[wagglebee]

Lehrer knows that sKerry's hopes are dismal at best, he was giving him "softballs" in an attempt to make sKerry's election showing at least seem respectable.

[Ouch]

cbs found about 200 undecided voters that (didnt like the way the country was heading) and they liked Kerry.
I bet they were shocked

[JudyinCanada]

I wonder how the Kerry gang would like it if Brit Hume were the moderator for the next "debate".

Or perhaps Hannity, or Tony Snow? Hmmmm?

[onyx]

I totally disagree.
I sat with some folks who are truly apolitical...
not partisan at all, and they all thought POTUS
clobbered Kerry... that Kerry was sour, dour and prissy.

I think Lehher was fair.
POTUS won this one big time.

[pabianice]

Even so, it was not Bush's best hour. He looked tired, distracted and on the defensive. This is how the voters will remember him going into the election. In the domestic policy debate Bush had better get his act together. Polls tomorrow will show the race tightening.

[churchillbuff]

Bush was definitely on the defensive about Iraq. As a Bush supporter and a Republican, one of the reasons I've opposed the Iraq invasion is because it's stupid policy that could put the Democrats back in the White House.

[Honorary Serb]

Lehrer Stacks Deck Against Bush

Yes, you're right. However, the results of tonight's debate will not change the momentum of this campaign one iota. And we all know which way the momentum is going!!!!

ALL of the lamestream network news operations, without exception, tow the New World Order line. And the NWO--with Soros as its point-man--wants its sock-puppet Kerry elected. The commercial networks are owned by NWO mega-corporations, and PBS--which was founded to belong to the American people--instead caters to the pseudo-intellectual elites and is in reality over-dependent on NWO foundation and mega-corporate suppport. The same goes for the major lamestream newspapers. But now we have the "blogosphere" as a countervailing force!!

[Syncro]

The questions, which Lehrer announced at the outset had been authored exclusively by him...

WHAT???

Who made that decision???

That's absurd.

Why not just let Carvile make up the questions?

That pretty much voids this debate. The fix was in.

[ArmyBratproud]

Lehrer's questions were all aimed as hits on Bush policies...then followed by...
"Senator Kerry..don't you agree Bush is the devil".

Lehrer never asked Kerry about his switched votes.

He never asked Kerry to detail what his plans are.

[Fiddlstix]

Lehrer is a PBS POS!
'Nuff Said!

[UB355]

I thought Jim was less obnoxious then he was in the 2000 debates

[ladyinred]

This is spot on, and besides, those of us watching CSPAN must have been put off by his Warden like behavior to the audience before the debate. He made me sick with his threats.

[BillaryBeGone]

Lehrer Stacks Deck Against Bush

And we're surprised because...?

[sinkspur]

This is ridiculous. Reminds me of Joe Gibbs complaining about the refs in the Monday night game against the Cowboys.

If you're griping about the moderator, you didn't train hard enough. Period.

[Burlem]

I was hoping the president would have hit Kerry with his record, the president was too scripted he does better when he speaks from the heart with just a few notes.
I thought the president was too easy on Kerry.

[Doctor Don]

Lehrer is out of touch with his roots - Oklahoma, where Bush will garner 68+ % of the votes. Shame on him!

[sport]

Anybody but a fool knew he was going to do that.

[xzins]

I thoroughly agree with this.

The premise of every question was negative toward President Bush and his policies.

These people are absolutely forgetful of 3000 murdered on 9/11. They want to go back to bread, sex, and circus; and being murdered is less a concern than if they lose their "sensual delights."

This is the ultimate immorality...to value your own life less that your pleasures.

It is the rat eating cocaine instead of food until it flops over dead.

[EagleClaw]

This was round twelve of a classic fifteen round championship fight. The champ has hurt the challenger in previous rounds(almost as much as challenger has hurt himself), and he had a chance to put him away this round. But, this round was a draw, although the referee was clearly in the challenger's corner with the pattern and tone of questions.

Challenger's legs looked a little fresher, and both fighters landed some solid blows, took some punishment, and missed on a few.

The champ missed a few openings, but he'll exploit those in the later rounds. Challenger did get a cut over the "smell test" comment, and it will probably bleed for the rest of the fight. Overall, I think the champ should still be ahead on the scorecard at this point.

The ringside news hounds will try to keep the excitement building by pumping up the challenger, but their impact will be fleeting.

The rule in prizefights is always "you have to knock out the champ to win", and that didn't happen tonight.

[hiredhand]

Lehrer opened with announcing how he had made up all the questions, and that neither Kerry, nor GWB had any foreknowlege of the questions or subjects.... but Kerry said very early on in the debate that he "understood we would be discussing homeland security later..." Or something very close to this.

...very fishy for having no foreknowlege wouldn't you say?!

I've said this before, and I'll say it again. Every cowaring leftist in this nation who is afraid of our enemy will vote for GWB. Simply because they care about their frightened selves and the preservation of their own soft hands more than anything else.

They know in their heart of hearts that Kerry's methods are NOT proven, and that he is a globalist, U.N. boot licking pushover. He simply lacks the resolve to take on Islamic terrorists....or any other sort of terrorists for that matter.

It struck me that Kerry only had his criticism of GWB. That's all...just criticism. He had no detailed answers. It reminded me of jobs I had when I was in the military. A lot of people "thought" they wanted the job.....until they REALLY understood what it involved. Then most of them either didn't want it, or didn't want it as badly as they thought they did.

If Kerry wasn't so proud, and arrogant, he might realize just what a mere shadow of a man he is. ...pleading with the American people to please let him be President!....because "....I can do a better job! Really! I can!"

I'm with you....he sealed his fate with this debate. ...jump in the hole, pulled the dirt back in on himself...and there he is. FINISHED!

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

This was not a real 'debate,' it was a journalistic interview.

That being said, knowing that it was lefty that was tossing the questions, Bush only had to come across as sharp and sincere to score points. There really is no 'winner' in this type of an interview. It's campaigning with a liberal moderator, of course Kerry is to be favored to win. From what I saw of it, though, I thought Bush did fine, and that Kerry didn't do what he needed to do stop the tremendous snowball that is his campaign charging downhill.

The Leftist commentators that are trying to spin this as a Kerry win have missed one critical point: Bush disproved their constant attacks on his intelligence. Anyone who was undecided because they had assumed Bush was stupid, will now be forced to consider him seriously.