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Winner: Bush
Rich Galen Friday October 08, 2004
From Marietta, Ohio
Marietta College Homecoming
DEBATE SPECIAL
The second debate between John Kerry and George W. Bush is over and President Bush did just fine, thank you.
Kerry's strategy was obvious: Try to get under President Bush's skin again. And, to that end, every camera angle was set up so that we could watch both men and see whether or not the President reacted to Kerry's jabs.
This time, however, George Bush was better prepared emotionally than he had been last week. He kept his composure and even teased himself about his scowling at last week's debate.
For his part, Kerry was obviously told by his handlers to keep his head down so the reaction shots wouldn't catch him scowling. He spent a great deal of time writing on his legal pad and aggressively underlining whatever he was writing.
On those few occasions when Kerry forgot to write on his pad and was caught on camera, he appeared to be � dare we say it? Smirking!
Tonight, President Bush - in spite of the pre-game chatter - seemed to be perfectly at ease with the town meeting format. He showed that he was comfortable moving across and among the wide variety of subjects which were raised by the audience.
Senator Kerry, on the other hand, seemed hamstrung by his handlers' insistence that every possible opportunity be taken to show that President Bush is the waffler, is indecisive, and has bad judgment.
At times it appeared that Kerry wanted to go in a different direction with an answer but stopped short because of what his handlers had told him he needed to do in this debate.
The worst answer of the night went to Senator Kerry when he tried to respond to the guy who asked about the Patriot Act. After talking about how much he agreed with the guy who was complaining that the Patriot Act was infringing on individuals' rights, Kerry remembered that he had voted for the bill and quickly backpedaled.
If, as we were told, the President had to re-convince people that he was up to this job, then he more than met that test tonight. He clearly explained his positions, clearly described the differences between those positions and Senator Kerry's and firmly reminded us that we are at war and that war is not something which can be nuanced.
Winner: Bush.
--END --
Copyright © 2004 Richard A. Galen
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