It was a tie. Slight style points to Kerry, though the podium pounding shtick is going to wear on some people.
He needed to score a decisive knockout and floor Bush. A lot of voters were watching that needed to be reassured that Bush would be calm and steady and that his convictions were firm, which was pretty much as shown tonight.
Most online sites also called it a draw, with a couple of debate style points to Kerry. But, we already knew he was supposed to be a master debater who would punch Bush's light out, which didn't happen
Susan Estrich (Fox News): The media will give Kerry the win.
Duh, Susie.
Bush Won
I watched the debate and thought W. got whooped. My wife is a soccer-mom don't bore me with politics type. My wife thinks Bush stomped him.
Perhaps Rove knows more about this than we think. Bush's closing speech was very good, but he was very hesitant in the defenses of his policies - and he certainly was not on the attack. Who is the key swing voter demographic? It ain't us, and we all know that we wanted Bush to knock the crappola out of this pompous windbag.
But the protective instincts of swing voter security moms may have been aroused by his tentative yet earnest posture. I HOPE this is what Rove was strategerizing...