VP Debate Blow by Blow

[HumorMe]

he gets mad props for stating his belief publicly.

having said that, i wonder what position he would hold if his daughter was not gay? he doesnt seem very liberal on social issues except this one.

I very seriously doubt he would hold his position. I think he is very conservative but not "Ashcroft" conservative.

 

[spongebob]

And don't you think that it is pretty sad that it takes something like his daughter to disagree with such a thing. It's pathetic that some can't care about others unless it's within their inner circle. I'm not saying they need to be a tree hugging hippies but it's sad that people think like this

it is sad. often times though unless people are directly confronted with an issue they hold very different opinions. thats why we must all aspire to understand all problems, because you never know when you might be faced with one yourself.

 

[HumorMe]

it is sad. often times though unless people are directly confronted with an issue they hold very different opinions. thats why we must all aspire to understand all problems, because you never know when you might be faced with one yourself.

Amen!

If I was to go back to when I started posting here and look at some of the things I had said to gays (in particular RyanH) I would be ashamed at those things. Although I can't change those words, my views and attitude have shifted tremendously.

I was never tolerate of other people's view and lifestyles but over time and chatting with some others on this forum, I have realized how wrong it is to stereotype gay people.

Although I do not agree with the lifestyle of gay people, they are humans and they have feelings just like any other person. It makes them no less of a person and to be honest I struggled with that for a long time.

 

[BlkDragon]

Amen!

If I was to go back to when I started posting here and look at some of the things I had said to gays (in particular RyanH) I would be ashamed at those things. Although I can't change those words, my views and attitude have shifted tremendously.

I was never tolerate of other people's view and lifestyles but over time and chatting with some others on this forum, I have realized how wrong it is to stereotype gay people.

Although I do not agree with the lifestyle of gay people, they are humans and they have feelings just like any other person. It makes them no less of a person and to be honest I struggled with that for a long time.

RyanH was gay?

 

[HumorMe]

RyanH was gay?

yes

 

[XBiker]

It's actually too hot of a topic to discuss and therefore they defer it to the states and hope it doesn't come back.

No, marriage has been and should always be regulated by the state in which the union of a man a woman occur.

This idea of "gay marriage" totally contradicts the definition of the term "marriage"

All semantics aside, it's an issue for the states and should remain that way.

 

[XBiker]

PS Edwards won the debate.

Cheney gave the same BS answers he has been for almost 4 years now.

He's beginning to sound like a POLLY-WANTA-CRACKER-PARROT.

 

[spongebob]

No, marriage has been and should always be regulated by the state in which the union of a man a woman occur.

This idea of "gay marriage" totally contradicts the definition of the term "marriage"

All semantics aside, it's an issue for the states and should remain that way.

well what we have to understand is the agenda of the gay and lesbian community. it is to obtain all the benefits of a married couple. benefits from the govt and from employers. it really makes no sense for one state to recognize a gay marriage and another to not.

if we are going to extend the benefits then the benefits must be extended to all gays not just certain ones in certain states.

 

[spongebob]

IFILL: Senator Edwards, 90 seconds.

Now, as to this question, let me say first that I think the vice president and his wife love their daughter. I think they love her very much. And you can't have anything but respect for the fact that they're willing to talk about the fact that they have a gay daughter, the fact that they embrace her. It's a wonderful thing. And there are millions of parents like that who love their children, who want their children to be happy.

And I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and so does John Kerry.

I also believe that there should be partnership benefits for gay and lesbian couples in long-term, committed relationships.

But we should not use the Constitution to divide this country.

No state for the last 200 years has ever had to recognize another state's marriage.

This is using the Constitution as a political tool, and it's wrong.

Question 13 - What is Kerry and Edwards' stance on gay marriage?

IFILL: New question, but same subject.

As the vice president mentioned, John Kerry comes from the state of Massachusetts, which has taken as big a step as any state in the union to legalize gay marriage. Yet both you and Senator Kerry say you oppose it.

Are you trying to have it both ways?

EDWARDS: No. I think we've both said the same thing all along.

We both believe that -- and this goes onto the end of what I just talked about -- we both believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

But we also believe that gay and lesbians and gay and lesbian couples, those who have been in long-term relationships, deserve to be treated respectfully, they deserve to have benefits.

For example, a gay couple now has a very difficult time, one, visiting the other when they're in the hospital, or, for example, if, heaven forbid, one of them were to pass away, they have trouble even arranging the funeral.

I mean, those are not the kind of things that John Kerry and I believe in. I suspect the vice president himself does not believe in that.

But we don't -- we do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

And I want to go back, if I can, to the question you just asked, which is this constitutional amendment.

I want to make sure people understand that the president is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage that is completely unnecessary.

Under the law of this country for the last 200 years, no state has been required to recognize another state's marriage.

Let me just be simple about this. My state of North Carolina would not be required to recognize a marriage from Massachusetts, which you just asked about.

There is absolutely no purpose in the law and in reality for this amendment. It's nothing but a political tool. And it's being used in an effort to divide this country on an issue that we should not be dividing America on.

We ought to be talking about issues like health care and jobs and what's happening in Iraq, not using an issue to divide this country in a way that's solely for political purposes. It's wrong.

IFILL: Mr. Vice President, you have 90 seconds.

CHENEY: Well, Gwen, let me simply thank the senator for the kind words he said about my family and our daughter. I appreciate that very much.
Sounds like a real attack huh?

IFILL: That's it?

CHENEY: That's it.

IFILL: OK, then we'll move on to the next question.

kerry really stumbles here IMO.

i think he is trying to have it both ways. if you want to extend benefits to gays then it must be extended to all gays.

why should a gay couple in one state recieve govt and employer benefits while another couple in another state doesnt.

and whats funny is he uses the scenario of a loved one in a gay relationship in the hospital as a benefit. WOW! thats a great benefit.

 

[Spartacus]

Ill try to be as honest as possible...

I really thought Cheney was caught several times in no mans land and dodged many questions. I thought they tried to much to paint Kerry/Edwards in a certain negative way and were worried more about their opponents then the questions and issues.

Even so, if the question is who won the debate?

I think Cheney won the debate. The uneducated or unaware who tuned in
would assuredly think Cheney won. This isnt a slight. What I mean if a neutral panel judged these two just by what they said and what transpired in the debate, I think Cheney would have handily won.

Those who understand the issues and know the background of the issues being presented would find it a lot closer. Maybe to close to call. But it is alot harder to answer questions when you are the incumbent and almost every question is about your past four years in power. Much less pressure on the challengers. Thus if it is a close finish, then Cheney did very well. In fact I think Edwards did good but Cheney did very good.

Advantage Cheney. Winner Cheney.

Not as big as a win that Kerry put on Bush, but a win none the less.

you screwed up the to/too usage twice