Well, it seems that the preponderance of opinion favors John Kerry having won the first debate, but there was no change in which candidate people think ought to be President. Bush still leads in polls by four points, the same as before the debate.
Bush is criticized for running through his material in the first 30 minutes, and then repeating it for the remainder of the time. This is true, but it was necessary for him to repeat his points again and again, in response both to the questions from Jim Lehrer and the comments from Kerry.
Kerry clearly is the better public speaker – no surprise there. He has been trained both in college and the Senate for that role. But Bush, artless as he often is, has the upper hand when it comes to governing and leading, and in standing up for what he believes is right.
Bush also is being criticized for his behavior during Kerry’s comments. He also missed a few opportunities to call Kerry on misstatements of fact.
The President missed a great opportunity to increase his lead in the polls, and perhaps put the race away in this debate.
2 comments:
I believe the initial reaction favors Kerry because of no serious thought given to WHAT he said but only to how he said it. Some of his statements were outright lies while others seemed to be based on sheer fantasy.
The primary topic was the war in Iraq. Muslims worldwide need to understand that the ultimate goal of the terrorists is the destruction of Islam. It is the coalition which is trying to preserve that faith.
Bush's facial expressions should be read as total disbelief that any person who has spent 20 years in the Senate could make such erroneous statements.
Kerry's earlier references to his war activity have been declared outright lies by several of his fellow veterans. He has chastised Bush for not opening his guard records (He has) while concealing the fact that Kerry has consistently refused access to the bulk of his own records. Still, people believe the stories Kerry told. READ THE BOOK!
He stood there during the debate and lied about Iraq, Iran, France, Germany and, perhaps worst of all, about the coalition. Various leaders and citizens in some of those countries have already denounced his statements. Why aren't we hearing more about THAT on the networks?
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