The first Debate

I must tell you, I thought the President didn't look very good.

I thought John Kerry seemed much more prepared and even relaxed.

Kerry loses on the facts (Bilateral talks with North Korea is a horrible idea, Bush is right that Kerry's stand on our allies and the war is nothing that would inspire either were he to become president, and strategic nukes are something of course we should keep as an option for bunker-buster type weapons, and despite what John Kerry said tonight, the NY Subway was never shut down during the Republican National Convention...I know...I was there), but losing on the facts sometimes doesn't matter.

Kerry didn't do very well on defending his voting against the $87 billion...he talked about how he talked about it, but didn't explain about his vote. I thought Kerry when asked questions for specifics, he droned on and on about what the president did wrong...and never really answered the question.

All that said, I thought the President blew an opportunity to knock Kerry out. I thought Kerry won. (Winning sometimes has to do with simply exceeding expectations.)

And the next debate is a town hall type setting and is on domestic issues. I think there is plenty to encourage the Kerry folks.

Lemme Ax you this...

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has a question he'd like to ax you.

Dan Rather and the Debates

I think Hugh Hewitt has it right.

Should Dan Rather be fired? Immediately?

And what does John Kerry have to do to break through during the debate tomorrow night?

Kerry: What Bush Bounce?

Maybe it's because it's not complicated...not much nuance.

Dem Conv ==> Net loss in poll numbers ==> no bounce for Kerry.
Repub Conv ==> several points lead and double-digit net ==> bounce for Bush.

John Kerry doesn't understand.

While it's true that sometimes life is more like chess than checkers, the public perception of and reaction to the candidates after each convention is more like checkers.

One other thing that I think people are responding to. If you watch Bush and Kerry after their conventions, only one of them has really found his voice. Bush has never seemed more sure and stronger than he has seemed in recent days. And Kerry and never seemed more convoluted.

I think (and have said this for some time) that Kerry is so much the politician that he can't reveal the real him to you...he doesn't know him.

More Fake Doc info

It would be a little difficult to be pressured to 'sugar-coat' George W. Bush's Military record (as was claimed in the now infamous 'memo') if you left the Texas Air National Guard a year and half before the memo was written, don't you think?

Retired Major General says he was misled by CBS.

Fake Docs on '60 Minutes'?

Well isn't this an interesting development.

A little setup first. I remember when a story made it on '60 Minutes' you could reasonably believe that this was among the best that CBS had to offer. These were the stories that were the best reported and best researched.

For argument, let's say that's still true.

If it is, and if these docs are fake (link, link, link), how can anything CBS says on any newscast be believed or trusted?

I find the reasoning behind how these might be fake very interesting.

And if these were documents about John Kerry's war service that were faked and then became part of a news hour on FOX News, don't you think there would be more volume about it?

Gore Comments on Bush's Faith

Here you go.

This is not a bitter man.

Al Gore calling the president a very weak man and comparing his faith to Islamic fundamentalism.

Bush's Bounce

Kerry didn't even get a dead cat bounce after the Dem convention...the President got a double-digit bounce. And the leader in the Labor Day polls almost always wins. (poll, poll, poll)

The lead varies depending on the questions. Registered Voters vs. Likely Voters is a big deal.

Maybe that explains why former president Bill Clinton from a hospital bed before his surgery (what would I say to John if these were my last words) told John Kerry by phone to stop talking about Vietnam.

Speaking of changing, John Kerry has new advisers...so he has some new opinions today (Pinkerton). Now he says that he would change every single thing about the war in Iraq. (I don't know if he would change everything, but I can bet you that the outcome would be different.)