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That's because the Bush in 2000 hadn't been through four years of hell. Also, the Bush that debated in 2000 didn't spend the entire day of the debate rushing around the state sitting and crying with a bunch of families who lost possessions, loved ones, and normalcy in a series of several consecutive hurricanes. The fact is, Bush is not a quick thinker. This is extremely common, especially among those who are extremely intelligent. Take this with the fact that Bush's stress level for that day was probably extremely high. Add onto that the fact that Jim Lehrer acted like the complete liberal jackass that he is and presented Bush with loaded questions that attacked his character and administrative decisions (e.g., "Mr. President, has Iraq been worth the cost in American lives--10,052--I mean 1,052 up to today?"), while he actually gave Kerry questions that allowed him to present his case. So while Kerry is presenting his case, Bush is having to rebut the entire premise upon which Lehrer's questions are based upon, in addition to presenting his case, all in the same amount of time that Kerry had. Kerry most certainly had the upper hand in this debate, and yet he still didn't mop up. When you look at all that Bush had going against him, while looking at all Kerry had going for him, it actually just goes to show you how much of an excellent debater George W. Bush really is.