KERRY KICKED BUSH’S BUTT LAST NIGHT
I watched the debate in its entirety and thought Kerry kicked Bush’s butt. Even allowing Bush the discount of being an inferior speaker, he lost badly. He came off as whiny, arrogant, and defensive. His body language was all wrong, hunched over and uncomfortable. And while usually he doesn’t have to say much in order to be effective – or, more correctly, often he is effective because he doesn’t say much – I found his answers too repetitive and empty of content.
For Kerry on the other hand, the pressure was on him to not fall hopelessly behind, and to provide both content to help America know his positions and imagery to help America see him as presidential material. And on both counts, I thought he was outstanding. He clearly explained his positions on foreign policy issue, demonstrating that he had that them through and that he was offering something different than Bush. He looked confident without being cocky, steadfast without being wooden. And the debate format – short answers and rebuttals – forced him to not be long-winded, but at the same time he was able to get a lot of information out in those short windows of time. Many Americans hate Bush but don’t know or like Kerry enough to vote Democratic; I would guess that many of those undecideds got a good vibe from Kerry last night.
If Kerry ends up taking this thing, you’d have to look back to Coral Gables and September 30th as the turning point. But two more debates, a veep debate, and five weeks of campaigning and ads remain. It’s a race now.
I watched the debate in its entirety and thought Kerry kicked Bush’s butt. Even allowing Bush the discount of being an inferior speaker, he lost badly. He came off as whiny, arrogant, and defensive. His body language was all wrong, hunched over and uncomfortable. And while usually he doesn’t have to say much in order to be effective – or, more correctly, often he is effective because he doesn’t say much – I found his answers too repetitive and empty of content.
For Kerry on the other hand, the pressure was on him to not fall hopelessly behind, and to provide both content to help America know his positions and imagery to help America see him as presidential material. And on both counts, I thought he was outstanding. He clearly explained his positions on foreign policy issue, demonstrating that he had that them through and that he was offering something different than Bush. He looked confident without being cocky, steadfast without being wooden. And the debate format – short answers and rebuttals – forced him to not be long-winded, but at the same time he was able to get a lot of information out in those short windows of time. Many Americans hate Bush but don’t know or like Kerry enough to vote Democratic; I would guess that many of those undecideds got a good vibe from Kerry last night.
If Kerry ends up taking this thing, you’d have to look back to Coral Gables and September 30th as the turning point. But two more debates, a veep debate, and five weeks of campaigning and ads remain. It’s a race now.
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