The Last Debate...
...goes decisively to Bush...
Kerry screwed up here...big time...
The gratuitous mention of Mary Cheney was uncalled for. If the issue is obesity is it fair game to talk about Elizabeth Edwards? If the issue is healthcare is it fair to bring up Teresa's need to be medicated? Kerry wasn't debating Cheney last night, and it was a cheap shot to talk about his family. Talking about the candidates' families - on either side of the aisle - is generally off-limits, and it's a measure of the desperation of his campaign that both he and Edwards have felt it necessary to start down this distasteful path in order to win the election. Lynne Cheney had it exactly right when she called Kerry "not a good man" for bringing her family into it. Try punching above the belt next time.
Kerry's answer to the question about "strong women" was simply awful. After the president's charming answer: "Listen to 'em. Stand up straight and don't scowl. 'Love at first sight,'" Kerry reminding people how he chased the billions isn't exactly endearing. The uncomfortable silence in the audience told the tale. Then to follow up by talking about his mother? And who believes her final words were actually "Integrity, integrity, integrity"? And if they were, why did he completely ignore her to toss the Mary Cheney cheap shot?
I won't go into all the detail because it's not really new. If you're for government running your life and government solutions to every problem, then you're voting for Kerry. If you're not, then the president is your choice. We all knew that going into the debate so it came down to who screwed up and who didn't.
Kerry screwed up. He lost the votes of many moms with the slap at Mary Cheney, and he lost many wives with his failure to even talk about Teresa in his answer about strong women. He cost himself votes tonight.
Bush, on the other hand, performed well. He was more effective at cutting through Kerry's obfuscations - even calling him out when Kerry claimed more success in the Senate than he was due. When you can get in a shot about Ted Kennedy being the conservative senator from Massachusetts and have it go unanswered, you can walk off the stage knowing that you owned the night.
Kerry screwed up here...big time...
The gratuitous mention of Mary Cheney was uncalled for. If the issue is obesity is it fair game to talk about Elizabeth Edwards? If the issue is healthcare is it fair to bring up Teresa's need to be medicated? Kerry wasn't debating Cheney last night, and it was a cheap shot to talk about his family. Talking about the candidates' families - on either side of the aisle - is generally off-limits, and it's a measure of the desperation of his campaign that both he and Edwards have felt it necessary to start down this distasteful path in order to win the election. Lynne Cheney had it exactly right when she called Kerry "not a good man" for bringing her family into it. Try punching above the belt next time.
Kerry's answer to the question about "strong women" was simply awful. After the president's charming answer: "Listen to 'em. Stand up straight and don't scowl. 'Love at first sight,'" Kerry reminding people how he chased the billions isn't exactly endearing. The uncomfortable silence in the audience told the tale. Then to follow up by talking about his mother? And who believes her final words were actually "Integrity, integrity, integrity"? And if they were, why did he completely ignore her to toss the Mary Cheney cheap shot?
I won't go into all the detail because it's not really new. If you're for government running your life and government solutions to every problem, then you're voting for Kerry. If you're not, then the president is your choice. We all knew that going into the debate so it came down to who screwed up and who didn't.
Kerry screwed up. He lost the votes of many moms with the slap at Mary Cheney, and he lost many wives with his failure to even talk about Teresa in his answer about strong women. He cost himself votes tonight.
Bush, on the other hand, performed well. He was more effective at cutting through Kerry's obfuscations - even calling him out when Kerry claimed more success in the Senate than he was due. When you can get in a shot about Ted Kennedy being the conservative senator from Massachusetts and have it go unanswered, you can walk off the stage knowing that you owned the night.
posted by Jim | 8:47 AM
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