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October 09, 2004, 10:29 a.m.
W., On
Friday was a good night for President Bush.
I thought George W. Bush was terrific during Friday night's debate. He was passionate, engaged, and combative, while still being likable and funny. One Bush campaign adviser has told me all year, "You know, I can see the look in his eyes, and I just know when the light comes on and its really time to perform in this race he's going to do it." After last week I was thinking back on that and saying to myself, "Yeah, right." Last night, I was saying to myself, "Right."
Bush smoked John Kerry out on leaving Saddam in power. Kerry said Saddam would "not necessarily" be in power if he had the choice. How utterly Kerryesque. His answer on abortion was also a mess masquerading as nuance — as Kerryesque as it gets. Bush made the case on the economy, pointing out the downturn started before he took office. He effectively parried on the environment, health care, and stem cells (although initially his answer on embryonic-stem-cell research was confusing). He was strong on the Patriot Act, and I was shocked how critical Kerry was of it, which seemed a different emphasis since his post-primary re-re-positioning on it.
Bush hammered two key themes: 1) Kerry is not what he seems because he has a liberal record in the Senate that he's hiding from ("You can run, but you can't hide"). Kerry had to object weakly to "labels." Translation: I don't want to be associated with my own liberalism. 2) There is a big choice in this election, and if you want the guy who is more aggressive on the war on terror and wants smaller government (smaller than my opponent, at least), I'm your man. Both are potentially winning arguments for Bush.
All that said, Kerry is a talented debater. It's his record and his weaknesses on the issues that will sink him in this race, not his performances during these debates.
A few frustrations with W.: Bush let Kerry twice misstate the figure for job losses; still nothing on Tora Bora; he didn't nail Kerry on the fact that the French and Germans aren't coming into Iraq even if Kerry is elected; on Kyoto, he could have pointed out that 90-something-to-nothing-or-one-or-whatever it was Senate resolution against ratifying; he should never, never let Kerry invoke Reagan without mentioning that Kerry opposed the Reagan arms build-up that won the Cold War. But these were missed opportunities. Otherwise, a good, and much improved, night for Bush.
