mjh’s Dump Bush weBlog: I watched the first debate

The format was better than I expected after reading about the 30+ page agreement between the candidates that made it sound like we wouldn’t know they were in the same city. Instead, they did interact and we did get to see them reacting to each other. Camera angles of Kerry reacting to Bush showed him attentive and alert, sometimes smiling, even conceding a point to Bush. Reaction shots of Bush showed him grimacing or smarmy and fed-up.

New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan: Kerry Wins Unanimous Verdict

John Kerry won an unanimous decision from our All-Star Debate Team last night, not a knockout by any means, but enough of a score to keep this thing going to the late innings. …

“I don’t think Bush brought his best game to the debate. A telling point was that he wanted to react more in those 30 second extensions than Kerry did. It’s never a good sign when you are on the defensive. It was a clear sign that Kerry was getting under his skin. We are on the trajectory for a repeat of 2000, a very tight race,” concluded [Republican ex-ABQ city councilor Greg] Payne. …

ABQ Tribune political writer Shea Andersen scored it for Kerry because “he was smooth and brought information to every answer. Compared to the President, Kerry looked as though he was having a good time. Bush looked angry and frustrated and seemed to run out of things to say.” … Shea’s final point was on the spin. “Will the Republicans cut a bunch of TV ads about the debate to squash the spin that Kerry has won?” mused the scribe as he returned to the action.

dangerousmeta! ? People will see what they want to see.

Another woeful performance by our President, a reasonable and optimistic performance by Mr Kerry. In any historical political environment, everyone would agree Mr Kerry clearly won the debate.

Mr Bush, on the defensive, hunkered over the podium. Thinly veiled petulance. Reacted strongly to Mr Kerry’s remarks; I assume he thought off-camera, as per debate agreement. Awkward pauses to gather thoughts, subsequently very poorly expressed. A couple of times he’d hit on something he’d rehearsed, and go to town. But very rarely.

Be sure to post your own views on the Web and read the immediate reactions, before the Republican Media Monster rewrites it all. mjh

FactCheck.org Distortions and Misstatements At First Presidential Debate

Summary

In the first of three scheduled debates between Bush and Kerry both candidates sometimes departed from the facts.

Bush glossed over significant problems with US reconstruction efforts in Iraq when he claimed that the US is “spending money” and that 100,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained. And Kerry overstated the case when he said Bush allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora by “outsourcing” fighting to Afghans.

Bush misquoted Kerry, distorting his position on withdrawing troops from Iraq. And Kerry said the Iraq war has cost $200 billion, when the cost so far is actually just over $120 billion.