Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

October 08, 2004

The Debate

President Bush was definitely better this time around. But he sounded angry, loud and on the defensive. His attempts at self-deprecating humor -- i.e. referring to "the scowl" -- fell flat because the audience was instructed not to respond. But he (mostly) used complete sentences and his attacks on Kerry were effective. He wins the comeback award.

Kerry's attacks on Bush were equally good. He's a very good debater. He certainly "won" in an academic sense. But if you were keeping score of political points, it was probably a draw.

One last observation: The overall negative tone of the evening reflected poorly on both candidates as much as it shows the closeness of the race. The first polls of swing voters should be very interesting.

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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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