Centrisity

Round One - Kerry

Well, it wasn't a knock down, drag out fight, but it was informative. Even The Doctor agreed that Kerry probably came out ahead in this one. This is significant because this was GW's forte, Foreign Policy and Homeland Security. George needed to hit a homerun on his number one campaign theme. He didn't do so well, left openings for Kerry, and came across as flat, aloof, and even annoyed.

We watched the CSPAN feed. No cut-aways, no pans, just a constant camera on both candidates in a split screen. You could see the smirks and pouts of GW while Kerry was speaking, and the stoic presidential patience of Kerry while George had the floor. Bush came across as unprepared, relying on a handful of soundbites from his campaign commercials. Kerry tackled all the questions with clear and concise arguments.

It wasn't beautiful. There was no 'There you go again' or 'You're know Jack Kennedy' moments. But Kerry did a couple things he needed to do. He needed to not fall on his face and he needed to show the world he has a plan for the war on terror, a plan that will work, and a plan that will assure us victory. I think he accomplished both tasks, and at the same time, made George look like the challenger, not the incumbent.

Flash