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Did Kerry Use a Cheat Sheet?

mrbrown1602 writes "The Drudge Report is reporting that repeated viewing of video from the first Presidential Debate shows Senator John Kerry reaching into his coat pocket for what looks like to be a piece of paper, and he proceeds to unfold it on the lectern. According to the rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, candidates are not allowed to bring anything with them on stage (even something as simple as a pen, which is what Kerry's people says it was), and everything they may need (water, tissues, pens, etc.) are provided at the lectern. So what DID Senator Kerry bring out there, anyways?" There's also a QuickTime movie.

23 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. So what is this? by elmegil · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Duelling moderator biases? Michael on the left claming Bush had a wire, and Pudge on the right claiming Kerry had a cheat sheet?

    Grow up kids!

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    7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
    1. Re:So what is this? by sgant · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is from "wow, someone emailed a rumor to me, must be true! I'll print a story about it" Drudge?

      The guy has no credibility at all and isn't even a journalist...just some shmoe that started a web site. He's not someone people should get they're news from, unless you like it for the entertainment value.

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      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    2. Re:So what is this? by sgant · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Read further down about this...it's already been said by everyone it was a pen he was getting, not a piece of paper.

      Also, the whole story is about KERRY doing this, not Bush. And yes, Bush had a typewritten sheet on his podium...so did Kerry. That was allowed by the rules...they just couldn't bring anything out with them when they walked out there, it had to be already on the podium per the rules.

      And while we're at it...what the FUCK does any of this have ANYTHING to do with who we want to be President?

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      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    3. Re:So what is this? by sgant · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes, I do put my trust in CBS and the New York Times...why? Because of the fact that they were up front when they got something wrong (well, CBS drug their heels admitting this...but they DID).

      They came out and said they were wrong. They also have MILLIONS of people watching every step they make, so of course, when something like this happens they get caught and they fix the problem. Now, do you really really think the New York Times is going to let something like that happen again if they can help it? Don't you think they got a bloody nose because of that and they don't want another one? Don't you think they are going to go out of their way now to make sure it doesn't repeat?

      I do.

      Also, as a side note, I don't even have a TV and get my news from the Net and newspapers so I only read about CBS's fiasco.

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      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    4. Re:So what is this? by Timex · · Score: 3, Interesting
      ... Again, in case you didn't get it...it's a PEN! ...

      Apparently, YOU didn't get it.

      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..."

      There was to be nothing brought in by either candidate. There would be the clothes on his back. Whatever was in his pocket (by "his", I mean either candidate), stays there. Kerry didn't obey the rule. He broke the rules. QED.

      As I mentioned in my journal, it doesn't matter if it was a love note from Theresa, a pen, a or crib notes-- "no ... tangible things" means that it wasn't allowed. The only pens they were allowed to use were the ones that the staff or commission put there before it began.
      --
      When politicians are involved, everyone loses.
  2. Kerry's people? by wizbit · · Score: 5, Informative

    [a pen] ...which is what Kerry's people said it was

    No, not Kerry's people, you linked the NY Post, one of the more conservative-leaning newspapers in the nation. And if you'd RTFA, you'd know that they reviewed footage from Fox News, the preeminent right-leaning news channel. The paper's "finding"?

    But the mystery was solved when The Post reviewed a Fox News Channel feed from Thursday's debate: Kerry pulled out . . . a black pen.

    All the Post did was repeat rumor and speculation on the internet. Not surprisingly, it's a Kerry spin attempt in pudge's view.

    Okay.

    1. Re:Kerry's people? by wizbit · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Israel has a similar system, where practically every distinct combination of political views is represented by at least one candidate. Usually the elected officials don't earn a majority of votes, but yeah, it'd be nice to back a candidate you are completely on board with instead of someone who mostly represents a modicum of your views and whose views aren't completely at odds with your only other obvious choice.

  3. Who Cares? by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Drudge Report is nothing more than a Republican mouth-piece for mud slinging. Why would this load of crap from Drudge surprise anyone, and why would anyone pay attention to it?

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    1. Re:Who Cares? by follower_of_christ · · Score: 3, Informative
  4. Already debunked by metalhed77 · · Score: 4, Informative

    God this is so old and debunked trash. The guy who broke it allready has noted that it was a pen. According to the rabidly right wing fox news.

    Jesus christ, this kind of wild speculation doesn't belong on slashdot. Oh wait, nevermind.....

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    Photos.
  5. Well, so what? by hey! · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How useful would a cheat sheet be to a guy like Kerry, under the circumstances. Since neither candidate knew the questions in advance, at most it could be general outlines for a few points he wanted to make. For the predictable stuff he simply went with the usual stump rhetoric (90% percent of the cost, 90% of the casualties etc.) which he's used on talk shows and at campaign appearances for weeks now. And that was probably weakest. Historically, he's best in a debate when he's thinking on his feet anyway, he's horrible repeating the kind of canned stuff that Reagan was fantastic with.

    I mean, what supposedly was written on the paper? "Don't forget Poland!"?

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  6. What did Kerry bring onto the stage? by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 4, Funny
    A bag of Fritos.

    You know how it gets when you spend hours studying up for your big presedential debate...you get so busy that you can't eat.

    Come on...give the guy a break! He just had a case of the munchies...

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    Goo goo g'joob.
  7. That does it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was all set to vote for Kerry but this is such an outrage that I'm swinging all the way to the right for this election! Sure, the economy is in the shitter, we're in a quagmire in Iraq, and the deficit is at an all time high. But at least Bush would never dream of bringing a cribsheet with him onstage for a largely symbolic dual-press conference! This madness must stop! I emplore all of you to forget about the PATRIOT Act, Gitmo, and all those other things and concentrate on this vital issue of the cribsheet!

    Seriously, who gives a flying fuck? Yes, I know it's against the rules. Big whoopie. These are serious times, people. Let's not get obsessed with minutia. I can't believe I'm reading about such trivial concerns here on slashdot. I have no objections to a Politics section here but, please, make the Politics stories interesting and important. Not this idiotic bickering over pointless crap.

    1. Re:That does it! by XsynackX · · Score: 3, Funny

      What is this country coming to!??? Literally, today it's a pen on the stage, tomorrow we are going to here about Mr. Kerry ripping the tag off his mattress! This maddness must be stopped, Vote Republican 2004, they may not follow antitrust and anti-monopoly laws, but at least they can pay attention to technicalities!

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      I'm not a vegan because I love animals, I'm a vegan because I hate plants!
  8. Thoroughly discredited story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    And outdated. But not yet duped.

  9. Bush Cheated? by ewithrow · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Salon is reporting that Bush may have been wearing a device that would allow him to receive sound from someone offstage.

    Here is the article

    Here is the image

  10. Ok, time to go tweak /. front page settings... by Urkki · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's nice to read a bit about the coming elections over the pond and all, but come on. I mean, seriously, why is this kind of crap on /. front page? This is tabloid stuff, not "News for Nerds."

    Electronic voting machines, fine. NASA budget news, fine. IP related politics, fine. Duplicates of the above, fine. But this article is ridiculous...

  11. Re:Naked? by Rahga · · Score: 3, Informative

    Slightly offtopic, but I see great things for the future of women in politics if such a situation was agreed upon by the parties for the next set of debates.

  12. Re:Yeah, but like... by HavokDevNull · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Nobody has been able to shoot down a single fact in the movie." LOL ok here we go...

    1. The Gore victory rally is not celebrating a Florida win. It was held before the polls had even opened.

    2. Like all the other networks, Fox mistakenly said that Gore had won in Florida. The first network to retract the Florida mistake was CBS, not Fox.

    3. A 6-month study by a consortium of major newspapers shows that Bush would have won the Florida recount under any of the terms which Gore sought in his lawsuits.

    4. Investigation by the Palm Beach Post and others shows that race was not a reason why election officials mistakenly disqualified some voters because they were incorrectly thought to have felony convictions.

    5. Bush's Presidency before 9/11 was not in serious trouble. No commentator said that he looked like a lame-duck president. Congress had passed his #1 bill (the tax cut) and was
    on the way to passing his #2 bill (the education bill). The scene at the end of the movie in which Bush tells a rich audience "I call you my base" was from an October 2000 charity fund-raiser. Both Gore and Bush spoke at the fund-raiser and, as is the custom at the fund-raiser, made fun of themselves.

    and here is 54 more facts distorted
    http://www.davekopel.com/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-i n-Fahrenheit-911.htm

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    Sig
  13. Was Bush Wired During Debate? by Izaak · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check out this article at Salon.com that suggests Bush was wearing an audio receiver at the first debate (a clear violation of the rules if true). The web site Is Bush Wired also discusses it and includes more evidence from previous Bush speaking events. In a couple of cases, the audio of the voice prompter feeding him the answers has been picked up and accidently transmitted as part of the live news broadcast.

    1. Re:Was Bush Wired During Debate? by werfele · · Score: 3, Informative
      Check out this article at Salon.com that suggests Bush was wearing an audio receiver at the first debate...
      That particular horse was beaten to death here, although if true it would seem to violate the spirit of things more than bringing in a few notes.
  14. I agree by spitzak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's pretty sad to see what the great Internet and blogs have done to actual discussion and debate about the issues.

    Neither Kerry or Bush (or their people) are stupid enough to cheat at the debate because getting caught would far outweigh any plausable gains from reducing the chances that their candidate might screw up. Just show a little common sense everybody. This is an implausable as any pseudo-science or elaborate conspiracy theory, and only people of those intelligence levels should believe or even talk about these things.

    It would be nice if we could argue about whether Bush or Kerry as President would be better for the future of America. But no, the morons who can run a web browser and post to a blog would rather read and write this nonsense and retreat into fantasyland of crap unrealistic nonsense. And rather than ignore this extremism like we used to, it becomes the most visible part of the debate. This is a pretty sad result of what should have been a great breakthrough in free speech.

    1. Re:I agree by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 3, Informative

      Reagan cheated on his 1980 "there you go again" debate against Carter. His campaign manager, (later CIA director) William Casey, got stolen copies of Carter's debate briefing notebooks, against which they coached the old actor. That resounding catchphrase was seen in a new light after the truth was revealed, but of course it was too late to do anything after Reagan was elected. The same stalling process is going on here with Bush's cheating, and deniers in this thread are part of it.

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