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Politics : The American Spirit Vs. The Rightwing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: American Spirit who wrote (1270)10/1/2004 1:12:17 PM
From: Mighty_Mezz  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1904
 
John Kerry's performance was very strong. But what sealed the deal for many commentators was how rattled Bush got when confronted with the truth about his policies. The Washington Post derided his "stammering and pausing," the New York Times said he was "scowling and grimacing" and "petulant," the Boston Globe noted his "sighing, clenching his teeth, rolling his eyes," the LA Times said he seemed "tired and annoyed," and CBS News described Bush as "scowling at times and looking away in apparent disgust at others." Mark Halperin of ABC News summed it up: George Bush was "remarkably angry-seeming."

Kerry has said before that George Bush lives in a "fantasy world of spin." Last night that fantasy world began to crumble. Bush appeared angry that anyone would dare to challenge his view of the facts. Faced with the reality of the mess he has created in Iraq, and challenged for repeatedly misleading the American people, he retreated, falling back on his trite slogans over and over and over.

One of the most compelling moments of the debate came when George Bush once again tried to connect Iraq and 9/11. But Kerry wouldn't let him do it, and Bush scowled at his powerful response. We've put together a great web video that captures this moment. Check it out now at:

moveonpac.org

Even the conservative pundits gathered on Fox News had to admit that Kerry looked pretty good last night. Bill Kristol said, "I think Kerry did pretty well, and…we're going to have a real presidential race." And right-wing commentator Joe Scarborough conceded: "I don't see how anybody could look at this debate and not score this a very clear win, on points, for John Kerry."

And the voters agree. ABC News said, "John Kerry won the debate," pointing to a poll of independent voters who declared Kerry the winner, 45% to 36%. CBS News said, "John Kerry won the debate," and found Kerry up by 15 percentage points among uncommitted voters. Even Gallup, a polling firm which has consistently skewed Republican, found Kerry winning by 16 percentage points, with a whopping 46% of the viewers saying that the debate made their opinion of Kerry more favorable. On the web, clickers delivered a landslide: with over 250,000 votes cast on the CNN website, 77% of the viewers thought that Kerry won, as opposed to only 19% for Bush.

Kerry's win last night will transform the presidential race. As voters get to actually meet the man Karl Rove has demonized, they realize he presents a serious alternative to Bush's reckless policy of endless war.