On second thought, Bush won the debate on the merits since he seemed sincere, authentic, likeable and direct. Kerry actually lost ground by appearing smarmy, fake, condescending, and a know-it-all. When you come right down to it, yeah people do think Kerry's a heck of a debater but when it comes to the bottom line the truth is he really doesn't share OUR VALUES. The debate tonight was very instructive. It illuminated very clearly the differences between the two men. There's Kerry with his liberal world view that says we are at command of the UN and the French and President Bush with a mainstream world view that says America defines its interests and defends herself. I don't doubt which of these two views most Americans prefer. After all is said and done, this isn't a liberal country. Kerry may be a smooth liar but he doesn't have the gonads to tell people who he is and what he believes in. That's all we need to know in making our decision about next Commander In Chief. And it won't be a close call.
I have not read through all of the posts tonight. I find them interesting, of course, but I just haven't had the time!
I just thought I'd share my humble opinion.
Bush started off very weak and gained momentum towards the middle of the debate. Kerry did much better than expected. I mean, really, with ALL of his many positions,who'd of thought he would have come off the least bit credible.
Having said all of that ... while, I was disappointed that Bush did not give Kerry the KO I'd have loved, we have to remember that we are already convinced. He doesn't NEED to make the sale to us. He needs to speak to the wishy washy undecideds, and we have to question whether or not he did that. I believe he did. He was consistent and redundant and plain spoken. As boring as it is to us, he needs to be redundant to the fence sitters. The points he relentlessly hammered where for a purpose. No doubt.
I thought Kerry came off better than Gore did 4 years ago, and that is what scares me. Gore almost won, and he was an awful candidate.
Of course, I don't agree with Kerry, but he debated better than Gore did 4 years ago.