Unspun take on debate

I have refrained from reading a lot of spin span spun stuff about tonight's debate. Anyone who knows me or who's read much of this site already knows I'm a leftish Democrat, so obviously Kerry's positions were much more palatable to me.

On the question of debating effectiveness, I think you have to acknowledge that Bush did quite a bit better in this appearance than in the first one. He had his usual swaggery personality and simplistic, nattering slogans, but his "base" loves that shit, and probably ate it all up. I'm sure the GOP bloggers are saying he wiped the floor with Kerry.

Kerry was articulate, clear, and presidential. Any thoughtful person, who cares anything at all about the dignity of the office, would have to prefer the more serious, thougthful, analytical style and substance of Kerry's presentation, irrespective of the actual views expressed.

I hope that more undecided voters, not already enamored of Bush's phoney folksiness, will be more impressed with Kerry's clear command of the issues and obviously more thought-out plan for actually governing the country.

All in all, it was not as clear a win for Kerry as the first debate, but I think Bush only managed to help himself with his base of support, whereas Kerry may have furthered, if only a little, his momentum with swing voters.