Let's keep the discussion ball rolling on this 3rd and final debate. What are your thoughts and comments on this one?

I think so far that Kerry needs lay off a bit on the attack mode. I am afraid this may backfire on him a bit. It is important to point out the mistakes Bush has made, but equally important not to harp on it so that it becomes tiresome and balance it with concrete discussion on specifics on plans he has to move us forward.

I must say also that this moderator (and I've forgotten his name) is doing a great job. He is really keeping the subjects moving along well.

good point, I enjoyed this debate. I thought it was interesting how religion was discussed. Should the presidents religious beliefs really be a factor in your vote?

I wished they had talked about the environment more! Good debate though...both candidates had me laughing during the question about their wives and daughters.

(what moderator?)

i noticed that kerry was attacking bush too...

couple of important facts to through out while u think of my religious question:

Bush said that Senator Kerry voted against the homeland security when he in fact voted for homeland security

Kerry stated that Bush had lost 1.6million jobs which is true in the private sector area but overall more like 585,000 jobs have been lost
just keepin it real (stats gotten from abc news)

now start thinkin about that religion question again :-p

I think the moderator is doing a great job. Its gotta be hard to not take sides or let biases get in the way. Anyway I thought Kerry is so far saying alot of good stuff and come up with some good ideas, I think he could go into more detail about his plans, I noticed he totally avoided the question; How will you get the money? I thought Bush came closer to answering the question. I dont agree however with Bush's view on the war, that it was a counterattack to 9/11, it really wasnt, because Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with it. Being a highschooler, the qeustion of schooling is really important to me, I think that Bush does not put enough priority into the schooling system, and I dissagree with his "no one left behind" strategy. If i was voting this year I would still put my vote for Kerry.

"Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with it"
9/11=terrorist actions
Saddam Hussein=involved with terrorist actions

if your friend stuck his hand in a cookie jar attempting to steal some cookies and it chopped his hand off, you would go trying to steal any cookies would ya? Saddam was a threat that needed to be dealt with.

On that note, I think the invasion was a bit pre-emptive :-p

Ah he was involved with terrorists, but was he directly involved with the events on 9/11?

Anthony, to discuss your religion affecting vote question, I think that many people who are religious most definately base their vote upon the candidate's religious views. I think the reason for that is because they feel that if the candidate's religious views match their own then that candidate would be more likely to make policy decisions based on those views. And that those policy decisions would then be in agreeance with what the voter would choose for themselves, because they share the same faith.

Now whether this is an accurate or reasonable viewpoint is debatable. Just because a candidate professes certain beliefs does not mean that these beliefs truly guide their lives on a daily basis.

Lol, not seen this discussion before. Anthony, if you seriously think that the 'war' in Iraq was in any way connected to terrorism, think again. Any links with the Hussein regime and terrorism are tenuous, especially with regard to 9/11. In point of fact Bin Laden loathed Hussein as a secular leader - the two of them did not see eye to eye at all.

During the first gulf war, Bin Laden (Osama, that is, not to confuse him with his brothers (incidentally, the Bin Ladens have loads of links with the Bush clan, but I'm getting off track here...)) offered to raise a mujahadin army, as he had done in Afghanistan, and fight off the Iraqis from Kuwait. The Saudis told him to forget it and let the yanks come instead - he was not a happy bunny.

Anyway, the point I was making was that one has to dig a little deeper to get a clear view of what is happening. Without a shadow of doubt there are far more terrorists and far more groups linked to Al Queda in Iraq than ever there was before the invasion. Hurray! Now the Iraqi people have the freedom to get blown up by terrorists instead of spied on by secret police!

Next thing you'll be telling us that the attack on Afghanistan was purely a retalitory strike for 9/11 and hadn't been in the pipeline (sorry! no pun intended!) beforehand...

yes thank you, I couldnt have said it better myself
Anthony, I do respect your opinion, no hard feelings

"Being a highschooler, the qeustion of schooling is really important to me, I think that Bush does not put enough priority into the schooling system, and I dissagree with his "no one left behind" strategy. If i was voting this year I would still put my vote for Kerry. "

yes, I'm kinda jumping back a bit, but I'm a high schooler as well, so a million pardons if my views have been misled, but my view on this year's election is choosing between the lesser of two evils. I don't know if previous elections have been like this, because I was in sixth grade when the last one took place [sophmore now] and this is the first time that I've been even remotely aware of the whole idea of an election... but I don't like either candidate. But if forced to choose between them, I would choose Bush.

Kerry... I really don't like his views on the war of Iraq... I think his opinion has changed a bit too frequently. I think this country needs a firm leader... but Bush isn't the one I'd go asking to lead the country... but at the very least, he's stood behind the war. And even if he did make a mistake in taking us in [not saying if he did or didn't, for like everything else in this election,... it's debatable], we just can't leave now. Ask any soldier who's been or is over there over there... I practically live on a base, so I've watched them leave their families for this cause and I've heard their views. Now don't get me wrong, I don like the war in Iraq because it IS taking our soldiers overseas longer than they should be... but... what I don't get is how Kerry can want to get out of there [is that really what he wants?], but bring back the draft!? That's over half my friends... assuming that it's all 18 year old males and older... that is... if there is no war, what need is there for the draft?

And not to be stupid... but Kerry looks like he's ill. He appears so grey and old. Yet Bush is up there smiling. Some of my friends [for this has been the topic of lunch since the day after the debate when our History teacher showed us an hour of the debates] credit this to his four years in office... but Kerry has been under the public eye since the Vietnam War... Bush smiles more and when he does... it isn't genuine at times, but it's closer than Kerry's almost painful looking smile. and Kerry looks at the world as Black and White... that's what I've gathered from the one hour I saw and previous debates. It's either "I" or "Bush"... there is no middle ground with that man! And that isn't the world today.

If I've made any mistakes, jus tell me or say something. Once again, I'm not super educated, but I know who I want to Not be president.

Wow, there are quite a few things I need to address here. But I'll still try and make it short and sweet. I'll go from the oldest to newest.

I think you are right when you say that people will probably vote based on their faith, but I think they are misled in thinking that a politician will make decisions based on their faith. This would make a horrible politician. You should not legislate based on your personal beliefs and bias because this does not represent the American people as a whole and would be quite unfair.

Hussein was a terrorist. Read about his record all throughout the 80s and 90s. Bin Laden is a terrorist as well, but what does he have to do with Hussein? Bin Laden attacked America, so he is a terrorist against Americans, yes. Hussein has not, but he has attacked many other countries, tortured his own citizens, and placed a death threat on an American president. <-Terrorist. Just because two murderers dont get along, doesnt mean they arent both murderers. The fact that the two terrorist leaders do not agree with eachother has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they are both terrorist leaders. What I said b4 about 9/11 and Hussein was not to link him with 9/11 directly, but rather indirectly, to show that Iraq sends a message. On that note, like I said, the attack was still a bit premptive and too large scale. This war was the war of a previous president.

Kerry has no intention of renewing the draft, you are misled, neither candidate does. If the time arose where this was absolutely necessary they would both institute it, and it would work, thats why its been placed available (i'm not pro draft, just stating a fact). But the chances of this are slim to none.
A Candidate's facial features have nothing to do with his ability to make key decisions. And criticizing someone for changing their mind when they realize something is going wrong doesnt make sense. Would you rather they continue to stick strongly to a decision that they KNOW is bad??(go bush!) Unlikely. Besides most of the intances where people call Kerry a flipflop is also misled, they are vote based. For instance. Kerry voted to go to war against Iraq. Now he is somewhat against it. Wrong. Kerry voted to go to war because Bush misled the people about the war. Kerry STILL thinks Hussein was a threat that needed to be dealt with. He simply believes that Bush went about it the wrong way.
But, next time I wake up in the morning, and choose pants that are too big for me, I'll make sure not to go back and change, because I wouldnt want to be a flip flopper. :)

If you can't tell, I'm voting for Kerry. Sue me.

I will have to agree with Stephanie on many of her points, and I think I may have written my opinions a little poorly the first time, I might have offended people so id like to say this: I respect all peoples moral and political views, so I will only post my opinions.

Again I agree on many of the points made above; I think Kerry changes his opinion a little much, on the other hand I think that a good leader will admit his wrongs, and set it right, plus what noobguy said was true; Bush did mislead people about the war. As for the draft, I would be direclty affected by it if it were to be re-instituted in the next three years. Both presidents have said that they would not re-institute the draft, now whether this statement is genuine or not is up to everyones opinion. So whos the better president ? I honestly cant say, they both have their wavering moments and they have both lied in the past, I think Bush is a little too comical, and I think Kerry talks about his Vietnam experience a little too much. I say as a conclusion that since im not super educated on the topic, I will not say who I fully support yet, I will watch the progress of both canidates open minded.

Have to agree with Anthony about someone changing their mind - it doesn't matter and it shows strength of character. I notice it here in the UK when they 'debate' in the house of commons (one of the most childish events that I have witnessed). Somebody will stand up and say "5 years ago, you said such-and-such, but now you are saying this-and-that". I sit there and think, "yeah...and..." So they changed their mind!

OK, if you do it too much then you can look weak, but in general I would say it was a positive trait to say that you reviewed you stance on an issue.