Yawn
Been sitting here reading the various takes on tonight's debate and I'm about as nonplussed as I was when I decided to stop watching the tube and repair to my favorite coffee bar. Both candidates behaved as best they could with what they had. I didn't like Bush's scowl, or whatever look he had at the beginning while I was watching, and I just have to live with the fact that he's not smoove.
Kerry was doing Kerry, probably the best I've seen him do it. Definitely not veering toward the unhinged, and his staff and supporters must be happy with that. The big question is, who is still sitting on the fence and why?
The Kerry leaners were probably satisfied tonight, unless they were reading the tea leaves like us political knuckleheads on the innernut. He didn't say anything different than what he's already said (and has been hashed and rehashed online for months), but he said it well, I suppose. But if you got into the meat, and were looking for dedication to stick with Iraq and the wider WOT, there wasn't much there except summits, talks, and exit strategies. Oh, and a "global test." For those who aren't so sure the Iraq war was a good thing in the first place (like the nice fellow I sat next to on the airplane today--Hey Leo!) this was their first real chance to see if they can live with this guy.
Kerry seemed confident, authoritative, and Presidential; a very important thing at this point. Sounding like you can do the job, and offering a plan to do it are different. The people that can't discern this from tonight's offering are likely going to walk into the polls (if they go at all) and vote how they feel that day anyway. It wasn't so long ago that I couldn't figure out what all these politicians were going on about myself, so that's not a disrespectful remark.
I'm going to try and watch the other debates (or at least start them), where I expect Kerry to do better on domestic issues. His staff didn't allow him to make too many gaffes tonight, which means he was well prepared and followed advice, and he'll be attacking on the economy. It shouldn't work, but many people don't care about the war so much as their paychecks, and economics is extremely local.
