Initial Thoughts on the First Debate
A dozen of my friends gathered in my living room tonight to watch the first Presidential debate of the 2004 election. As Jim Lehrer took the stage I found myself becoming increasingly anxious about what would shortly transpire.
Would Kerry blow this chance and roll over to play dead echoing the conventional wisdom of the media? Would Bush come out with a zinger that Kerry would be unable to defend himself against?
Kerry went first and his initial response was a little stilted, reinforcing the stereotype of him as repeated to death by the Bush administration. Bush's retort, however, was incredibly weak and set the stage for the remainder of the debate.
As time passed, Kerry hit his stride and hit home a number of solid points. He stated clearly that although he may have spoken incorrectly about the war, President Bush made mistakes in executing the war. He stated clearly that Bush's plan is nothing more than "more of the same."
With each passing question Kerry got sharper and Bush appeared increasingly annoyed and inarticulate. At one point Bush stood there for a full ten seconds trying to come up with some to day. He referred to terrorists as a "group of folks." Even more important, his standard attacks on Kerry's indecisiveness were deftly brushed aside and Bush spent most of the debate on the defensive.
Sure there were no "Reagan moments" in this debate as many pundits will surely say. Such criticism is mere nitpicking. The fact of tonight's debate is that Kerry came in well above expectations and dispelled any notion that the Bush campaign's critiques hold water.
Now we have but to wait and see, as Jon Stewart said, if tomorrow's paper tell the same story that we saw on our televisions tonight.
Who is this guy?
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