Political Reactions My Reaction to the 2008 Obama/McCain Debates (1/3) 26 May 2020 These are the first general election debates I was old enough watch as they occurred. Like everyone else my age, I was smitten with Obama and wanted him to win…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 2004 Bush/Kerry Debates (3/3) 26 May 2020 Third Debate Once again, we get a reminder of 9/11, terrorism, and concerns of safety looming over this election with the very first question “will our children ever know a…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 2004 Bush/Kerry Debates (2/3) 26 May 2020 Second Debate Kerry loses respect from me right off the bat for saying in no uncertain terms that he supports the PATRIOT Act. I believe supporting the extraordinary powers granted…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 2004 Bush/Kerry Debates (1/3) 26 May 2020 You know the difference between Bush II and all the other commonly cited “worst presidents?” Bush was reelected. Buchanan, Pierce, Andrew Johnson and Warren G Harding, all were one termers.…
Political Reactions My Take on the 2000 Bush/Gore Debates (3/3) 26 May 2020 Third Debate This is where the most infamous moment of this particular election cycle occurred, when Gore stupidly approached Bush's debate podium in an effort to appear intimidating. Instead, it…
Political Reactions My Take on the 2000 Bush/Gore Debates (2/3) 26 May 2020 Second Debate If you watch no other 2000 debate I've linked to, watch this one. Saddam Hussein. Bush mentioned him once in the previous debate, but here you see him…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 2000 Bush/Gore Debates (1/3) 26 May 2020 The Bush/Gore debates of 2000 are, in hindsight, perhaps the most fateful of modern times. Imagine if we had debates of Buchanan vs Fremont, or Warren Harding vs Cox, or…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1992 Clinton/Bush/Perot Debates (3/3) 26 May 2020 The Rise of Clinton Right away, I agree with Clinton talking about trickle down economics at the beginning, and I further agree with him that infrastructure and healthcare can be…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1992 Clinton/Bush/Perot Debates (2/3) 26 May 2020 This is the most famous of the debates from the '92 cycle, because of three key moments which defined the way the public perceived each candidate. I'll describe these when…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1992 Clinton/Bush/Perot Debates (1/3) 26 May 20204 Mar 2021 I'll say right off the bat that these are my favorite general election debates. 1992 is special because it remains the only time a third party candidate ever participated along…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1988 Bush/Dukakis Debates (2/2) 26 May 2020 That Question This begins with one of the most important examples of “appearances matter!” in all politics. The most infamous moment from these debates is the first question here, where…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1988 Bush/Dukakis Debates (1/2) 26 May 2020 These are a lot more spirited and fun to watch then those of the previous 3 cycles, or 1996, all of which were often brutal to slog through. How times…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1984 Reagan/Mondale Debates 26 May 2020 These are between Reagan and Mondale, of course. So, I don't have as much to say about this cycle as I will with regards to future debates. (This general election…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1980 Reagan/Anderson & Reagan/Carter Debates 22 May 2020 This cycle is pretty special because it's one of only two times where a candidate outside of the Democrat-Republican duopoly was ever allowed to participate. But unlike the three-way competition…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1976 and 1996 General Election Debates 25 Apr 20204 Mar 2021 So, this must seem strange, to group two non-consecutive cycles of debates together into a single post. The reason I'm doing so is simple: these are by far the two…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon Debates (2/2) 25 Apr 20204 Mar 2021 My thoughts on the other 3 Kennedy-Nixon Debates from 1960, the first General Election Debates in US history. None of these are anywhere near as fascinating as the first. The…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon Debates (1/2) 25 Apr 2020 A lot has been made about the differences in appearance between the two men in this debate. There's the famous anecdote about how radio listeners liked Nixon more while TV…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 21st Century Vice Presidential Debates (2/2) 25 Apr 2020 Biden v Ryan 2012 Paul Ryan was supposed to be the young, fresh "exciting!" candidate to balance out Romney's milquetoast, past-his-prime factor. It didn't quite work, and in my opinion…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 21st Century Vice Presidential Debates (1/2) 25 Apr 2020 I'll begin with some general observations and thoughts before we dive into the specific debates. The VP is usually considered the "attack dog" of the ticket since they can say…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 20th Century Vice Presidential Debates (2/2) 25 Apr 2020 Bentsen v Quayle 1988 This is where the single most famous moment of any US debate occurred, “Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy” where Lloyd Bentsen put Dan Quayle in his…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 20th Century Vice Presidential Debates (1/2) 25 Apr 2020 These won't be as in-depth as my write ups for the Presidential or primary debates. There's just not as much to talk about, and the VP debates have never had…
Political Reactions Primary Debates: The Best Progressive Candidates I Discovered 25 Apr 2020 So, my main purpose for watching all the primary debates since 1980 (the first year I could find any online) was to see if there were any obscure old progressive…
Political Reactions The Primary Debates: Summary & Conclusion 15 Apr 2020 So, Ive finished watching at least one early primary debate from every cycle since 1980 (I couldn't find anything earlier online). I did this both in an attempt to discover…
Political Reactions My Take on the 2020 Democratic Primary 15 Apr 2020 I just didn't care. I really didn't. I got excited for the last cycle because Bernie was the first candidate in my lifetime to say all the things I had…
Political Reactions My Memories of the 2016 Republican Primary 15 Apr 2020 I watched most of the GOP primary debates this cycle as they happened or soon after. Because of that, and how recent it's been, I don't feel the need to…
Political Reactions My Memories of the 2016 Democratic Primary 15 Apr 2020 This was far less chaotic or interesting than the Republicans from the same year, and also less contemptuous than the previous Democratic primary from 2008. I'm not gonna analyze a…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2012 Republican Primary Debate 15 Apr 2020 This cycle was when I had become apathetic and embittered to politics again after the previous 2 elections of increased awareness and excitement. By this time, we knew about NSA…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2008 Democratic Primary Debate 15 Apr 2020 This was the first election where I was old enough to fully understand the issues, where I really first in love with a candidate (Obama, obviously) and wasn't just cheering…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2008 Republican Primary Debate 15 Apr 2020 The Republicans were pretty much doomed to failure this cycle following Bush and the Great Recession. On some level I'm sure even they knew that. I think McCain from 2000…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2004 Democratic Primary Debate 15 Apr 2020 This is the first election where I was vaguely aware of the issues going on because I had to do a project for social studies class. We were tasked with…
the Carbon Freeze 