Thursday, September 30, 2004
WOW!! Kerry was terrific!
I've watched Kerry's decline in the polls, and it made me reluctant to watch the debate. I was expecting a standoff, where Kerry makes sense but can't get his message across very well, and the President is able to recite empty platitudes and get away with it.
But the debate I saw was massively different from my expectations.
First of all, Bush acted intimidated, annoyed, and extremely defensive, pursing his lips and practically glaring at Kerry (at least at the beginning); obviously his confidence wasn't buoyed by his razor-thin lead. It's by far the worst debate performance I've ever seen-- he rambled, he squeeled, he sometimes stood there staring, at a loss for what to say. He kept repeating that it was "hard work," as if to justify all the vacation time he's taken. Sometimes you could barely tell what he was talking about. If a Democratic candidate performed the way he did, the election would be over.
But Kerry's response to his opponent's poor performance was powerful and gratifying. He didn't act smug or roll his eyes. He calmly laid out his positions and critiqued Bush's in a respectful, calm tone. When he wasn't speaking he often looked over at the President with a warm smile on his face. He often nodded at phrases from the President he agreed with, and very rarely shook his head no in disagreement with Bush. He was really quite charming-- mature, compassionate, and fair.
I sure do hope all those leaning voters saw what I saw-- a candidate who clearly will make a better President than our current one.
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But the debate I saw was massively different from my expectations.
First of all, Bush acted intimidated, annoyed, and extremely defensive, pursing his lips and practically glaring at Kerry (at least at the beginning); obviously his confidence wasn't buoyed by his razor-thin lead. It's by far the worst debate performance I've ever seen-- he rambled, he squeeled, he sometimes stood there staring, at a loss for what to say. He kept repeating that it was "hard work," as if to justify all the vacation time he's taken. Sometimes you could barely tell what he was talking about. If a Democratic candidate performed the way he did, the election would be over.
But Kerry's response to his opponent's poor performance was powerful and gratifying. He didn't act smug or roll his eyes. He calmly laid out his positions and critiqued Bush's in a respectful, calm tone. When he wasn't speaking he often looked over at the President with a warm smile on his face. He often nodded at phrases from the President he agreed with, and very rarely shook his head no in disagreement with Bush. He was really quite charming-- mature, compassionate, and fair.
I sure do hope all those leaning voters saw what I saw-- a candidate who clearly will make a better President than our current one.
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