September 30, 2004
Debate Thread
Updating often...So far Bush looks tired, worn, with drawn-in shoulders... he looks like he's beaten down.
"A colossal error of judgment." Kerry's hitting hard. A couple of reaction shots from Bush that don't look pleased...
Oh man, now Bush is just whining. All of his voice tone patterns are going up then down, just like a classic whine. It's strange, it is like he is reaching out for any talking point he can find.
Kerry had an opportunity to fully explain the vote to authorize, but he demurred.
So far, Kerry is completely dominating.
I think we've heard a couple of prepared zingers - "stay on the offense" (yep, he just said it again). And "the enemy only has to be right once." Kerry has already turned one of those around pretty well.
Bush has said, "What kind of message to the troops is it to say wrong war, wrong time?" a couple of times now. There's a good way to respond to that, but Kerry hasn't.
Bush is really pounding that point now. Kerry has not taken the opportunity to respond to this properly. I think it hurts, he needs to address it.
Kerry has partially turned around the mixed messages thing, but he just got an unfair question from Lehrer accusing of him accusing Bush of lying.
Bush is making no sense at the moment. Something about Osama determining our foreign policy...? Bush/Cheney '04: Osama Doesn't Decide. what??
I don't understand Bush's "Spread Freedom" mantra. As if freedom can be imposed by an external force...
Bush is still coming across as very cocky and defensive. Kerry is coming across as strong and tough but hasn't taken any silly cheap shots like Bush's "change the dynamic on the ground" smirk.
Okay, I think we just had our moment. Pointing out that Bush said, "The enemy attacked us." Kerry is kicking ass here.
Bush responds with yet another lie, implying that Saddam wouldn't have disarmed without the war. Saddam WASN'T ARMED TO BEGIN WITH!
The 35-40 countries having more capability to build weapons than Iraq was a great point to bring up.
So far I don't see how anyone can declare this a Bush victory.
Bush seems to be getting more incoherent.
I don't like the "character issues" question - it's code for the Republican's emphasis away from policy. But he's going back to mixed messages. This is Kerry's chance to knock it down.
He knocked down its cousin: "You can be certain and wrong."
Kerry's Nuclear Proliferation answer was very, very strong.
The debate is wrapping up. There's a complicated answer about Putin on both sides, and I'm not sure it plays very well to most viewers.
Regarding whether Saddam is a threat: "That's not the issue - it's what you DO about it." Good moment.
A future about freedom, not fear.
More false implications by Bush in his closing statement. I think by now Kerry's given people enough to see through them.
This is a clear win for Kerry. David Brooks is declaring a draw on the debate right now, which means Kerry won.
Brooks is a woos
Posted by: Greysmoke at October 1, 2004 09:32 AMNice running commentary, albeit somewhat skewed... thankfully. The media tries too dang hard to be objective.
Media Pundit: "It took him four years, but Bush demonstrated he knows who Kim Jong-il is. He's clearly not as idiotic as he used to be. I'd say he's almost Presidential."
The closing comments made me think of your past entries about Bush's rhetorical style. While Kerry was positive and hopeful, Bush was negative and apocalyptic. "Elect me because I'm the only one who can protect us, like I did back on Sept. 11th. I mean, we haven't had any terror attacks since then... just a thousand dead US troops and more to come."
You better respond to the next two debates, or I'll be seriously disappointed.
Posted by: Robert Waugh at October 1, 2004 12:13 PMActually I was surprised by the effectiveness of the debate format. The split screen (I watched it on C-SPAN, but I'm assuming everyone got it) was a good idea. It put both candidates on a more equal footing, and it lent itself to substansial answers more than soundbytes. The candidates and the commission could be commended.
Bush demonstrated more skill with an audience, but that was offset by the repeated use of catchphrases and the mandatory lack of audience participation. Kerry took the initiative and dominated on the issues with quick responses. And they flowed well, felt natural instead of scripted. On the other hand, he tried a stage laugh early on that fell flat, I think. Both candidates missed valuable opportunities to put a few campaign issues to bed.
I was ambivalent about the question to Kerry re accusing Bush of lying. It's strong stuff, but it had to be addressed. Kerry responded on a weak note, then he rebounded quickly. What surprised me was that Bush didn't fight for the initiative on that question. He responded to points raised, but countered with earlier statements when he could've developed them. He tried to parry often, but didn't block well.
The President's downright petulant tone came as a real shock. He kept saying, "It's hard work." And on his response, "First of all, of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that," he sounded almost childish. It was obvious from his facial expressions that he'd lost patience with the whole thing early on, but I expected him to show more resolve than that.
There were a couple of weird moments I'm still trying to figure out. Is it me or did Bush dwell a bit on details about various forms of torture?
Two really magic moments: When Bush and Kerry nodded to each other during Bush's comment expressed sympathy to the people in Florida. And when they complimented each other's families. That was good to see.
Posted by: Joe Medina at October 1, 2004 12:26 PMYeah, I'm going to try and do the next couple of debates too. I probably won't be watching the VP debate live, though, because I might be heading up to Seattle for the evening.