The Battle, If Not The War, Won By Kerry
By Michael Powell, Washington Post Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- It's hard to say if it was that smirk, or his repeated insistence that he would never change course in Iraq (news - web sites), but by the end of the first presidential debate President Bush (news - web sites) had come awfully close to losing the vote of Republican Thomas C. Racosky.
"The president appears to me to have a pretty big ego, and he's letting it get in the way of what's best for the American people," the goateed Racosky, a retired builder, said after watching Thursday night's presidential debate. "Before tonight, I really wouldn't have known which way I was leaning. If I had to vote now, it guess it'd be for Kerry."
Racosky is a swing voter in a swing district in a swing state, a political moderate living at the crossroads of Republican farmlands and cities once defined by hulking steel mills and home to technology and service firms. He was among 120 voters, many of them undecided, in three states -- Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Michigan -- who watched the debate with Washington Post reporters.
The national television audience of 62.5 million people was up 34 percent over the nearly 47 million people who watched the first debate between Bush and Al Gore (news - web sites) four years ago. Pollsters and political analysts caution that it is too soon to draw conclusions about what, if any, long-term impact the debate will have on voters' thinking.
But a large majority of the voters interviewed echoed the results of snapshot national polls taken immediately after the debate. Namely, they said that Democratic challenger John F. Kerry carried himself better than most had expected, sounding confident and cogent talking about issues widely seen as Republican strengths -- the international fight against terrorists and, to a lesser extent, the war in Iraq. Bush, in contrast, struck many as flustered and halting, and off his rhetorical game.
Even several voters who strongly oppose Kerry, such as John LaIacona, 53, who works as general manager of a wrench manufacturer in Fayetteville, Ark., gave grudging credit to the senator from Massachusetts. "John Kerry (news - web sites) may have come across to some people who may be on the fence as being more emphatic," LaIacona said.
In Albion, Mich., a small town nestled at a fork of the Kalamazoo River, a cluster of undecided voters walked away convinced Kerry had won the debate -- although most said he had not yet won their vote. "It's the most clear I've heard John Kerry in 10 months -- it wasn't what I expected," said George Walls, a 33-year-old admissions counselor at Albion College. "I didn't think he could boil down his message. He's always gone to New York by way of China, as my dad used to say."
In Allentown, more than 130 people gathered in an auditorium at Muhlenberg College, a small liberal arts institution, to watch the debate with political science professor Chris Borick. The voters, who ranged from elderly ladies with walkers to college secretaries and high-tech workers, spoke of their election-year priorities, short lists that usually numbered three items: Iraq, terrorism and jobs.
They worried about abandoning a president caught in a tough spot -- even if it is a war of his own creation.
"The war was a mistake, but I want to see a person solve the problem they created," said Alex Cole, a Republican who at 49 is involuntarily retired after being forced out at Lucent Technologies. "Bush has my vote, but this is the best election I've ever seen for voting 'none of the above.' "
The audience held clickers that allowed them to register their response, question by question. The voting ran Bush's way at first, as he spoke of the nation's duty to stay the course and "protect our children and grandchildren."
Then, slowly, the tide began running the other way.
When Kerry said that Bush had "not been candid with the American people" about Iraq, and he accused the president of "outsourcing" the crucial battle of Tora Bora in Afghanistan (news - web sites) to local warlords, his words resonated. By debate's end, the audience was giving Kerry a higher score on almost every question. When Bush smirked or was at a loss for words, a few chuckles could be heard.
"You could see him hesitating," said Barbara Newhard, a middle-aged undecided voter. "Those looks of his drove me nuts. It was like Bush couldn't stand to hear the truth."
Bruce Glazier is 60, a bearded bear of a man who opposed the war and watched his 401(k) portfolio do a header these past few years. Still, he was ready to vote for Bush until the debates. "Kerry came across well, with no hesitation and no silly faces and lots of brains," Glazier said. "It upsets me that Bush can't admit a mistake in Iraq. He needs to take a lesson from Dan Rather and apologize." |
