1. Kerry won on style but many sound bites will come back to haunt him -- global test; we didn't need that tax cut; and many more.
2. By getting Kerry back in the game (to some degree), Bush has given pseudo hope to the RATS. As a consequence, rather than abandoning Kerry now in order to save RAT Senate and House candidates, Bush may have ironically helped our down-ballot candidates.
3. I believe there was some danger of the President peaking too early, as Nixon did in 1968. Don't need to worry about that now.
4. Women co-workers tell me that suburban Moms and moderate women do not want a president fighting in the mud... that Bush was smart to remain "above the fray."
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Yes, President Bush did conduct an honorable debate. But you know what they say about who never wins.
I wanted to see more aggresiveness in the president's rebuttals. For example, he could have completely totally slamdunked Kerry on Kerry's voting NO to supply enhanced body armor to our troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that just happened a few months ago. Even the talking heads over at Fox were scratching their heads over that one . .