A pencil/pen and paper were allowed, after review by the "authorities" that were running the debate. But Bush didn't pull any note cards out of his jacket as he approached the podium. Kerry apparently did. I'd love to see a high-resolution image of this.
What would be interesting is what's on those note cards. I'll bet that the questions were known, and Kerry's answers were outlined on the cards. It explains the "wink" from Lehrer that some saw.
Remember Reagan had the whole Carter briefing book in 1980, was prepped by George Will who then analyzed the debate for ABC. Will said Reagan had given a thoroughbread performance, which was true, but he never bothered to inform the audience that he had helped prep Reagan and that his opinion was skewed by that fact.
I think we can create a pretty objective case today for media bias without going into conspiracy theories. And it does appear that kerry, at the very least, did not follow the rules of the debate agreement. What was on those index cards, we'll never know as they've been shredded, burned, and pulverized.
Kerry is doing what he does best, lie, cheat and look/act like a fool.
Add to that the fact that Lehrer went straight to sKerry to shake his hand following the debate, I didn't see him running up to THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. No bias, move on. /sarcasm off
I would like to announce that "Winkgate" is now officially open for investigation.
What did Kerry know, and when did he know it? -- and how much of it was on 3x5 cards (of the same kind people in the LameStreamMedia used to ridicule Ronnie for using)?
What did Jim Lehrer know, and when did he give it to Kerry?
How many Kerry moles are on Lehrer's staff? (Closeted gays passing stuff to HRC and GLAAD count as Kerry moles.)
Who slipped Bush a bad jalapeno?