Trying to avoid the post-debate spin... my impressions:
First, no screw-ups of any substance. The spinners are saying Bush looked annoyed during the wide shots but I didn't really notice it. Kerry seemed to be pretty consistent in terms of the length of debate (not in content but in performance) while Bush seemed to be tiring out after about 45 minutes. So for performance I think Kerry did better.
In terms of content Kerry had a ton of criticism but no real specific answers for how he'd "fix" Iraq. His solution of a summit really isn't much of an answer. Bush had a very rich target with all his Senate votes but didn't take much advantage of it. Kerry was on the attack and Bush didn't attack as much as I'd want. So neither advanced their position much but at least Kerry has been consistent for the last 10 days. Bush stands strong on his position.
All in all, 90 minutes is too long for me after 10 hours of work. If people just watched the first 45 minutes they'd think Bush won. If they watched the whole thing then Kerry closed stronger and did well despite being wrong on the issues. We'll see how the people judge this one.
Slight win for Kerry but just because he did perform better.
UPDATE: Note to Joe Lockhart, clean up your act you slob. What a dorky representation for your candidate. Learn from Karen Hughes who had a debate with the MSNBC report (is she working for Kerrey?) and was amazing. It's not Rove who's the real genius but Mrs. Hughes.
Posted by Tim at September 30, 2004 08:48 PMI watched the CSPAN split screen and to my biased eyes, Bush too often look annoyed, testy, and irritated. It looked "unpresidential," whatever that means anymore. Kerry looked a little too overeager and overconfident at times. I'd shout at the TV, "Don't start getting cocky, Senator. Please..."
When I winced as a Dem liberal:
-When Kerry said he'd never ever ever no-no-no! use a nuclear bomb.
-When asked about Bush errors in Iraq, Kerry started with a stupid, condescending "Well, where should I begin?"
My favorite liberal moment, as described by the NYTimes:
"...Mr. Bush, who seemed to grow tired as the night wore on, repeatedly used the phrase "hard work" to describe the war in Iraq. Mr. Kerry repeatedly referred to his first-hand experience sending men into battle in Vietnam, and that seemed to unnerve Mr. Bush. The president said he understood that fighting was hard work and added, "I see on the TV screens how hard it is...."
http://nytimes.com/2004/10/01/politics/campaign/01teevee.html
I think Kerry won big because Karl Rove has tried to paint him as a flip-flopper. Americans got to watch Senator Kerry without Rove's glasses on. Kerry seemed far more confident and collected then President Bush.
Posted by: Tom at October 1, 2004 05:36 AM
