I suppose the big news after the 2nd Presidential debate is that Duhbya didn’t do nearly as badly — huzzah! The guy goes in with the lowest expectations and ‘does well’ by surpassing those very, very low expectations.

I wonder what Kerry says in Bush’s ear at the start of each debate. Duhbya doesn’t seem to speak first.

Things that caught my attention in real time:

Early on, Bush uses Cheney’s line about Kerry/Edwards becoming anti-war in response to Howard Dean. Must have tested well in focus groups.

Bush: “a lot of pressures” (ie, “It’s hard work!” — some pundit noted earlier that he had never heard any president complain about the work. Let’s retire Bush and let him rest at the ranch (oh, wait, he already does that)).

Bush: “That answer almost made me want to scowl.” His well rehearsed week-late retort to what everyone saw for themselves in the first debate.

Bush: said something about rumors on “the internets” — this year’s version of not having a clue about the cost of a gallon of milk.

Bush: “brand drugs”

Bush: “I went to Washington to fix problems…. I went to get something done.” Boy, did he.

Kerry responded with real empathy a few times, accurately identifying the feeling behind two questions. He did his best to respond to a young woman who may be opposed to abortion rights. Yes, his answer was long and thoughtful, but sincere and right. Bush comes back with ‘I’m still trying to decipher that’ — well, he’s none too bright.

Bush cited the Dredd Scott case as an example of a judicial decision that would disqualify a nominee from the Supreme Court. Boy, that’s a relief.

When it comes time to nominate two to four people to the Supreme Court, who do you think will actually have read some (all) of the decisions the nominees wrote: Kerry/Edwards or Bush/Cheney.

The late killer question to Bush: list 3 (!!!) errors you’ve made and what you’ve done to fix them. (“3”, just in case he actually prepped after his astonishing flub at an earlier press conference). With his knee twitching oddly, he said he knows “what they’re usually talking about” (Iraq). “They”? I wonder how the questioner felt with this implication that this wasn’t her own question. And, he did it again: he listed the things that weren’t mistakes (in his mind only — so, maybe this was actually the right answer). Finally, in a twisted effort at admitting fallibility, he said he made a mistake appointing some people (O’Neill, no doubt — not Rumsfeld or Rice, certainly), but he wouldn’t embarrass them on TV. Yeah, right. Better he should embarrass himself and the entire nation.

We do see clearly: a man for whom everything is simple and one who appreciates complexity. One who does everything by his gut and one who uses his mind. One who is president of the Evangelical Christian Nation of America, and one who would try to represent all, even a damned atheist like me.

If you didn’t see this debate and IF you buy any spin that it was a Bush win, god help us. mjh

ps: the ‘townhall’ format worked better than I expected; these seemed like real people with real concerns that most of us can relate to.