DEBATE

Right out of the gate: September 11th. It took President Bush all of twenty-three words, his opening thanks to the University of Miami, before striking that note:

Remember.

And it went downhill from there.

Bush was obviously pissed off for much of it, which is very good. It took him about ten, fifteen minutes, but Kerry's jabs got him noticeably pissed. Pissed because, even if most of Kerry's charges hadn't been correct, Bush knew that he lacked the facility to turn them away, or to respond convincingly to anyone who isn't already convinced.

Kerry had to win this debate, and I think he did. Not a knockout, but a solid decision. One of the reasons I think this is that National Review is calling it a draw.

This doesn't really change much, it just puts Kerry back in play. Hopefully he can take control of the rest of the campaign like he took control tonight.

I had hoped that the second or possibly third debate could've taken place in my kitchen, after a dinner of lasagna, a green salad and garlic bread, while Kerry sipped a fine Merlot and Bush cradled an O'Doul's, but neither campaign nor the debate commission responded to any of my numerous letters, emails, flowers, or candygrams. Maybe next time.