We all know how well 'our George' speaks in public settings - we grant him a lot of slack because of the sincerity of his beliefs. In that regard, his performance Thursday night is the least of my concerns; it's how well he will defend and advance the Bush Doctrine in the coming weeks that have my attention.
A slip up every now and then is ok - everyone has a bad day. But if he continues to exhibit a complete lack of ability to articulate, defend and advance his position over the coming weeks, we have a problem.
Any salesman will tell you to emphasize the sizzle and not the steak. Kerry's basic positions are so contrary to the long-term interests to this country, that you'd think they'd be rejected outright.
But if his siren song of safety and freedom without sacrifice is not effectively counter-balanced, we could be looking at a major turning point in US history.
From the initial internal polling results released that were NOT fraudulent, it would seem people fully understood what G.W. and Kerry were saying. They didn't buy into kerry's position at all.
Kerry got better marks on being "clear spoken", But G.W. took the win on the likeability, Iraq, etc... I think the American people are getting it. They've heard G.W's position on the WOT for three years, they could recite in their sleep. Kerry was the one that needed to score last night in substance, and he failed to do so.
Kerry's best hope at this point is to inflate perception he demonlished G.W. and attempt to make make another issue the one the election will turn on. he's clearly failing to win with the Michael Moore dogma.