The Sunday shows featured handwringing (or exultation, depending on the commentator) over President Bush's performance in the debates last Thursday. But there is interesting information hidden deep within today's LA Times' story (and NB: The Times' polling or analytical mistakes NEVER accrue to the benefit of Republicans). While President Bush was supposedly self-immolating, his favorability actually went up a point -- and his unfavorables fell by 2. Granted, John Kerry's favorables went up by 5 and his unfavorables fell by five -- but this is hardly the hallmark of any kind of blowout; as a challenger, his numbers have more room to move because fewer people know him. Kerry still lags behind President Bush by fully 10 points on the most important question: Who is best at keeping the country safe from terrorism. Despite his allegedly "stellar" peformance, Kerry only gained 2 in that vital area.

It seems like the issue of the President's intelligence is always the subtext of these discussions, on some level. How amusing to have liberal Americans deride President Bush's intellect. One wonders how they, the self-proclaimed arbiters of intelligence, would perform under the kind of challenges President Bush has confronted. And you can't help but suspect that they confuse articulateness with intelligence -- another mistake of the most superficial kind. After all, you can be a champion debater but a terrible leader (see, e.g., John Kerry).

The whole liberal approach to President Bush calls to mind an Archie Bunker-like character scoffing at Miss America pageant contenders for being insufficiently good looking. It's fair to ask: Compared to whom? Reality check time for the self-satisfied.

So does all this mean that it's wrong to have sport with John Kerry's manifold errors in judgment? Not a bit. It's perfectly legitimate to make fun of any candidate for a lack of judgment. While there are many kinds of intelligence (not all of which are immediately obvious), common sense (or its absence) is readily apparent, and anyone without it is completely ridiculous. (If you don't believe me, go read a little Jane Austen.) That's why it's funny to point out that John Kerry spends a lot of time on personal grooming: Manicured hands, botoxed face, bleached teeth, and orange-glo tan. That kind of narcissistic frivolity in an aspiring male war-time leader is laughable.

Here's a question for the next debate: If Kerry wins, will the Situation Room begin to bear an eerie similarity to a day spa?