were made aware of it - sometimes he merely violated the letter of the agreement, sometimes quite clearly the spirit thereof, which naturally is worse.

Yes - I did correct that in my post, and appreciate the acknowledgment. However, what I probably didn't explain as well as I could have is the fact that over time, looking at everything, it was like the straw that broke the camels back for me. Yes, both parties made mistakes. In this debate. But.....(and you know I got one) Over time, I just don't see the Character of Kerry as someone I WANT as my President.

Neither Man has been without fault. That being said, your earlier comments about GWB drinking and snorting after being "saved". I don't believe he's done it since he said that he quit. He acknowledges having misbehaved in his youth. Haven't most of us? I did. And I'm "saved" - although I hate that word in that context. I drink. I smoke (cigarettes). I curse like a sailor. Doesn't change my character. I care about people. Make responsible decisions, and would never forgive myself if I caused the kind of pain to ANYONE that Kerry caused with his whole Viet Nam escapades over the years. That's what I'm talking about.

2. To be consistent about sticking to agreed rules, let me throw a few examples out there for you:

a.) Bush this year missed the deadline for filing as a presidential candidate in the state of Florida. According to the rules, he would not be allowed on the ballot. What should be done about this?

According to the St. Pete's Times some of the paperwork was a day late. Yes. BUT....according to the Republican Convention schedule, Bush did not formally accept the nomination UNTIL Sept. 2 - the very day the papers were filed. He can't really file the papers, until he's offically nominated, can he? If he did, I have to think there would be people complaining about that also.

b.) In the presidential election in Florida in the year 2000, a number of absentee ballots showed up after election day, without post marks. According to the rules (designed to prevent fraud), those ballots should not have been counted. What should have been done with these?

Here you got me SB. I hadn't even heard that part. All I remember hearing was that we here in Florida didn't know how to vote - and that people were trying to keep felons from voting (which I agree with BTW). You send me a link where I can do some reading and I'd be happy to respond.

c.) In the presidential debate, Bush walked past the center line over to the left side of the stage to shake Kerry's hand, which was in clear violation of the agreement. Later on, Bush spoke out of turn, again in clear violation of the agreement. What should be done about this?

These are the infractions I acknowledged previously. IMHO - do the same thing they are doing with Kerry. Note it, don't do it again. However - my theme, which I must not be expressing very well is still that when I look back over the years - both men made mistakes, misjudgments, etc. HOWEVER - looking at the Men They Are Today, based on how they handled those mistakes and the choices they have made in their lives - I'll pick GWB every day.

BTW - the Blogkids - I can't claim 'em. One is a dear friend who actually mother's me better than I mother her. The other is someone who has become a dear friend, that says I helped to convince her to start a site of her own. I'm honored. (scared, but still honored)

Hope that clears up a bit of why I feel the way I do. You're right - most people are right that the incident doesn't deserve the attention it's getting. I just wrote out my thought process after the fact.

Posted by Tammi at October 6, 2004 07:58 PM