[MadIvan]

I have a feeling that Bush will do well in the debates - his answers will be concise while Kerry's will ramble. That alone will make people wonder if Kerry is decisive enough, and indeed if they want an insufferable bore in the White House for 4 years.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Ping!

[Torie]

This year Mr Kerry was deemed to have had a similarly successful convention

Whatever. The analogy is stretched. Dukakis was a more upfront liberal. Kerry is trying to be an ex-liberal, and has far more characters flaws than Dukakis did. Dukakis was an honest man. Kerry may have his good points, but honestly is not one of them.

[Judith Anne]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Wonderful post, hilarious!!!

I'm sitting here in my pjs, wondering if I want to have a beer and read that again! ;-D

[Paleo Conservative]

[My Favorite Headache]

I already know what each debate will focus on...and get ready for it because this is their only trump card:

W M D

[Anti-Bubba182]

"..his answers will be concise while Kerry's will ramble. That alone will make people wonder if Kerry is decisive enough.."

I can see that happening, since it is very consistant with the styles of both. You can bet Kerry will be drilled into putting out some zingers of his own to compensate for his natural nuanced answers. Bush should be able to do very well if he is himself and does not get baited.

[jporcus]

Oh ohh - Kerry has "Dukakitis"

[Mike Fieschko]

Rush today had a remark from the Rev Jackson to the effect that every sentence Kerry utters has three commas.

[gipper81]

Kerry, like Dukakis, is insufferably wonkish. Mr Dukakis once admitted to having read a couple of volumes on Swedish land-use management while he was on holiday. Mr Kerry speaks to campaign audiences as though he were lecturing them on Swedish land-use management.

Wow. The things you learn here ....

[Cultural Jihad]

For Mr Kerry ... windsurfing off Nantucket ... even his favourite pastime depends on which way the wind blows.

LOL!

[vbmoneyspender]

Of course, the big difference is that the 2004 campaign is not over yet. Mr Kerry’s last chance at redemption may be the presidential debates.

This idea that Kerry can somehow salvage his campaign via the debates is pretty silly. People already know George Bush and most people find him to be both likeable and decisive, which would appear to be a pretty good character combo in a time of war.Given that people are already very familiar with George Bush, the only way Kerry can shake peoples' general impression of Bush is if Bush does something completely bizarre at the debates, which ain't going to happen.

[hinckley buzzard]

There is a thread somewhere here with a quote from Kerry at a stump speech where he got away from the script-- and promptly became genuinely obtuse and incoherent.

In the debates he will have carefully scripted comments to be triggered by questions on each subject. He will try to have a few snappy comebacks on predictable points GW will make.

But if GW gets under his skin somehow, and Kerry decides to take off after him on some subject, he is liable to totally embarrass himself. He doesn't do spontaneity well at all.

[Prime Choice]

Then again, they may be the opportunity for Mr Kerry to fulfil the Dukakis analogy completely. It was the 1988 debates, and in particular a mind-numbingly passionless answer from the Democrat to a hypothetical question about the rape and murder of his wife, that finished him.

Then this one's in the bag. Last I heard, John Kerry doesn't answer "hypothetical questions." He said so in a softball interview with the New York Times over the weekend. No fooling.

[goldstategop]

I'm more charitable to Dukakis. He wasn't overly bright, but he never apologized for his beliefs. Kerry on the other hand is a truly contemptible human being. What will finish him in the debates, is his lack of core convictions. Heck, as a candidate he can't even answer "hypothetical" questions with ringing certainty. (laughing)

[Nateman]

   I thought it was this genuine unretouched picture ( Just ask Dan ) of him firing spitballs that is the one hurting Kerry.

[jnarcus]

Always incisive....nice job good post interesting read

[ppaul]

[aruanan]

Noble skipper claims
Everyone else is lying
Watch him crash and burn

[ladyinred]

The most striking parallel is the way both candidates let their opponents define them in ways that are not politically helpful.

Oh for goodness sakes! JF'nK defines himself as a Viet Nam vet every chance he gets. Why can't any freaking media tell the truth?

[AmericaUnited]

This year Mr Kerry was deemed to have had a similarly successful convention

Ha? Most honest pundits thought the convention was a bust. Most people walked away quoting Walter Mondale, "Where's the Beef?"