I think that for those who don't know details about the
issues probably thought Kerry did pretty well. Kerry held his
own, spoke with conviction & was well prepared. Many in this
crowd won't understand that Kerry has a flexible, quite
nuanced version of reality. IMO, that's a real plus for Kerry
because it gives him wide latitude on any issue & he
delivered each of them with real conviction.
Many others will also think Bush did well, stayed on point &
spoke with conviction. He beat home "it's hard work" too
much IMO. At one point I said, 'I get it already!' Bush was
initially effective asking "what message does it send" RE:
Kerry's flip-flops, denigrating the Coalition in Iraq & "wrong
war, wrong place, wrong time". That exposed Kerry's real
weakness to qualify as CIC, but Bush may have beat on those
points a bit too much.
I think this crowd will be fairly evenly divided, perhaps
giving a small edge to Kerry tonight (perhaps a larger edge
as time passes with help from the liberal MSM).
For PfP junkies & other like minded people, there's plenty to
pick at with Kerry's performance. Kerry supporters share in
his version of reality, so his generously nuanced quips were
seen as gotcha's & telling it like it is. Flip flops, etc.,
are a non-issue to them, so they will see no damage done
there by Bush. IMO, Revisionist history is reality for many
Kerry fans, who will gleefully claim Kerry won hands down.
Conservatives in this group probably had their blood pressure
go up several times with Kerry's prevarications,
misrepresentations & half truths. They should be pleased
overall with Bush's performance, staying on point & having a
clear, consistent message. Some, like me, will have mild
concerns that Kerry's BS was convincing.
I think internet political junkies will see almost no
movement in support. I think you will see Kerry fans
energized because it was not an obvious Bush win, so they
will spin, spin, spin about a big Kerry win.
BWTHDIK?
P.S. As I wrote this, I switcehed TV channels. Liberals are
doing what we heard they'd do. Most are spinning hard that
Kerry won big. No big surprise there. |
