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The problem is that Kerry is a gentleman, or fancies himself as such. His attacks on GWB have been oddly muted, and he has backed away from clear opportunities for the kill--witness him backing off from the moderator's characteriation of Bush as "lying," and his behavior during Bush's weird brain-freeze moment late in the debate, when, in the middle of an answer about North Korea, Bush locked up for a second and then started talking about Iraq (again); when Kerry got his rebuttal, he continued to talk about Iraq, as if that had been the topic of the question from the get-go. Kerry has shown a real unqillingnbess to be that bad cop.
That said, I thought he did a hell of a job last night. His statements were articulate and punchy, he addressed himself to the issues, relied less on a small set of talking points, and looked confident, passionate, and, yeah, presidential. D said he looked like Lincoln up there. Dunno if I'd go that far, but he did have presence; Bush looked like a seventeen-year-old kid wearing his dad's suit, sitting in the principle's office appealing his suspension.
(And what was up with the way Bush was hunched over the podium? I kept thinking there must be a line of charley down there...)
The problem will be, of course, that Kerry's positions, however clearly he articulated them, are nuanced positions--and can therefore be distorted by the Bush spin machine.
Only a quarter of the electorate watched the debate: the rest will get the soundbite version today. And therein lies the rub. Look back at 2000; in polls, those who actually watched the debates themselves thought that Al Gore won all three, while those who only read/saw coverage of the debates came away favoring Bush. Kerry may face a similar bind.
There were no howlers, no real money lines, but it was more substantive than I was expecting, and our guy distinguished himself.
If nothing else, Kerry's performance should fire up the Democratic base, many of whom have been supporting him only reluctantly. I, for one, awoke full of piss and vinegar. (Two minutes later I was only full of vinegar, but still.) There's a smell of blood on the wind. I actually found myself getting horny as I watched. What had promised to be dull (if worthy) now has the potential to be a real scrap.
It's a good day to be a Democrat. |
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