Short Takes on the Debate

AlterNet. Posted October 1, 2004.

Editor's Note The first presidential debate lasted 90 minutes, and while it covered a range of topics, it also revealed some central points about the two candidates. Below are short takes from AlterNet's editors and invited commentators summing up their take on the debate.

Steve Cobble, Political Consultant A clear win for Kerry. Since I did debate prep for Dennis Kucinich during the Democratic primaries, I got to watch Kerry in dozens of debates. This was one of his better efforts. He kept it concise; separated Iraq from Bush's "war on terror" cover story; and even criticized W's "colossal error in judgment" in Iraq – not exactly "Bush lied, people died," but not "ditto" either.

Bush never hit his stride until his closing. It took him all of ten seconds to first mention 9/11. Mostly he repeated stock phrases over and over, never looked in command, and often seemed irritated. Bush ended with some of his usual religious rhetoric. One line was: "I believe in the transformational power of liberty." Well, so do I. Our right to vote, won with the blood of marchers and freedom fighters, can change America's direction. If we use it.

Safir Ahmed, Editor, AlterNet In a debate that was so much about Iraq, there was far too little talk about death and dying. Earlier Thursday and half a world away, a string of bombs killed 35 Iraqi children, the largest death toll of children since the war began. Here's what an AP reporter filed from the scene: "Grief-stricken mothers wailed over their children's bloodied corpses, as relatives collected body parts from the street for burial and a boy picked up the damaged bicycle of his dead mother."

Over at the debate in Florida, there was absolutely no mention of the more than 12,000 Iraqis who have died so far. Even regarding the American casualties, it was left up to Jim Lehrer to mention the loss of life when he asked the only pointed question of President Bush: "Has the war in Iraq been worth the cost of American lives, 1,052 as of today?"

Clearly uncomfortable answering the question, Bush rambled on about "tough decisions," about how "every life matters," and then mentioned meeting Missy Johnson, a war widow, adding, rather goofily, "You know, it's hard work to try to love her as best as I can, knowing full well that the decision I made caused her loved one to be in harm's way."

For his part, Kerry at least stated boldly that he wouldn't rush to war as Bush did, adding: "You've got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those parents, 'I tried to do everything in my power to prevent the loss of your son and daughter.'"

Amen.

Don Hazen, Executive Editor, AlterNet A crowd of 150 liberals and progressives hooted and cheered at predictable moments during the first presidential debate at a Jazz Club in the SOMA section of San Francisco. Those attending were encouraged to throw $25 into the kitty for MoveOn's ad campaign when they arrived. So the chances of finding a Bush fan in the house were rather slim. Nevertheless there were more than a few Kerry skeptics as I went around the room, and to a person, they all were impressed with the challenger's performance on this night, significantly increasing their enthusiasm for the candidate they were unsure about.

It was difficult to see many pluses for Bush, even as I asked the viewers, an eclectic bunch of PR pros, real estate brokers, lawyers, and activists, to put themselves in the shoes of the Republicans and assess the debate. The best that could be said, suggested one person, was that there wasn't really a break out for either candidate. But it was hard to escape the presence of a "presidential" Kerry. Bush seemed the rookie, leaning on the same messages over and over, and suggesting that four years on the job had not added any gravitas.

One event organizer, environmentalist David Hochschild, pointed out that the split screen effect really hurt Bush, because he made so many goofy faces. That seemed a persistent theme that ran through Jon Stewart's post debate show as well: Bush looked dumb and confused, while Kerry seemed sharper and more pointed. Bush's repetitions of the "It takes hard work to fight the terrorists" line, at least a dozen times, probably was more than even the stay-on-message professionals wanted. It suggested that Bush didn't have much to say.

An activist who had just returned from working with swing voters in Ohio suggested that many Ohio voters, even Bush supporters, were going to experience some shock. These voters haven't had much exposure to Kerry, and the honest viewers were going to have to face the music that Kerry was much more informed and coherent on every level. "The Bush campaign treats people like they can't be intelligent beings, suggesting all they care about is Kerry's 'flip-flops,' without putting something positive on the table," the activist said. "Kerry empowered people with his performance tonight."

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