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Did Kerry Use a Cheat Sheet? 230

Posted by pudge from the more-tin-foil-please dept.
A user 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.
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Did Kerry Use a Cheat Sheet? More

Did Kerry Use a Cheat Sheet?

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  • Naked? (Score:3, Funny)

    by skinfitz ( 564041 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:51PM (#10472800) Journal
    According to the rules set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, candidates are not allowed to bring anything with them on stage

    So he was naked then?

  • See...? (Score:3, Funny)

    by brilinux ( 255400 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:54PM (#10472839) Journal

    Slashdot is not biased!

    (Okay, mostly sarcasm).

  • So what is this? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by elmegil ( 12001 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:55PM (#10472857) Homepage Journal
    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!

    • Re:So what is this? (Score:5, Informative)

      by sgant ( 178166 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:02PM (#10472966) Homepage Journal
      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.
      • Watch the video and look at bush he unfolds a piece of paper quite clearly.

        There is also a pic on the net taken from above that shows bush with a typewritten sheet on his podium.

        • Re:So what is this? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by sgant ( 178166 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @04:55PM (#10474267) Homepage Journal
          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?
      • The guy has no credibility at all and isn't even a journalist

        Right-o, I put my trust in CBS [slashdot.org] and the New York Times to get the straight dope on what's happening.

        Shmoes are more credible when they become professional shmoes.

        • Re:So what is this? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by sgant ( 178166 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @06:28PM (#10475157) Homepage Journal
          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.
          • I only read about CBS's fiasco.

            So you must have missed Rather's first "non-apology" where he said there was doubt about the documents, but CBS was standing by the truth of the story. Which was so ludicrious that it pretty much destroyed any credibility he might have had. If they'd simply admitted they were too quick to go to "press" with what they had, then I'd agree with you, but they didn't. They got defensive and truculent, and finally had to be beaten into admitting they were completely in the wrong

      • The guy has no credibility at all and isn't even a journalist
        Since when did journalists have any credibility?
    • Maybe the 4th presidential debate should be the /. pundits speaking out. Sounds like they are just as polarized as the candidates.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Considering how old and discredited this is (as has already been pointed out many times here), the only reason I can think of for this being posted now is as a rebuttal to the "bulge" post. (I guess pudge could've made a mistake, but I find it hard to believe that this wasn't submitted by someone a week ago.)

      Rob

    • I agree (Score:4, Insightful)

      by spitzak ( 4019 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @04:42PM (#10474129) Homepage
      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.

      • Re:I agree (Score:4, Informative)

        by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @04:59PM (#10474313) Homepage Journal
        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.
      • " It's pretty sad to see what the great Internet and blogs have done to actual discussion and debate about the issues."

        I fall on my knees and thank God for the Internet and the bloggers. For the first time, people have alternatives to the established media. CBS wouldn't have been caught so quickly on the fake guard memos if it wasn't for bloggers. And contrary to what you're saying, there's real honest discussion going on the web. There's a lot of one-sided mudslinging, but that inevitable. But we're so m

  • Kerry's people? (Score:5, Informative)

    by wizbit ( 122290 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:56PM (#10472870)
    [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.

    • Re:Kerry's people? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by NanoGator ( 522640 )
      "All the Post did was repeat rumor and speculation on the internet. Not surprisingly, it's a Kerry spin attempt in pudge's view."

      I know, this is not the most insightful thing I could say, but I really hate election years. Last night I watched something on TV about Afghanistan's elections. They mentioned having like 16 candidates to choose from. Instead of using TV (well there aren't many TVs from what I gather, but I am rather ignorant of Afghani culture) the elders etc promote the candidate. It was

      • Re:Kerry's people? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by wizbit ( 122290 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:35PM (#10473356)
        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.
        • Israel has a parliament system - in the national elections each citizen votes for a party, and the 120 seats in parliament are divided by votes.

          the leader of the largest party (or rather, the party most likely to form a coalition) is elected by the President (read: houseplant) to form a coalition.

          Technically, every parliament member can vote as he likes on any vote

          The government is composed of the 'top' of the coalition parties, and, well, their relatives.

          The members who join the coalition spend more ti
    • If I recall, NPR said that Fox News Channel was in charge of the pooled cameras that night. While I despise that channel except for comedic purposes, that is likely why they used FNC footage.
      • They were indeed, but let's not pretend this is at all controversial. I imagine FNC would've been on the front lines or at least other right wing pundits would've taken a swing at this had the footage revealed something other than a pen.
    • No, not Kerry's people, you linked the NY Post, one of the more conservative-leaning newspapers in the nation

      It quoted a Kerry spokesman saying it was a pen. I read the article; you apparently did not.
      • Selective memory. The article first mentioned that the Post reviewed the tape from Fox News and determined it wasn't a pen. Regardless of what Kerry's spokesman said, there wasn't any spin since we're dealing with a videotape, which is, at least in my mind, incontrovertible evidence. If the Post is willing to say it's a pen on the record, Kerry's spokesman doesn't need to spin it, which was what was implied. You could've just as easily said the Post made the determination so it didn't sound like campaign sp
        • If the Post is willing to say it's a pen on the record, Kerry's spokesman doesn't need to spin it, which was what was implied.

          No, it was inferred. I trust Kerry's people more than I trust the Post.

  • Who Cares? (Score:3, Informative)

    by Saeed al-Sahaf ( 665390 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:56PM (#10472872) Homepage
    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?

    • Re:Who Cares? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Beatbyte ( 163694 )
      What does the messenger matter.

      If it is true, it is true. Correct?

      Would it be better if it came from NBC's liberal media?
      • If it is true, it is true. Correct?

        But it wasn't true, now was it. Even though Drudge reported it as coming from the mouth of Jesus. Yet, it wasn't true at all.

        The point it, everything that comes out of Drudge is soaked in so much right wing spin, it rarely has much at all to do with reality.

    • 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?

      Moore is nothing more than a Democrat mouth-peice for mud slinging. Why would this load of crap from Moore suprise anyone, and why would anyone pay attention to it?

      (Hint.... sometimes the far right/left wakos can be right)

      • Moore is nothing more than a Democrat mouth-peice for mud slinging. Why would this load of crap from Moore suprise anyone, and why would anyone pay attention to it?

        Trying to bait me? Good try, but no go. I didn't see the Moore film, and if I do, I'll take it with a grain of salt.

        On the other hand, I'll bet your troll worked with flying colors with most of the /. crowd!

    • Re:Who Cares? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by zygote ( 134175 )
      I heard Drudge (driving in the father-in-law's car, no radio control!) and he was humping this on Sunday. I can't believe it is still bouncing around -- slooooow day on /.

      If I recall, all those rules between the two candidates' camps were loudly decried as trivial, over-the-top and plain silly. But, since GWB performed the Dance of the Sourpuss King, his henchmen are now treating those rules like the Ten Commandments. Puhleez.

      Hopefully, the .Mac account hosting that QT movie will meltdown from the "Slashd
    • Look what I found on the front page when I visited it:

      OIL HITS $53.25...

      Unemployment rate remains at 5.4%...

      '585,000 jobs have been lost since President Bush took office'...

      Those are the first story headlines I read on the website.

    • "Why would this load of crap from Drudge surprise anyone, and why would anyone pay attention to it?"

      It gives the Republicans ammo to fire back with.
    • Why would this load of crap from Drudge surprise anyone, and why would anyone pay attention to it?

      Why do you think FoxNews is dwarfing all of the Liberal spewers in ratings? Could it be because they are closer to the middle than the rest and are threatening to lean right? Fox definately isn't fair and balanced, it is however more balanced than the rest and that's why it's more popular.

      It might also be why littlegreenfootballs' web server broke slashdots' hit records once Drudge linked them during the Rat

      • Why do you think FoxNews is dwarfing all of the Liberal spewers in ratings?

        Source please...where are you getting this? They are the most popular news? over CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC?

        If you make this statement, please include links to the source of this...or else one could say:

        "FoxNews has admitted to being funded by the Republican party and that they are going to end their broadcasting and cease operations next Friday due to this scandel..."

        See, without a source I could make things up too...not saying

  • Already debunked (Score:5, Informative)

    by metalhed77 ( 250273 ) <`andrewvc' `at' `gmail.com'> on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:56PM (#10472878) Homepage
    God this is so old and debunked trash. The guy who broke it allready has noted that it was a pen [indcjournal.com]. According to the rabidly right wing fox news.

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

    • "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..."

      Doesn't seem too difficult to understand to me. Anyway, checkout the quicktime movie linked to in this sto

      • Yeah, except none of that is in the video or happened. And fox only has higher quality footage of him holding a pen, no paper.

        You know maybe saddam had WMD then evaporated them and any evidence of their existance just as bush invaded. Doesn't seem too difficult to understand to me.............
      • If it's against the rules, they *both* broke the rules. This isn't partisanship. Go to c-span.org and click on the first presidential debate. After the video starts playing, fast forward to 42 minutes 20 seconds into the 90 minutes. This is a segment where Bush is speaking. Oh! What's that clearly in his right hand? Would that be A PEN!?!

        Watch the video in ten minutes leading up to that point. Bush periodically looks down at the podium and moves that pen around. Is he writing?

        Personally I don't
        • They were allowed pens and paper. They just had to give them up beforehand and they would be placed on the podium for them, ready to be used. For some reason, both parties decided to put that in the rules for the debate. They both new about it.
  • Uh.... it was a pen [nypost.com].

  • Well, so what? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by hey! ( 33014 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:57PM (#10472894) Homepage Journal
    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!"?
    • It is reffered to as a cheat sheet because it is cheating. You are absolutly not allowed to bring notes in to the debate. You really are not supposed to bring your own pens, but I dont think people really care about that.

      Seriously think about the advantage of a cheat sheet for Bush, if he can cut his 2 second pause and stare down to 1 second or 1/2 a second that would be HUGE.

      So, it could have been a big deal, but I doubt its anything more then a pen, a bit too obvious.

      • Re:Well, so what? (Score:3, Interesting)

        by Shakrai ( 717556 )

        You really are not supposed to bring your own pens, but I dont think people really care about that.

        How do you even know he brought his own pen? For all we know he pocketed one of the pens provided by the commission while the camera was focusing on Bush and took it out later. If I have a pen in my hand and I don't need it my habit is to put it in my shirt pocket -- who says Kerry doesn't have a similar habit?

        Or maybe he's a wanton pen thief! That would give Fox and Drudge something to run as a story f

        • I heard he threw his pens over a fence. I don't know about you, but I think that's sort of disrespectful. Talk amongst yourselves.

          • I heard he threw his pens over a fence. I don't know about you, but I think that's sort of disrespectful. Talk amongst yourselves.

            Look, for the last time, he didn't throw his pens over a fence. He threw the caps over a fence. And at least Kerry had pens -- I heard Bush skipped over thousands of people to get an easy job working with #2 pencils.

    • Really, even if a "crib sheet" would be helpful, why not just write a memorized list of all the points down as soon as you get to the podium, using the pens and papers that are there for that purpose, before you get confused by the debate. That would not be cheating and would serve just as good of a purpose as bringing a pre-written sheet. Memorizing the list, but then writing a backup, would work much better than a non-memorized list, since you may not have to glance at it to recall the item.

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

      If Bush was allowed a cheat sheet, he would probably load it up with choice quotes from Kerry. You see, then he'd have a counter for everything Kerry says. ;-)

  • What did Kerry bring onto the stage? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gothic_Walrus ( 692125 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:57PM (#10472895) Journal
    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...

  • That does it! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @02:57PM (#10472897)

    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.

    • 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!
  • Wait a second . . . since when did anyone care about the debate rules anyway? I mean we all know they are totally set up by a bipartisan commission seeking to make both of their guys look good and robbing us all of a fair real debate. So who gives a crap? Honestly, cuz I don't.

    And on a second note, the Drudge Report has always been a republican, or at the very least conservatively-biased, report. Matthew Drudge is always looking to bash anyone who isn't republican and always trying to impress his buddy

  • Thoroughly discredited story (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:07PM (#10473030)
    And outdated. But not yet duped.
  • I'd like to add that Kerry is an experienced debater and had a distinguished record of it. To suggest that he would need such a cheat sheet, and that he would be stupid enough to use one is laughable in the first place.

  • Bush Cheated? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ewithrow ( 409712 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:09PM (#10473057) Homepage
    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 [salon.com]

    Here is the image [electoral-vote2.com]
    • boo! you work for salon or something?

      its asking me for a subscription! i'm a college student here! My rent/utilities/gas/food/imaginary girlfriend (after all, on /. it is illegal to possess a real girlfriend) comes out of my paycheck!
      • Salon allows you to view the site for 24 hours as long as you watch a ~1 minute ad. Just click on "free day pass". No registration is required.

        Also, I am a starving college student as well, I do not work for salon, or any place else for that matter. :(

  • Still nothing to see (Score:3, Insightful)

    by KilobyteKnight ( 91023 ) <bjm.midsouth@rr@com> on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:13PM (#10473105) Homepage
    I suppose to in the spirit of equal time I should repeat [slashdot.org] myself from the article earlier today:

    Can we please discuss something that matters?

  • WMD (Score:2)

    by jdawg ( 21639 )
    Maybe it was a map to Iraq's WMDs stockpile?

    I mean, it's pretty obvious Kerry was responsible for ensuring the Coalition of the Willing wouldn't find anything. He's the only one with something to gain.

  • Ok, time to go tweak /. front page settings... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Urkki ( 668283 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @03:37PM (#10473384)
    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...
    • Good luck with those front page settings... last I checked this bug [sourceforge.net] still hasn't been fixed, so you'll accomplish nothing. :(

      (I keep on bringing this up in the hopes that the squeeky wheel will get some oil, but so far, nothing.)

      Oh, and on another note, I guess it's on the front page because if you go to the Politics [slashdot.org] section, you'll get a random jumble of stuff, so I suppose they want to do that to everyone or something.

      I don't know if anyone else is having this issue, but the current stories for me o

  • Guys. He pulls it out right in the middle of freaking everybody and smiling while he is doing it. Why the fuck would he do something so obvious if he was pulling out notes? It's a just a damn pen.

  • What did Kerry take out of his pocket? (Score:3, Funny)

    by cheezus ( 95036 ) on Friday October 08, 2004 @04:24PM (#10473920) Homepage
    a big can of whoopass!
  • Was he writing graffiti on the lectern?

    My liberal friends were all bragging about how Kerry looked all "regal" because during Bush's statements, he would carefully listen & take notes. Wouldn't that kindof imply that he also had paper up there?

    If he had paper, wouldn't he have had to bring it up to the podium? How could he *ever* prove that the paper was blank when he brought it up there? He couldn't. Whether or not it was a cheatsheet, it certainly could have been.

    So. How has this revelation changed

  • Good (Score:2)

    by IRNI ( 5906 )
    I hate kerry and bush. I am for Badnarik but I am glad someone is cheating and not paying attention to the rules. The rules are absolutely retarded and are geared to water down the debates as much as possible.
  • See this link [slashdot.org]. This was reported on foxnews.com as well, well after the "mystery" was solved with a teaser headline "What did kerry pull out of his pocket?" and at the end the story stated it was a pen. Sheesh.

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