I don't much care for Shales's column, regardless of what he is talking about, but especially when politics is involved...
My personal favorite for politics in the Post is Howard Kurtz.
Bobbing and Weaving
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004; 9:56 AM
President Bush had a pretty good debate last night, but he spent a whole lot of time ducking.
John Kerry ducked a few tough ones too, but it was the president who kept talking about No Child Left Behind every time he didn't like one of Bob Schieffer's questions.
Should the minimum wage be raised? Kerry said he'd hike it to $7. Bush devoted one sentence to saying he supported some Mitch McConnell plan--he certainly hasn't talked about a wage boost--and then switched to education.
Should Roe v. Wade be overturned? Bush said only that he wouldn't impose a litmus test on judges, though everyone knows most of his appointees are opposed to abortion.
Outsourcing of jobs? Bush talked about education.
Why didn't he fight to extend the assault weapons ban? Bush said he was told that "the bill was never going to move," then moved on to discussing gun owners' rights.
Affirmative action? Bush talked about Pell grants.
Kerry ducked on saving Social Security, even after Schieffer pointed out that saying you won't cut benefits, privatize the system or raise taxes was not a plan. And he was fairly transparent in trying to appeal to women. He worked gender into a number of answers, such as turning the minimum-wage question into a discussion of why women are paid 76 percent of the average salary earned by men.
In case you missed it, we also got a brief glimpse of two very different views of the media. On a question about health care, Kerry said: "Well, two leading national news networks have both said the president's characterization of my health care plan is incorrect. One called it 'fiction.' The other called it 'untrue.'"
Bush's rebuttal: "In all due respect, I'm not so sure it's credible to quote leading news organizations about -- never mind." ...
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