You nailed it. And then Kerry went on to label people. He was pitiful in some ways, eloquent in others, but overall he was playing catchup (Ketchup?) to Bush all night. You can't win a debate defending yourself. I thought this debate was better than any I have seen in years. It all came down to facts vs. fantasy, drumbeat vs. reality. Bush was in command of the facts and wasn't afraid to brutally plunge the knife in when warranted. He told a lot of Americans some things they had not heard before. As CIC he has access to such information and he used it wisely. Congratulations to George Bush.
That's why the questions were set up to put the President on the defensive in the first debate.
Bush proved Kerry is about regressive taxes, abortion justified by frankenstein-science I'm not even sure scientists can applaud and appeasing the same U.N. and old European powers that allowed and enabled Iraq's dictator to murder his people for profit. Oh, he may not be popular with the French-speaking arm's procurors - but he's my Commander-in-Chief!
Well I just sent my nasty E-Mail to Fox News. Told them to enjoy sharing the ratings with CNN and MSNBC.