vs.



There can be only one.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080426/D909PE0O0.html

Quote :

"Clinton challenges Obama to Lincoln-Douglas style debate By MIKE GLOVER and SARA KUGLER MARION, Ind. (AP) - Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton turned up the rhetoric Saturday in their increasingly heated primary battle as she issued a new debate challenge and he complained of a race that's largely been reduced to trivia while working families feel economic pain. Clinton took the debate dispute to a new level, challenging Obama to face off with her in a debate without a moderator, Lincoln-Douglas style. "Just the two of us, going for 90 minutes, asking and answering questions, we'll set whatever rules seem fair," Clinton said while campaigning in South Bend. Her campaign made the offer formal with a letter to the Obama campaign. Obama aides said they were studying the letter. The more open style of debating where each side presents an argument gets its name from the famed debates that took place during the 1858 U.S. Senate race in Illinois between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas. Trailing in delegates and the popular vote, Clinton has been stepping up the pressure on Obama for more debates in advance of primaries on May 6 in Indiana and North Carolina. Clinton argued that Obama won't debate because he's unhappy with questions from moderators during the April 16 debate just before the Pennsylvania primary. After that debate, Obama complained it focused too much on political trivia and too little on real issues. On the campaign trail Saturday, he sounded much the same theme. **snip**"

Wouldn't this be awesome?

Also includes this gem:

Quote :

""I don't make predictions or speculate on things that haven't happened yet," said Clinton."

LOL

Really? This was just a month ago folks:

Quote :

""When we pull out of Iraq, we'll no longer be spending 10 to 12 billion dollars a month there," she said, noting the need to fully fund the VA."

[Edited on April 26, 2008 at 10:00 PM. Reason : nothing up my sleeves]

4/26/2008 9:58:05 PM

wow. from a party standpoint, this helps them how? i would be very weary if I were the DNC allowing your potential nominees to be facing off this close to the election in really what is a no holds bar cage match.
they could potentially tear each other to shreds and no one could stop it. and right now there's nothing from the past large state primaries that would lead me to believe otherwise.

now from a more open democracy standpoint, this could be very very rewarding.

if only they could do it in the General, then maybe we would be getting somewhere.

[Edited on April 26, 2008 at 10:12 PM. Reason : articulate]

4/26/2008 10:10:08 PM

Hurray, yet another pointless, divisive tactic that will accomplish nothing but making the party look fucking terrible.

THANKS, HILL-DAWG.

4/26/2008 10:12:45 PM

ngrs plz

4/26/2008 10:28:44 PM

Lincoln and Douglas only had 7 debates.

What are these two up to at this point?

4/26/2008 11:29:35 PM

Quote :

"from a more open democracy standpoint, this could be very very rewarding. if only they could do it in the General, then maybe we would be getting somewhere. "

yep.

these debates we have now are barely debates at all.

4/26/2008 11:31:49 PM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rhPxSm9Es0w

I see the reasons they wouldn't want to do it, but I think it would also be entertaining to see Obama mop the floor with Hillary.

He'd probably own McCain too.

4/26/2008 11:48:25 PM

shots like that and his delivery in general are his strength, but i don't think that will be as advantegeous in a "real" debate like this. being more of a policy wonk should be highlighted in this format, rather than in the sound-byte feeding frenzy of the stupid fucking reality-show-ish so-called debates for Joe the Average Retard that we normally have.

4/26/2008 11:54:51 PM

I personally can't imagine a "policy" debate being anything but meaningless.

There's no way they can really hammer out the details of a policy seriously enough to debate it, without having access to the current intel and inner-workings of the gov., that they won't get until becoming president.

Otherwise, you'll hear more vague statements about funding things by "ending the war" or "stop pork barrel spending." McCain can say he can pull a 100 billion dollars from his ass, but he won't really know until he gets there, where it's likely he won't actually be able to do that.

So I wouldn't really expect much from a policy debate like this. At best, you'd get more of the philosophy of their motivations.

4/27/2008 12:03:19 AM

Quote :

"Clinton challenges Obama to Lincoln-Douglas style debate"

Which one would be Lincoln?

Obama is taller and comes from Illinois. But I think Hillary could grow a handsome beard.

4/27/2008 12:07:56 AM

I don't know if there would be much benefit from a Lincoln-Douglas debate given how close those two are on the issues. Sure, I suppose we could spend 90 minutes listening to the one or two minor differences between their health care plans or have them argue about who's experience counts for what...

I agree that this would be more entertaining in the general election.

4/27/2008 2:00:15 AM

^, ^^^ true

^^ haha

4/27/2008 3:28:45 AM

I agree that this is a potentially great idea for the general.

4/27/2008 9:47:46 AM

Why doesn't Hillary just say "i'm white, debate over'.

4/27/2008 2:15:51 PM

this is an especially weak idea when she's proposed 2 minutes back and forth. that's pretty much what we're already getting with the MSM debates. Now if it was 10 minutes each back and forth, that'd be different.

4/27/2008 5:43:12 PM

well, in what we have now, they generally just move on to the next question after they each dump out a couple of feelgood quotes on the subject.

4/27/2008 6:23:38 PM

If this actually happened maybe we would get to hear how they plan to fix America instead of these worthless sound bite commercials they keep airing that only say "I'm for change!" or "Bush was a bad president, but I'll be good!"

4/27/2008 8:27:53 PM

Unmoderated? So she'd just end up being impolite, hog all the time, then claim some sort of victory because she talked the most.

Seems to me like the whole suggestion stems from the following train of though.

Clinton doesn't want another debate with Obama
She knows that he'd decline because he doesn't want one either
She comes out the winner because Obama "isn't brave enough to debate"

Oh, and you might as well ask Kansas if they want to play another couple basketball games to once and for all determine who the NCAA champs are.

4/27/2008 10:35:49 PM

I've lost all faith in debates after Al Gore trounced Bush several times, and despite being a step ahead in his knowledge, bush was helped just as much because of his "personality"

4/27/2008 11:07:38 PM

Quote :

"Unmoderated? So she'd just end up being impolite, hog all the time, then claim some sort of victory because she talked the most. "

how is this different from any woman?

4/27/2008 11:43:35 PM

We don't have debates today.

We have uninterrupted 30 second speeches followed by applause lines.

[Edited on April 27, 2008 at 11:55 PM. Reason : ...]

4/27/2008 11:54:58 PM

^ and the occasional burn

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rhPxSm9Es0w

(yes, I love this clip)

4/27/2008 11:55:39 PM

what a cackle.

4/28/2008 12:55:45 AM

Quote :

"Lincoln and Douglas only had 7 debates. What are these two up to at this point?"

21 according to the news.

4/29/2008 10:06:59 AM