From Drudge:
DEBATE MYSTERY: DID KERRY HAVE CHEAT SHEET?
Section 5, pages 4-5 of the binding "Memorandum of Understanding" that was negotiated and agreed upon by both political campaigns states:
"No props, notes, charts, diagrams, or other writings or other tangible things may be brought into the debate by either candidate.... Each candidate must submit to the staff of the Commission prior to the debate all such paper and any pens or pencils with which a candidate may wish to take notes during the debate, and the staff or commission will place such paper, pens and pencils on the podium..."
So what did Dem presidential contender John Kerry take out of his jacket as he approached the stage [with his back to the auditorium's audience]?
What did Kerry place on the podium?
So, Kerry and his minions are bragging about how Bush got his ass handed to him in the first debate, but they are leaving out the inconvenient fact that Kerry had to cheat in order to win!
Video proof of Kerry's complete lack of ethics can be viewed here and here.
Slime, thy name is Kerry.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Hal Pawluk
Get real - it was his pen and he took it out in full view of the audience.
Losers shouldn't be whiners, too.
2 - mike hollihan
Nope, Hal.
a/ It was not a pen. Take a better look.
b/ Pens and paper were already provided and waiting on the podium, per the debate rules.
The question is "What did Kerry know and how did he know it?"
3 - Hal Pawluk
I know - it was Druge crap.
Geez, stop reading that guy's blog and get a life.
4 - Justin Delabar
First Bush lost because he was "emotionally drained" due to meeting hurricane victims, and now it's because Kerry "cheated." The next excuse will focus on why Bush looked so uncomfortable and probably be something along the lines of him having inflammatory hemroids.
Seriously, Drudge is the bottom of the barrell.
5 - RJ
No, Bush lost because Bush is horrible in public speaking situations where he has to think on his feet. And Kerry is a well-known master-debater.
That being said, KERRY CHEATED. Watch the video. He is OBVIOUSLY BREAKING THE RULES of the debate.
This is the guy you want as leader of the free world? A guy who is so unethical and underhanded that he refuses to follow the clearly spelled-out and agreed upon rules of a nationally televised debate?
6 - Temple Stark
RJ - I hope you sober up before work tomorrow.
7 - bhw
RJ, I think this post definitely fits under the category of Kerry hater (since you're the first one to point out those that are Bush haters).
8 - RJ
Temple:
Thank you for completely ignoring the subject of my post
BHW:
Thank you for completely ignoring the subject of my post
Justin:
Thank you for completely ignoring the subject of my post
Hal:
Thank you for completely ignoring reality
9 - Hal Pawluk
Nice transference, RJ.
10 - Justin Delabar
Ok, RJ, here's my direct response to the subject of your post:
It was a pen. I don't see how it's paper, and I've looked at the video five times thus far.
11 - bhw
RJ: Kerry reached into his jacket pocket and had something in his hand. Whatever it was, it wasn't made of paper. He didn't cheat. He just beat your guy fairly, and you can't take it, so you immediately start with the character assasination based on NOTHING.
Say, when will we be seeing your post on the new Newsweek poll that shows Kerry ahead of Bush?
12 - RJ
"It was a pen. I don't see how it's paper, and I've looked at the video five times thus far."
A white, square pen?
Look again...
13 - RJ
"RJ: Kerry reached into his jacket pocket and had something in his hand."
Which is a clear violation of debate rules. Thank you.
"Whatever it was, it wasn't made of paper."
Looks a lot like paper to me. White, square, thin, apparently folded...what do YOU think it was?
"He didn't cheat."
He broke the debate rules, as you (to your credit) admit. That is, by definition, CHEATING. Why can't you admit that?
"He just beat your guy fairly"
Well, he beat my guy. Fairly? It doesn't look like it...
"and you can't take it, so you immediately start with the character assasination based on NOTHING."
A video of Kerry breaking the debate rules is hardly "nothing."
Anyway, I expected Bush to lose. Bush is a poor debater, and Kerry is a master-debater.
I did NOT, however, expect Kerry to CHEAT. But he did.
Bush probably would have lost the debate, even if Kerry had not cheated. But that's not the subject of my post. The subject is that Kerry broke the rules of the debate, and there is video PROOF of this.
Please, do yourself a favor and just admit it.
14 - bhw
He broke the debate rules, as you (to your credit) admit. That is, by definition, CHEATING. Why can't you admit that?
It's not cheating unless you KNOW FOR A FACT that what he had in his hand violated the rules. You don't know that, but you want it to be true.
Now, as for breaking the rules, didn't Bush do that a few times by asking for more time or to respond when he'd already had his turn?
15 - RJ
"It's not cheating unless you KNOW FOR A FACT that what he had in his hand violated the rules."
Babe, let me try to hammer this one salient fact home to you: ANYTHING that he pulled out of his jacket's inside pocket and placed on the podium would have broken debate rules.
A sheet of paper with helpful notes? Breaks debate rules
His favorite pen? Breaks debate rules
A tuna sandwhich? Breaks debate rules
A picture of his wife, in the nude? Breaks debate rules (and the rules of basic human decency...)
He CHEATED in the first debate. Really. He did. You've seen the proof. Just admit it.
16 - Big Time Patriot
Check this out: Drudge catches Bush cheating during the debate
17 - bhw
Ah, I see the reference to "tangible objects" in the debate agreement. If Kerry took something out of his pocket, and it appears that he did [I'll check out my TiVo'd version later], then he violated the agreement about bringing any tangible objects to the podium.
As for the term "cheating," I would say that he cheated if he deliberately violated the rules to gain an advantage over Bush. If there were no restrictions on what they could put on the podium, then I don't see how Kerry could have gained an advantage over Bush. It's not like it was a multiple choice test and he brought in the answer key.
It was a debate, and he won the debate easily by being the better prepared, more articulate candidate. How that could have been influenced by a "tangible object," I don't know.
18 - Michael Croft
you know, we could just get a script that posted whatever drudge said and another one that posts "oh, yes it is, too, true!" every time someone comments.
I think this is a fabulous story, it's the 2004 version of the Bush-Gore debates where the spin machines turned what most people saw as a Gore win into a Bush win.
What I don't get is how half-hearted and lame the attempt is. This is the best you can do? At least Karl Rove had the cojones to try to say that it was "Bush's best debate performance ever".
19 - Adam Bloom
I'm pretty sure that was a porn picture.
20 - bhw
Okay, I just watched my TiVo'd version several times in slow-motion. It looks like a pen that is giving off a reflection. You have to watch the camera switch from the shot from behind the stage where to the next one from in front of the stage to see that he starts to write with the thing he pulled out of his pocket.
From the back of the stage, you see him reach into his pocket, take something out, and then start to do something with it in his hands. The Righty sites say it's paper and he's unfolding it. But it doesn't look at all like paper to me, folded or otherwise. The item is in his right hand when the camera switches to the one in front of the stage. Kerry immediately starts to write with the object, which looks to be giving off a reflection.
So, he took a pen out of his pocket, which is a violation of the agreement he made. Is it cheating? Only if the pen gave him an advantage in the debate. If you think it did, then okay.
Why didn't Jim Lehrer say something about Kerry's pen, which is what the moderator is supposed to do if a candidate used something he brought onto the stage? He didn't see Kerry reach for it. While Kerry was reaching into his pocket, Lehrer was looking straight at Bush. He turned to Kerry after Kerry's hand was out of his pocket and he was removing the cap from his pen.
Kerry's campaign needs to address this question right now to put an end to the "cheating" bullshit. He just needs to admit that he brought a pen to the podium when he wasn't supposed to and that it won't happen again.
Case closed.
21 - RJ
Let me be clear, because some people still seem to just not get it:
- Kerry won the debate
- Kerry appeared Presidential in the debate, though some of his comments were questionable upon reflection ("Global Test" for just one example)
- Bush sucked thoroughly
- Kerry probably would have won the debate even if he hadn't cheated
- But Kerry DID break the rules, as the videos clearly show
- Kerry is a well-known master-debater
- Bush is well-known for being horrible in such situations
- Kerry clearly violated the debate rules, therefore he CHEATED
- What Kerry pulled out of his jacket pocket was clearly NOT a pen
- Even if it WAS a pen (and it wasn't), it was STILL a violation of debate rules
- None of this is debatable
Oh, and Bush is still leading in many polls.
Now, over the next couple days, the media's focus will be on Kerry's cheating. And then there will be the VP debate.
I fully expect Cheney will beat Edwards. If he does, Bush's numbers will improve a bit. If Edwards unexpectedly pulls out a win, I believe Kerry will remain about even with Bush in the polls.
But this particular post is about none of that. It's about Kerry breaking the rules of the first debate.
This is unquestionable. Deal with it.
22 - bhw
It WAS a pen, RJ. If you watch it on the NECN site to which you linked, you can see that he takes it out of his pocket, uncaps it, and immediately starts to write with it.
If you watch it on a TV instead of your PC, you can see that even more clearly. There is no paper being unfolded -- not even close. There is a pen in his right hand, which gives off such a reflection that it actually looks large when he initially starts to write with it. Was he writing on paper with a notecard? No, it was a pen.
You can join the "vast left wing conspiracy" group if you wish, RJ. But look at the video at normal speed and you'll see that there's no way he took out paper or notecards and unfolded them and then picked up a pen and started to write with it.
I already agreed Kerry broke the agreement not to bring any items to the podium. But it is indeed debatable whether or not bringing a pen constitutes cheating. And what's not debatable is the right-wing contention that it was paper he took out of his pocket: it was obviously NOT paper of any kind. Again, watch the video at full speed and on a TV and you'll see it clearly.
23 - bhw
BTW, some lefty sites are now suggesting that Bush cheated by wearing an ear piece. Who was he telling, "Let me finish" to, afterall, when nobody was interrupting him and he still had time on the clock?
Wacky conspiracies come from all sides, RJ. Don't let your partisan nature overrule your common sense.
Oh, wait. Too late.
24 - RJ
EVERYONE!
Please see this:
http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/001054.php
Scroll down a bit. You'll see two pictures. One shows Kerry with a square, white object in his hand. This does not appear, in any way, shape, or form, to be a pen.
The other photo is a close-up of the same photo. It CLEARLY shows Kerry with a piece of paper in his hand, via his jacket pocket.
How ANYONE with even a room temperature IQ could conclude this square, relatively large, white object is a fucking pen is beyond me.
But then, I'm not a liberal Democrat...
25 - bhw
RJ: Watch the VIDEO from a NEWS site! Stop looking at still shots from right-wing sites. Photoshop, anyone?
Watch.
The.
Video.
There is NO paper. Only pen.