Here's why I think you are wrong.
KERRY won on presentation and smoothness of speech.
Bush won on focussing the issue and hammering the same thing in his hestitating vocal style.
AMERICA has had it with smooth talkers. Simple, plain spoken and specific repitition of the same thing over and over makes it clear to security conscience folks. W is focussed to the point of obsession on protecting our nation. Kerry sounds smooth but flip flops constantly while he talks... and I had to ask myself, what the HELL did he just say, and then; hey, didn't he just say the opposite.
the big one is on going to the globalist worldwide consortium of FRANCE and GERMANY to get permission to protect ourselves or our allies and friends anywhere... THAT came across loud and clear to everybody. And soccer mommies across america made up their minds, if they weren't made up already.
Bush kept saying the phrase "it's hard work" to the point of irritation for me... but to MOST americans, it is exactly what they wanted to hear, the truth. the hard work, the dying and the sacrifice is NOT done... but worthwhile for the cause of liberty worldwide.
Kerry by focussing on some magical undefined plan whereby he wouldve or would NOT have taken down sadaam (I am still not sure where he stands on it, even moreso tonight), pointed it out that he is slick in SAYING he had a plan, but that it may not have involved HARD WORK. Americans who dug out of 911, KNOW better than a simple "sit down and get helpers" meeting would have taken care of.
In finality... Kerry smoothly denying that Sadaam's regime harbored terrorists, contrasts sharply with our continual killing of al queaida related operatives in Iraq, even last week. America KNOWS that Iraq most likely was directly involved in the long range support for 911. Most likely gave aid and comfort to al queaida associates before and much moreso AFTER 911... and that in some ways the connections between all these islamists, is always going to be deliberately nebulous.
Bush won.
But it didn't feel like a win, because he doesn't talk like a smoothie. Smoothie may impress the simple minded, but Substance, repeated over and over and over, inculcates TRUTH to the viewer.
I think Americans will by and large say the president did OK. I also suspect that W will do more 'smoothly' on the next debate, and that he will take a lot of advantage of the doublesided, fully nuanced double sided positions that kerry embraced tonight.
Getting global permission from the french and germans whilst ignoring the commitments of several dozen other nations of the free world, came across as WEAK on defense and America's sovereignty. I don't want a smooth talker. I want a plain speaker that repeats himself so often that even the stupidest terrorist KNOWS... W is going to nail his ass.
LOL. My husband and I did the same thing. We were paying attention, too. He went from one thought right into another, like even he forgot what he was talking about. He never did answer a question. LOL.
On first impression, Kerry won. Hopefully this will cause the uniformed swing voter to pay more attention to Kerry. In the next few weeks, the uninformed swing voters will become confused with Kerry's evolving positions. Thus, conclude that Kerry is full of trash.