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Bush won the debate, I believe, and here is why:

1)Stylistically, Kerry came off as too polished, to smooth. When he did use people to drive home a point (the alleged soldiers) it was to attack Bush. President Bush seemed non-slick and earnest. When he used the story of the woman who lost her husband as an example, he was just himself. You could sense him weeping with her - but realizing the importance of what her husband's sacrifice was for.

2) Substantively, Kerry did better than I thought at staying away from flip flops but didn't do so entirely. He said we should have used more diplomacy and exhausted the entire forces of the UN before action in Iraq, yet, he's ready to throw in the towel with current talks and switch gears completely with Korea. Also, going with the Kyoto treaty as well as nuclear disarmament as key messages showed a complete lack of feeling for what is best for America and I believe the American people will have alarms going up. Plus, he did nothing but attack the President all night. Susan Estrogen said that it would be about 25 percent attack and 75% substance and it was just the opposite.

On substance, President Bush defended his policies and explained them in detail to the people in a way that could be understood and in a way that gave comfort that he cared about this nation and what he was doing was the best thing.

In short, Kerry's message to the people "I'm going to fix the world in just 4 years and do so by relying on the world to help us. America isn't strong enough to lead on her own, and my focus is going to be on making buddies with our friends.

President Bush's message was "It's a tough job but we are winning and my focus is always going to be first and foremost doing what's best for America and protecting you."