Once again, I did not have the liberty of watching The Debate live; I ended up watching the PBS re-run with my girlfriend late last night.
Some things to reflect on: If Kerry “won” the first debate by looking presidential and just not screwing up, then he whupped Bush last night. Kerry looked very presidential, while the President himself seemed immature and smarmy. Bush began almost all of his responses with a smirk and a snicker,
that self-righteous little “heh” thing he does. The highlight for me was Bush’s derisive ribbing of the moderator Bob Schieffer’s employer, CBS, and the trustworthiness of “leading news organizations.” That might go over well when
the President is surrounded by staunch supporters, but in this forum it seemed
unprofessional and tasteless.
As for Kerry, this should extend the uptick he’s been riding in the polls , although his numbers seem to have leveled off somewhat in the last week, possibly due to the lack-luster performance in the second debate.
In this regard, I thought Slate’s William Saletan puts it best: “For seven months, Bush buried Kerry under negative ads. Now tens of millions of people who saw those ads are seeing Kerry for themselves. The debates are washing out the ads.”
It’s now John Kerry’s responsibility to remain in the spotlight – making sure that Bush’s attack ads don’t undermine what he has accomplished during the debates. Early in the summer this was Kerry’s election to lose, and now we are back to that point. Kerry has the momentum right now, and if he can maintain that for the next three weeks (which will be very difficult to be sure) he will be in a great position come election day.
Respond
Back to top