Saturday, October 09, 2004
THE MORNING AFTER Clearly, John Kerry got the better of President Bush in last night's debate. Thankfully, the wire services are calling it like it was:
Bush was sharper and more aggressive in Thursday night's debate in St. Louis than he was during their first encounter, but many analysts said he sometimes appeared angry and defensive in an effort to compensate for his lackluster performance in Miami on Sept. 30.
--Reuters
The president dampened the scowling expressions of the first debate, but several questions brought his emotions bubbling up as he moved aggressively to counter the Massachusetts Democrat...Kerry showed a cooler and wordier bearing to the participants and television viewers, but he was no less argumentative than the more heated president.
--Associated Press
Both candidates scored points essential to their case for the presidency, but neither dominated the issues or the forum enough to fundamentally change a tight race.
--Gannett News Service
After eight days of unrelentingly bad news, President Bush needed some good news. In his second debate with Sen. John Kerry last night, though, the best the president got was that he held his own.
--Copley News Service
