Post Debate Analysis - Bush is back!
No one can deny that John Kerry is a skilled debater. But the President Bush we know and love -- feisty, determined, and even funny at times -- was back. And he has walked away from the second debate with an edge.
In contrast to all the pundits who believed that domestic policies would be weakness for Bush, he did very well on questions about abortion, the environment, and even stem cell research. Several times, he took the fight to Kerry -- noting that he had voted to raise taxes 98 times, pointing out that Kerry didn't vote for litigation reform, that 9000,000 small business would be taxed under Kerry's taxes for "the wealthy" (although that number is sometimes disputed).
He was at his most effective when he commented about Kerry's long, windy answer on abortion: "I'm trying to decipher that." In his response to the President, Kerry argued "It's not that simple" (about the fact he had voted against parental notification & partial birth abortion). And then, when the President responded, he said, "It's pretty simple -- he voted against partial birth abortion." Thematically, that's the choice in a nutshell.
It wasn't a blowout -- but President Bush came away with the edge. And more than anything, he seemed engaged, informed and deeply principled. And he seemed confident enough even to poke fun at Kerry, when Kerry talked about how the President "made $84 dollars from a timber company he owns" [in relation to the taxation of subchapter S corps]. Obviously, Kerry misspoke, but President Bush jumped up impishly and responded "I own a timber company? That's news to me." Later, he asked, "Need some wood?" At least to a partisan, it was quite an amusing moment.
When any viewer turned off the debate, he/she knew exactly where President Bush was; one could, in fact, summarize his position on almost any subject. Kerry? He has a plan, and the President has done it all wrong. How will he do a better job? That's still not clear.
More to come.
In contrast to all the pundits who believed that domestic policies would be weakness for Bush, he did very well on questions about abortion, the environment, and even stem cell research. Several times, he took the fight to Kerry -- noting that he had voted to raise taxes 98 times, pointing out that Kerry didn't vote for litigation reform, that 9000,000 small business would be taxed under Kerry's taxes for "the wealthy" (although that number is sometimes disputed).
He was at his most effective when he commented about Kerry's long, windy answer on abortion: "I'm trying to decipher that." In his response to the President, Kerry argued "It's not that simple" (about the fact he had voted against parental notification & partial birth abortion). And then, when the President responded, he said, "It's pretty simple -- he voted against partial birth abortion." Thematically, that's the choice in a nutshell.
It wasn't a blowout -- but President Bush came away with the edge. And more than anything, he seemed engaged, informed and deeply principled. And he seemed confident enough even to poke fun at Kerry, when Kerry talked about how the President "made $84 dollars from a timber company he owns" [in relation to the taxation of subchapter S corps]. Obviously, Kerry misspoke, but President Bush jumped up impishly and responded "I own a timber company? That's news to me." Later, he asked, "Need some wood?" At least to a partisan, it was quite an amusing moment.
When any viewer turned off the debate, he/she knew exactly where President Bush was; one could, in fact, summarize his position on almost any subject. Kerry? He has a plan, and the President has done it all wrong. How will he do a better job? That's still not clear.
More to come.
posted by LadybugUSA at 5:51 PM
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