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Barnes: Bush Improved, Republicans Relieved
NewsMax ^ | 10/9/04 | Carl Limbacher

Posted on 10/08/2004 9:47:53 PM PDT by wagglebee

Fox News Channel debate analyst Fred Barnes said Bush's performance against John Kerry Friday night was sure to be a morale booster for Republicans.

"Into about the third half hour of this debate, if you cupped your ear you could hear Republicans all over the country and Bush supporters and the White House staff, all giving a great sigh of relief," Barnes told panel anchor Brit Hume. "Because the president did so much better than he did in the first debate."

While Kerry wasn't quite as good as he had been during last week's debate, said Barnes, "He was still good - [but] Bush was much better." He pronounced the verbal duel a tie.

Co-panelist Morton Kondracke disagreed:

"I think Kerry won this debate as he won the first debate. Kerry was much more aggressive and the president was basically on the defense. He didn't have new arguments. He wasn't as facile as he should have been."

Kondrake complained that for the second time in a row, Bush had failed to raise the issue of Kerry's vote against the first Gulf War, which he has invoked repeatedly as a model effort of military action by a coalition force.

Fox analyst William Kristol said that while Bush improved, it may not have been enough to get the job done.

"If you think the president was doing OK and didn't need a win in this debate, he did fine," he said. "But it one thinks that Bush missed an awful lot of opportunities to go after Kerry in the first debate - and he had to make some of them up in this debate - I'm not sure he really succeeded."


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bush; debate2; foxnews; fredbarnes; kerry; seconddebate
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To: wagglebee

Kerry is a slacker in the Senate. I just don't see any other way to see it. I would be embarrased to have missed as much work as he has missed.


21 posted on 10/08/2004 10:00:30 PM PDT by vigilo
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To: mywholebodyisaweapon

Sorry. I meant Kondracke, not Barnes.


22 posted on 10/08/2004 10:01:00 PM PDT by mywholebodyisaweapon
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To: vigilo
I would be embarrased to have missed as much work as he has missed.

Well said. Bottom line: in the private sector, Kerry would have been fired for missing that much work.

23 posted on 10/08/2004 10:02:44 PM PDT by T. Buzzard Trueblood ("the bribed, the coerced, the bought and the extorted."-John Kerry on our allies)
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To: wagglebee

Sean is now the the ONLY reason to watch FOX. Mort, Fred and Brit were a huge disappointment. I had to turn to Chris Matthews to get a fair report!


24 posted on 10/08/2004 10:02:45 PM PDT by Soul Seeker
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To: wagglebee

# BUSH DEFENDS IRAQ WAR: "We all thought there was weapons there, Robin. My opponent thought he had weapons... But Saddam Hussein was a unique threat. And the world is better off with him out of power."

# KERRY REBUTTAL: "I've never changed my mind about Iraq. I believed Saddam Hussein was a threat... But I would have used that force wisely... Not rushed to war without a plan to win the peace."

# THEN KERRY SAYS IRAQ WASN'T A THREAT: Says situation has gotten worse in Iran while Bush was "pre-occupied with Iraq where there wasn't a threat."

# KERRY SUGGESTS WITHOUT IRAQ WAR, OBL MIGHT BE CAUGHT: "If we used smart diplomacy we could saved $200 billion and Osama bin Laden might be in jail or dead."

THE CONFUSION CONTINUES . . .


25 posted on 10/08/2004 10:02:51 PM PDT by soccer4life
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To: jwalsh07

I think Brit and his Beltway boys on FOXNEWS did a very poor analysis today. Listening to their SPIN opinions, I thought they were talking about a different debate than what we saw. They let me down again. After the VP debate, they also said that it was only a draw. Think these old men should be dumped!


26 posted on 10/08/2004 10:03:08 PM PDT by RedRepublic
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To: wagglebee

Mort Kondracke is usually very fair, but sometimes he reverts to his liberal self. That's not meant to be a knock on Mr. Kondracke but just a fact. President Bush came back to us tonight after a brutal first debate. Thank you President Bush.


27 posted on 10/08/2004 10:03:35 PM PDT by sydbas
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To: clee1
I am so sick of the media, Fox included, that thinks a bunch of pundits interviewing and debating each other constitutes "news".

I agree. Since I canceled my cable TV, I've been a lot calmer. I don't miss the aggravation of wanting to scream at the TV screen over Democratic spin.

28 posted on 10/08/2004 10:03:41 PM PDT by Ciexyz (At his first crisis, "President" Kerry will sail his Swiftboat to safety, then call Teddy.)
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To: Sthitch

I thought Bush was awesome tonight. The President does best in the townhall type formats. He connects with the people, unlike John Fickle Kerry. I refuse to refer to John Kerry as 'Senator' because he refuses to talk in depth about his record in the Senate so I refuse to recognize him as a Senator!

On another note, yes, I am new to Free Republic. I've been visiting the site frequently and I finally registered tonight. This a great site. Keep up the great work!


29 posted on 10/08/2004 10:04:14 PM PDT by American Butterfly
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To: Dolphy

I agree. I didn't hear any "sighing" tonight. I heard a whole bucnh of hollerin', cheerin' and stompin' feet hit the ground though.


30 posted on 10/08/2004 10:04:18 PM PDT by Soul Seeker
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To: Homer_J_Simpson

At least Juan wasn't there.


31 posted on 10/08/2004 10:05:52 PM PDT by Deb (A Democrat Stole My GREEN Sweater!!!)
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To: teletech
Bush sees a young girl drowning in the Potomac and and walks across the water, saving her.

Kondracke and Kristol report: This just in, Bush can't swim.
32 posted on 10/08/2004 10:06:03 PM PDT by radicalamericannationalist (Kurtz had the right answer but the wrong location.)
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To: wagglebee

There's always "woulda, shoulda, couldas" after a debate.
I wish Bush had really drove the point home about the intel cuts proposed by Kerry in 1993.
This was right after the WTC attack was mentioned.
He shouldn't have breezed through it. He should have reiterated that the WTC was attacked and Kerry proposed the cuts just months afterwards. He should have also mentioned that Kerry didn't even know what year the attack took place.

He even could have made the case that it was a miracle the towers didn't come down, and we were given a "second chance" and Kerry failed.

Of course Bush should have also brought up Kerry's vote against the '91 Gulf War when Kerry mentioned coalitions and such.

Other than that, I think Bush had a near perfect performance. I loved how defensive Kerry got when Bush brought up the 'L' word. He is clearly scared to death of the label.


33 posted on 10/08/2004 10:07:04 PM PDT by counterpunch (The CouNTeRPuNcH Collection - www.counterpunch.us)
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To: wagglebee

I'm mystified by these conservative "experts" who say the debate was essentially a tie. Bush was so good that I'd say he embarrassed Kerry and made him look foolish at times. When Kerry said Bush 'owned' a lumber company Bush replied with: "that news to me". Could give many other examples but I'm going to bed.


34 posted on 10/08/2004 10:07:10 PM PDT by TheCrusader ("the frenzy of the Mohammedans has devastated the churches of God" Pope Urban II (c 1097 a.d.))
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To: wagglebee

I don't know where Bill Kristol was coming from tonight. Maybe he read Terry McAwful's criticism of Fox News and thought he needed to be mellow.


35 posted on 10/08/2004 10:08:28 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Deb
Au contrair, Juan is the humorous highlight to my day. I think Brit has to refrain from answering his points with "Juan, you ignorant slut..."
36 posted on 10/08/2004 10:08:47 PM PDT by radicalamericannationalist (Kurtz had the right answer but the wrong location.)
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To: radicalamericannationalist
Bush sees a young girl drowning in the Potomac and and walks across the water, saving her.

Kondracke and Kristol report: This just in, Bush can't swim.

ROTFLMAO! Fox news has taken a sharp left turn lately.

37 posted on 10/08/2004 10:09:20 PM PDT by teletech (Friends don't let friends vote DemocRAT)
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To: clee1

I emailed my displeasure to Speakout at Fox, Britt Hume and the Beltway Boys.


38 posted on 10/08/2004 10:09:23 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: dougherty

Yepper.. even Chrissie M said Bush won.


39 posted on 10/08/2004 10:10:30 PM PDT by Arizona Carolyn
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To: American Butterfly
I am happy to hear that W did well. My wife and I need a break from it all, since if he does not get win she is out of a job, and a fine job it is.

I actually witnessed sKerry speaking French to my wife's (and my former) hair dresser Isabel. He was one of the least attractive people I have ever seen. I like Isabel, but I decided to have someone else cut my hair, as she was getting too en-grained with sKerry, and Hillary.

P.S. My hair looks better than his :)

40 posted on 10/08/2004 10:11:47 PM PDT by Sthitch
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