Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2000 Republican Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 I've been dreading this one. If there are two political “groups” I can't stand, it's the Bush and Clinton entourages. I literally cringe watching Hillary or Bush II speak—they have…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 2000 Democratic Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 I'm really surprised the field this cycle was so narrow. Literally it's just two candidates, Gore and Bradley. I thought the 2016 primary was small with only 3 serious contenders,…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1996 Republican Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 I like Bob Dole, and think he's a decent man. But if his older 1996 incarnation is the best you've got, you're in trouble. Especially against a charismatic person like…
Political Reactions My Reaction to Another 1992 Democratic Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 In this debate, which I'm only guessing is from Iowa, we have all the candidates again except Agran, but with a new guy, Douglas Wilder. Let's see if he's worth…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1992 Democratic Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 Realistically, I don't think anyone could have ever beaten Bill Clinton in this primary—the guy was a determined, charismatic juggernaut. But I hate his "third way" policies and his political…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1988 Republican Primary Debate 6 Apr 2020 Obviously, I'm wondering if Bush really was the cream of the crop, or if a better alternative was passed over. It's clear after seeing the 1988 Democratic debates that Dukakis…
Political Reactions My Reaction to Another 1988 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 The Iowa primary gave me a good idea of who everyone is this cycle, but the field of candidates was interesting enough to where I wanted to take a second…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1988 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 Continuing with my analysis of past primary seasons, this is the 1988 Democratic Primary debate from Iowa. For me, without a lovable underdog like McGovern in this race, or a…
Political Reactions My Reaction to Another 1984 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 This is the only other 1984 Primary debate which includes McGovern and can be found online. There are a few others with just Mondale, Hart and Jackson…but I'm not sure…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1984 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 This one is interesting to me because it features George McGovern himself, in his unsuccessful 1984 primary bid. (I'd also love to watch the primary debates from 1972 for the…
Political Reactions My Reaction to a 1980 Republican Primary Debate (Bush v Reagan) 5 Apr 2020 As bizarre as it may seem today, there were apparently no Republican primary debates held between the 1948 and 1980 cycles. I've done a lot of research on the topic…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1972 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 This is the 1972 McGovern vs Humphrey debate from Face the Nation. This is chronologically the first of 3 debates I could find from the '72 cycle, after searching for…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1968 Democratic Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 This debate took place before the California Primary between Eugene McCarthy and Robert F Kennedy. I scoured the internet on and off for months to find footage of this, since…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1956 & 1960 Democratic Primary Debates 5 Apr 2020 While the Kennedy v Nixon debate was the first televised debate of a general election, this primary debate came 4 years earlier. It was considered pretty dull, even at the…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the 1948 Republican Primary Debate 5 Apr 2020 This is especially notable for being the first mass audience debate between prospective presidential candidates in US history. While it's true that Kennedy v Nixon was the first between general…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: Summary & Conclusion 29 Mar 2020 Now that I'm done with analyzing the Third Party debates, here are some general thoughts I have about them and the respective parties as a whole. First of all, these…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 1988 Forum 29 Mar 2020 I found this after I'd written my analyses of the other third party debates even though it's chronologically first. It's not a debate so much as giving three third party…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 2012 29 Mar 2020 This is to date the final debate of third party candidates. I don't believe one was held in 2016, if it was, I couldn't find it, and honestly I don't…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 2008 28 Mar 2020 Finally we see Ralph Nader on the stage! This is blowing my mind but apparently he was an independent this cycle. (I could've sworn he was the Green candidate this…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 2004 [There is no ’00] 28 Mar 20204 Mar 2021 I did not write up a reaction/analysis to the 2000 cycle of Third Party debates (there were two) because it was the same three candidates from 1996 and nobody new.…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 1996 28 Mar 2020 Unlike the previous Independent Voters' Party experiment, this is a straightforward 3rd Party debate hosted by public access TV, rather than a bizarre (but noble) open party nomination where anyone…
Political Reactions Third Party Debates: 1992 28 Mar 20204 Mar 2021 I was combing over CSPAN to find primary debates and at some point during that process I found a 2012 Third Party Debate. I decided to see if there were…
Political Reactions Non-Election Debates Worth Checking Out 27 Mar 20204 Mar 2021 Firing Line Debate Featuring George McGovern I found another debate McGovern participated in. This is a great discussion, very lively and with some great participants including Kemp, William F Buckley,…
Political Reactions Hillary ’16 Nomination Acceptance Speech Reaction 26 Mar 2020 I wrote this a few days after the night she delivered the speech. I warn you, this is gonna be a long post for a single speech even by my…
Political Reactions Trump ’16 Nomination Acceptance Speech Reaction 26 Mar 2020 I wrote this after the 2016 election had concluded, though I had also watched this speech for the first time live as it was delivered. I would like to emphasize…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the Democratic VP Nomination Acceptance Speeches (2/2) The Rest 26 Mar 2020 Lyndon Johnson (1960) In my opinion, this is the single greatest choice for VP of all time, certainly of the modern era of politics. The only ones that come close…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the Democratic VP Nomination Acceptance Speeches (1/2) The Best 26 Mar 2020 And now for the 20th century Democratic VP nomination acceptance speeches, also ranked in order of best to worst. Similar to the GOP candidates, there is no footage that I…
Political Reactions My Take on the Inauguration Addresses (1/2) The Good 25 Mar 20204 Mar 2021 These are my thoughts on the inaugurals, ordered from the best speech to the worst! (Usually I write these essays by watching the speeches in chronological order as I write…
Political Reactions My Take on the Inauguration Addresses (2/2) The Bad & the Ugly 25 Mar 2020 These are my thoughts on the inaugurals, ordered from the best speech to the worst! (Usually I write these essays by watching the speeches in chronological order as I write…
Political Reactions My Reaction to the Republican VP Nomination Acceptance Speeches (2/2) The Rest 20 Mar 2020 Here's a full playlist of every Republican VP Nominee's Convention Speech! Mike Pence (2016) I initially thought Mike Pence was an awful choice from a strategic point of view. I…