Kerry "Wins" The Last Debate

The funny thing about these Presidential debates is how many people eagerly await to hear who is declared "the winner", rather than focussing on what the candidates actually said.

For what it's worth, Kerry was the clear winner again. Kerry beat Bush by 14% in a poll of CBS viewers, and by just 1% in an ABC poll where the audience were 39% GOP and only 30% Democrats.

I listened to the debate on CSPAN, so I couldn't see whether Bush was wearing a transmitter (it won't be so obvious again, anyway). But El Busho Loco sure was breathing heavily - is he ill, or just scared? Maybe Karl Rove should tell the press that Bush has laryngitis and wont be able to answer questions till November 3rd? If Karl could just answer media questions personally, that would sure bury the transmitter story!

Without having seen the body language, it sure sounded like Kerry was in control of the "narrative". I kept wishing he would get tougher and say something like "The USA is sliding dangerously towards Fascism." But of course that sort of thing would probably lose him the election in a landslide.

Bush's biggest lie of the night:

"Most of the tax cuts went to low and middle class Americans."

On the other hand, The Washington Post picks up this one:

"Kerry charged that Bush had once said terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was not someone he worried about and Bush denied ever having said such a thing. But during otherwise adamantly pro-Bush analysis on the Fox News Channel after the debate, the commentators had to agree that the record showed Bush made such a statement not just once but twice."

Bush's most revealing moment:

Somebody asked me once, "How do you know?" and I said, "I just feel it."

Or maybe he hears voices in his head?