The third debate

Some quick notes on style and substance before Bush's lie about saying he doesn't care where Osama is.

The debate itself was on Prozac. Round one we saw the smirky blinky, Bush. Round two, the angry Bush. Round three, the medicated Bush. Three debates, three styles. (*UPDATE* The New York Times agrees. It was death for Gore four years ago. Will it be death for Bush now?)

But Kerry, I think, closed the deal. He was strong enough during the debate, and closed even stronger, showing warmth and personality in answer to the question on strong women in their life. He got laughs that the President looked dumbfounded for. And Bush's dodge on anti-abortion judges? Shows he's a politician, not an average guy. Kerry will continue his climb up over fifty percent, and Bush can't beat that come November.

Of course, that would be if we voted purely on the debates. There is still three more weeks on campaigning and October surprises. But I'm proud that Kerry did well.

*UPDATE* Here's Bush's quote that he claims he never said:

Q: Mr. President, in your speeches now, you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? [...]

BUSH: ... I don't know where he is. Nor -- you know, I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you [...]

Q: Do you believe the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead of alive?

BUSH: As I say, we hadn't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, you know, again, I don't know where he is.

I'll repeat what I said: I truly am not that concerned about him.

Pat Buchanan continues to claim that Bush was energized. I think you can tell flaws in the President by what points the Republicans focus on.

*UPDATE* But what do the people think?

John Kerry, the four-term senator from Massachusetts, won tonight's debate against President George W. Bush a CBS poll found. An ABC News survey found the candidates in a statistical tie.

CBS said its poll of uncommitted voters found 39 percent said Kerry performed better, 25 percent picked Bush and 36 percent called the results a tie.

The ABC poll of 566 voters found 42 percent picked Kerry as the winner, 41 percent chose Bush and 14 percent said they tied.

The network said 38 percent of its respondents were Republican, 30 percent were Democrats and 28 percent were independent.

So there you go. Even ABC's partisan poll says Kerry won, which must mean the independents broke for Kerry.

Sadly, so far, the talking point is was Kerry out of line bringing up the Cheney's lesbian daughter. I thought nothing of it at the time, but if this bites in as the talking point, it may be trouble. Bring on that Bush quote above!

Listening to the spin, CNN had Karl Rove on, and he basically said that losing your job was a learning opportunity. That was another moment the President failed big on. What does he say to someone who loses his job? Go to school instead!

*UPDATE* Still another point I noted about the President, and Karen Hughes in her post debate spin. She especially kept saying the American people know the President was strong on the economy, they know they got a tax cut, etc. I thought that took some gall, to tell those out of work or those who lost their health insurance that they should know better, that they should enjoy the tax refund and stop whining. Even more disconnect from reality for the two.

*UPDATE* Here's a quote that struck me quite relevant and quite off guard (my emphasis):

"I've become more and more disturbed about Bush," said John Barker, 73, of Tampa, Fla., who voted for Bush in 2000, sweated over this year's election for months and finally decided Wednesday night to back Kerry.

"I just don't think with everything we're facing, we can have another four years. I'm talking about the economy. I'm talking about Iraq. Bush just didn't give me a good reason for the way things are," the former policeman said. "He gave me plenty of reasons to vote against Kerry. But why should I vote for him again?"

I wonder how many other people had that thought as they watched the debates. I'm sure he's not the only one. Of course, if the President had led the entire country rather than his wing of the Republican party, he wouldn't be in this struggle for reelection.

*UPDATE* Atrios elaborates on a couple of points made above. Here's a longer point on Bush running not on his record, but against Kerry's. He also believes the Presidents attitude of "Lost your job, go to school!" will cause Bush to lose Ohio.

*FINAL UPDATE* Digby points out that Dick Cheney is guilty of a "cheap and tawdry" political trick. I think if Kerry had outed her on national television, it'd be one thing. But the auidence knows, she's quite proud of it, and I'm not sure what the big kerfluffel is. Andrew Sullivan thinks the same:

I keep getting emails asserting that Kerry's mentioning of Mary Cheney is somehow offensive or gratuitous or a "low blow". Huh? Mary Cheney is out of the closet and a member, with her partner, of the vice-president's family. That's a public fact. No one's privacy is being invaded by mentioning this. When Kerry cites Bush's wife or daughters, no one says it's a "low blow." The double standards are entirely a function of people's lingering prejudice against gay people. And by mentioning it, Kerry showed something important. This issue is not an abstract one. It's a concrete, human and real one. It affects many families, and Bush has decided to use this cynically as a divisive weapon in an election campaign. He deserves to be held to account for this - and how much more effective than showing a real person whose relationship and dignity he has attacked and minimized? Does this makes Bush's base uncomfortable? Well, good. It's about time they were made uncomfortable in their acquiescence to discrimination. Does it make Bush uncomfortable? Even better. His decision to bar gay couples from having any protections for their relationships in the constitution is not just a direct attack on the family member of the vice-president. It's an attack on all families with gay members - and on the family as an institution. That's a central issue in this campaign, a key indictment of Bush's record and more than relevant to any debate. For four years, this president has tried to make gay people invisible, to avoid any mention of us, to pretend we don't exist. Well, we do. Right in front of him.

I wonder what Mary thinks of all this? If anyone is politicizing Mary Cheney now, it's her own mother, Lynne Cheney.