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Second debate
It was a very good debate, interesting and lively, with both candidates in fine form, with good questions from the audience, and with a moderator who did a good job. I have to say in fairness, since I tore Bush apart last week, even calling him a virtual moron, that he was indescribably better than in the first debate—confident, knowledgeable, forceful, physically at ease, never at a loss for words. It was his best performance ever without a prepared text in front of him. With the exception of his address to the Congress on September 20, 2001, I would say it was his best public performance ever. On the question of who won, I think it was a huge victory for Bush. All of his winning qualities that I once liked him for (though I didn’t vote for him) were on display, and he was more articulate, even verbally flexible in tight spots, than he’s ever been. Instead of seeming like a virtual ignoramus unable to remember any facts or form a complete thought, he seemed on top of things. Over and over (though perhaps this is colored by one’s low expectations of him) he impressed. His best moment: explaining why there are more important things to a U.S. president than being liked by Europeans. Several bloggers have pointed out that Bush also did well in the town-hall setting as he is more comfortable when he has people to talk to, while Kerry obviously relates less well to people though he wasn’t bad. Bush’s main flaw was his failure to hit back on various false or unfair Kerry statements such as that we let a cornered bin Laden escape at Tora Bora by outsourcing the attack to the Afghans (Bush should have explained it was a lot more complicated than that), such as that Bush walked away from our allies on Iraq (when it was our so-called allies who stabbed us in the back). As in the first debate, Bush unaccountably declined to point to numerous gross contradictions in Kerry’s record and statements; for example, why couldn’t Bush have quoted some of Kerry’s extreme scare mongering about the Patriot Act during the Democratic primaries, and then contrast that with Kerry’s remark last night that he supported the Patriot Act and only found fault with parts of it? Of course, Bush utterly failed to explain to my satisfaction how his policy is leading to victory in Iraq, but, as before, his policy, though inadequate and possibly disastrous, still has an intelligibility and consistency that Kerry’s statements about Iraq utterly lack. (Bush is terribly flawed on Iraq, Kerry is much worse, so Bush wins on Iraq by default; a great choice, huh?) Kerry was certainly game, and made fair points on Bush’s failure to win the peace. And, as in the first debate, he showed that he is not necessarily an unbearable haughty fake. Nevertheless, he dropped numerous false notes and clinkers that hurt him, such as insisting that he has never changed his position on Iraq (does he think such a howler will gain him credibility?); such as admitting that Saddam Hussein wouldn’t “necessarily” still be in power if Kerry had been president (meaning that a President Kerry would most likely have left Hussein in power, notwithstanding his numerous previous statements that he would have won the war the “right” way); such as acting as though he can guarantee that America never has another terrorist attack (while Bush, sounding as if he’s living in the real world, said he’s “worried” about an attack); such as constantly repeating that he has a “plan” for every issue under the sun (making himself sound like a policy wonk rather than a leader); such as ludicrously insisting that he would not appoint justices on the basis of their being liberal (and giving himself the lie a minute later when he added that he would appoint justices who would support a woman’s right to choose); such as apparently believing that the American people will be outraged that the Patriot Act allows federal agents to go to mosques to listen to what is being said there (doesn’t Kerry realize that most Americans want the government to spy on mosques?); such as saying that Bush owns a timber company (which allowed a genuinely surprised Bush to give a humorous comeback).
Overall, Bush dominated the evening. A huge Bush win. Email entry |