Fraters Libertas

The Morning After

Looking back on last night's debate from the perspective of a new day, I stand by my immediate post-debate reaction.

Kerry won on style points. He appeared steady and confident. Most of all, he managed to ditch the stiff, patrician image that he usually exudes. But his performance was far from perfect, and overall I was not all that impressed by the debating skills he displayed. On more than a few occasions, he lost his place and repeated lines he had already spoken. He was far more polished and smooth than Bush, but he was not the uber-debater that I had expected to see.

For the most part, Bush was Bush. His speaking mannerisms didn't bother me much. That's who he is and it's something that is almost impossible to change. The smirking and quizzical expressions when Kerry was speaking are nervous habits, also very difficult to break. The thing that really disappointed me with Bush was his failure to exploit openings offered by Kerry. It appeared that he was trying to stay within the bounds of what he had prepared for and was not willing to deviate from it. When Kerry brought up the Kyoto Treaty, I was pleading with Bush to nail him with it by asking Kerry if he would sign it. It's an issue that the Kerry campaign has danced around without coming out with a clear position. Bush also should have asked Kerry what allies he would bring to the table in Iraq. Specifics man. Ask him for the specifics. It was not the President's finest hour.

So Kerry won by a slim margin. So what? It was by no means a slam-dunk, runaway victory and there were no major gaffes by Bush that can be exploited later in the campaign. There may be a small bounce from this for Kerry, especially since you know the mainstream media is going to play it to the hilt. But it will not be significant and there may very well be no bump at all.

The first debate is not going to do much to get people to tune in for the next two either. It was a dry, relatively passionless affair with little humor and no zingers that anyone will remember two weeks from now. In fact, two minutes after the debate, I was hard pressed to recall any quotes of real substance. From a historical perspective, this might have been one of the most inconsequential presidential debates ever. No one is going to look back on this debate as a defining moment of the 2004 campaign. In both the short and long run, it just won't matter much at all.