Presidential Debate 2- The Reckoning
Okay, so let's talk briefly about the second debate. I know things happened quite a while ago, but I haven’t been able to through my 2 cents in there, so I will sum things up pretty quick.
First of all, let me say that the President did tremendous. He was unbelievable in comparison to his first showing, which was pretty iffy at best. He was strong, he was confident, and he was able to connect with the people in a way that I don’t think Kerry did. You could tell he was enjoying himself, smiling and shrugging his shoulders when he talked. Kerry stood and moved like a space invader on my Atari 2600. John’s a good debater, but he isn’t much without a podium.
On the issues, it was quite interesting to see things unfold. I was surprised to hear that Kerry is still using the same numbers for the Iraq war that Cheney already disproved in the last debate. I guess Kerry finally chose something to be consistent on. While Bush didn’t have the 100% best answers for all of the questions, he was clear and consistent. He knew were he stood, and he was able to easily pass that along to the audience. Kerry, I feel, got too comfortable in a negative way. He dipped into his regular personality, which is a long-winded, $50 word-using, bore. I was definitely lost when he started talking about the Clear Skies Initiative being “Orwellian.”
After this debate, I think everyone has a good idea on where these candidates stand, and the third debate (this Wednesday), while still important, shouldn’t provide too much new info. Of course, Kerry could have new stances on everything by then. But seriously, I was quite impressed by many of GW’s answers this time around. He didn’t resort to that “It’s hard work!” line, nor did he overuse “Wrong war, wrong time.”
I was particularly impressed (and frightened) by the abortion question that was second to last in the debate. I was frightened by John Kerry’s answer, in which he not only said he was against parental notification, but he explained why he wants to use MY TAX DOLLARS to murder babies. I’m sorry, but it’s one thing to be pro-abortion, but to be pro-government funded abortion is just way too liberal for my tastes. I mean, shit, that just makes me want to move to Vatican City. Kerry said that he had a tough decision to vote against partial birth abortion… is this the guy you want for president? Bush stood up firm and said “It’s not a hard choice… you vote yes or no on partial birth abortion” He also said strongly that he would never spend any tax dollars to fund abortions. Now that's what I want to hear!
Who won? Well it was close yet again... although this time it isn't so much about style vs substance... its about candidate vs candidate. But once again, and with a completely non-partisan look at this thing, I have to side with Bush. This time for a different reason than just "he had better substance." I'm saying he won because of his overall presentation. He was a much better speaker this time around, and he has the best plan for this country. Lower taxes, safety at home with a desire to spread freedom abroad, and a conservative faith-based social policy at home. That is the kind of man I want for president. Not a man who says that he keeps his morals separate from his legislation... John Kerry likes to pick when his morals apply. Not me. My morals are voting for Bush this time.