Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

October 01, 2004

A Confidence Gap in Spin Alley

Ryan Lizza notes that "confidence is always one of the best clues for sniffing out which side really believes its own spin. And in Spin Alley last night one could detect a confidence gap." Lizza goes on to note "a weird dynamic" where the Bush spinners didn't sound like they believed their own spin.

The bottom line: "There are three keys to presidential debates: expectations, style, and substance. Kerry won on all of them."

Chris Suellentrop has more from Spin Alley: "Karl Rove must have known things didn't go well when the New York Post asked him whether this was the worst debate of President Bush's life."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the creator of Political Wire, a political column updated around the clock with the most interesting news, buzz and commentary.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

This is a personal site and does not necessarily reflect the views of any company, political campaign or advocacy group.

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