I kept my big, conservative/slant mouth shut, listened real closely afterwards to this person's comments, and gut level reactions. And I tend to agree with that person.
I.e., (donning asbestos underwear here), tonight's debate was more or less a draw. Pres. Bush had his moments, but mixed in with weak performance at times. Overall, he could have done better, but he made no major mistakes, no major flubs. Posture and gesturing and voice tone were satisfactory to poor at most times. Sen. Kerry was forceful and quick and had great posture and hand movements. He did not directly straighteye the camera enough, where we the people reside, though. And his nodding when Bush talked looked awkward and insincere. All of this is fine with me.
Sen. Kerry did well, but flip flopped quite a bit, as Pres. Bush showed. He, too, did not hit a homerun, but did not make a major mistake.
Overall, tonight? Well, a draw 10-10 between the two men.
Which is fine with me, because Kerry is still behind considerably, nationwide and in swing states.
(Don't kill the messenger. America is NOT Free Republic, anymore than it is Democratic Underground.com. The great middle out there across the land this year that is undecided, like sheep, is who and what is important, and how they "felt" about the whole thing, even if most of them don't have advanced facilities of reasoning, deduction, or exposure to complex foreign issues.
Boy, the Grim FReeper Club has grown!
I think Kerry did make a couple of major mistakes, that will grow more obvious later on. Most importantly when Kerry claimed America had to pass a test before defending itself...
Expect to see that over and over in Rep ads.