debate as I did? Kerry sends his voice down to the bottom registers and clearly explains his opinions and his plan. Bush launches into an unintentially dada performance art piece that basically hinges on one phrase: “What kind of message does that send to…” [insert group here]? And the pundits all say it was a wash. It was true then and it’s true now, “How [is he] losing to this guy?”
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aj says
Although both were guilty of stump-speech-ism, Kerry seemed much better at extemporizing his points – Bush seemed like he was madly scrambling to assemble scraps of memorized phrases into coherent sentences. And failing. On a personal level, Kerry was calm and Bush seemed cornered and agitated.
But beyond that, did we learn anything new?
I wish Kerry had explained the $87 billion vote — he voted against it because, like so much US legislation, it contained hidden extras — namely, a clause to eliminate collective bargaining rights from tens of thousands of public sector workers, a sneaky attempt at union-busting slipped into anti-terror legislation. Kerry would definitely up his reputation among working people by mentioning that.
Michael says
Yeah, I wish he had done that as well. There were several other opportunities for Kerry in the same vein and he didn’t take them. I also think Bush continued to mistake the war in Iraq for the war on terror, and Kerry could have done better at hammering on that.
I think in the last debate in this format Kerry has to slip in a zinger, and let fly early. Bush is vulnerable, and he has shown he can be pushed off his game. If Kerry can really hammer him on something it could throw Bush off and provoke either sheer inanity or make the lack of response so evident it has to be noted in the analysis post-debate.
But over all, Bush has been pushing this “not fit to lead” line for a while, and so Kerry’s main job was just to demonstrate that he’s OK. He had to show gravitas, and he did.
Michael says
Oh – I just remembered the bit I thought Kerry missed on the most. At one point Bush was rambling on about how even thinking about policy in Iraq was bad – “how will that seem to the troops” or some such.
Kerry could have and should have absolutely hammered him on that. He could have simply said, “I think our troops are intelligent enough to know that the policy has failed and needs adjustment, and that they’d welcome a President who doesn’t micromanage the War from Washington.”
Kerry could have shown respect for the troops, laid a trap, and gotten in the “this war is political” shot all in one go.