He did better than the Sox
I suppose at this hour it's time to look for small victories.
The Red Sox lost a tough one. Once again, Yankee starting pitching was incredible, Rivera was great in closing it out, and the Sox ran out of innings in between. Again, the Yankees capitalized on the opportunities given them, and the Sox did not. Runners on second and third, nobody out in the 8th, and they wound up with just one run.
Worse news on the baseball front concerns Curt Schilling's ankle. Game 5 may not even be necessary, but if it is, Schilling will only appear if the Sox can find a miracle brace for his ankle that will keep a tendon in place.
But on to happier news. Bush did not lose the debate. Whether he won is arguable, but I really don't think he lost. This debate on domestic policy was supposedly Kerry's strong suit (though conservatives would always have argued otherwise), but he provided no depth to the arguments we've been hearing for a year. Bush, on the other hand, was able to go on the offensive a bit and take some shots at Kerry's record and his proposals.
Early in the debate Kerry did not explain what his answer about health insurance coverage had to do with a shortage in flu vaccines. Bush made a smart jab at lawsuits pushing those who would make vaccines out of the business.
Bush mentioned education way too much, and though he rebutted Kerry's claim that he didn't fund it by mentioning how much he spent, he never fully countered it, and let Kerry get away with claiming that after school programs had been cut because of his policies.
The continued mentions of Cheney's daughter by the Kerry campaign on the gay marriage issue truly does seem cheap. He dodged President Bush's claim that judges will indeed define marriage, and that those definitions will cross state lines. Kerry also bumbled the abortion issue, which many people anticipated. He was not able to successfully make his claim that his faith guides his decisions, but that he can't force his beliefs on others. Simply saying that might have worked, but he bobbed and weaved back and forth so many times that it was obvious to everyone that he was simply trying to keep Catholic votes and not enrage NOW at the same time.
Kerry told a couple of whoppers. Here's one on Social Security:
First, the Washington Post numbers are likely overestimated. $1 trillion is based on the administration's numbers, and the other $2 trillion is based on unnamed sources' estimates of what a future Social Security proposal would cost. So Kerry double-counted $2 trillion. Oops.
Bush came out swinging on Social Security and gave a plan for reform, and painted the alternative as grim. By contrast, faced with Bob Schieffer's question citing Alan Greenspan saying Social Security needs to change, still held the line, "all is well." Or at least "all would be well if only we'd roll back that Bush tax cut":
Wow! Has anyone done a tally of all the programs Kerry would have spent Bush's tax cut on? Ralph Rector of The Heritage Foundation estimates that if the top two tax rates are restored to Clinton-era levels, the additional revenue brought in by the move will total $163 billion over six years. Given that we are now talking Social Security shortfalls in the trillions, it does not seem Kerry's claims are anywhere near credible.
On the other hand, Kerry made a strong liberal case for raising minimum wage. By contrast, Bush conceded it needed to be raised in saying he supported a bill to raise it. He promptly changed the subject back to education, and I think he appeared to be afraid of the issue.
Finally, Bush scored despite the softball question posed by Schieffer to Kerry about the "backdoor" draft of National Guard and reserve troops. In his second rebuttal, he finally called Kerry on his vote against the 1991 Gulf War, though concluded it less forcefully than he could have, simply saying, "Apparently you can't pass any test under his vision of the world."
Bush did what he needed to do to come out of the debates with decent momentum. The main thing was for him not to lose. As the third debate, running against two playoff baseball games, the audience was likely small. He needed to make sure there were no major gaffes, and though some would argue the "I never said I wasn't worried about Osama" line was an issue given that he did say something to that effect, I don't think anyone truly believes he wasn't concerned, and would assume the statement was taken out of context.
The Red Sox lost a tough one. Once again, Yankee starting pitching was incredible, Rivera was great in closing it out, and the Sox ran out of innings in between. Again, the Yankees capitalized on the opportunities given them, and the Sox did not. Runners on second and third, nobody out in the 8th, and they wound up with just one run.
Worse news on the baseball front concerns Curt Schilling's ankle. Game 5 may not even be necessary, but if it is, Schilling will only appear if the Sox can find a miracle brace for his ankle that will keep a tendon in place.
But on to happier news. Bush did not lose the debate. Whether he won is arguable, but I really don't think he lost. This debate on domestic policy was supposedly Kerry's strong suit (though conservatives would always have argued otherwise), but he provided no depth to the arguments we've been hearing for a year. Bush, on the other hand, was able to go on the offensive a bit and take some shots at Kerry's record and his proposals.
Early in the debate Kerry did not explain what his answer about health insurance coverage had to do with a shortage in flu vaccines. Bush made a smart jab at lawsuits pushing those who would make vaccines out of the business.
Bush mentioned education way too much, and though he rebutted Kerry's claim that he didn't fund it by mentioning how much he spent, he never fully countered it, and let Kerry get away with claiming that after school programs had been cut because of his policies.
The continued mentions of Cheney's daughter by the Kerry campaign on the gay marriage issue truly does seem cheap. He dodged President Bush's claim that judges will indeed define marriage, and that those definitions will cross state lines. Kerry also bumbled the abortion issue, which many people anticipated. He was not able to successfully make his claim that his faith guides his decisions, but that he can't force his beliefs on others. Simply saying that might have worked, but he bobbed and weaved back and forth so many times that it was obvious to everyone that he was simply trying to keep Catholic votes and not enrage NOW at the same time.
Kerry told a couple of whoppers. Here's one on Social Security:
Now, the president has never explained to America, ever, hasn't done it tonight, where does the transitional money, that $2 trillion, come from?
He's already got $3 trillion, according to The Washington Post, of expenses that he's put on the line from his convention and the promises of this campaign, none of which
are paid for. Not one of them are paid for.
First, the Washington Post numbers are likely overestimated. $1 trillion is based on the administration's numbers, and the other $2 trillion is based on unnamed sources' estimates of what a future Social Security proposal would cost. So Kerry double-counted $2 trillion. Oops.
Bush came out swinging on Social Security and gave a plan for reform, and painted the alternative as grim. By contrast, faced with Bob Schieffer's question citing Alan Greenspan saying Social Security needs to change, still held the line, "all is well." Or at least "all would be well if only we'd roll back that Bush tax cut":
In fact, we put together a $5.6 trillion surplus in the '90s that was for the purpose of saving Social Security. If you take the tax cut that the president of the United States has given — President Bush gave to Americans in the top 1 percent of America — just that tax cut that went to the top 1 percent of America would have saved Social Security until the year 2075
Wow! Has anyone done a tally of all the programs Kerry would have spent Bush's tax cut on? Ralph Rector of The Heritage Foundation estimates that if the top two tax rates are restored to Clinton-era levels, the additional revenue brought in by the move will total $163 billion over six years. Given that we are now talking Social Security shortfalls in the trillions, it does not seem Kerry's claims are anywhere near credible.
On the other hand, Kerry made a strong liberal case for raising minimum wage. By contrast, Bush conceded it needed to be raised in saying he supported a bill to raise it. He promptly changed the subject back to education, and I think he appeared to be afraid of the issue.
Finally, Bush scored despite the softball question posed by Schieffer to Kerry about the "backdoor" draft of National Guard and reserve troops. In his second rebuttal, he finally called Kerry on his vote against the 1991 Gulf War, though concluded it less forcefully than he could have, simply saying, "Apparently you can't pass any test under his vision of the world."
Bush did what he needed to do to come out of the debates with decent momentum. The main thing was for him not to lose. As the third debate, running against two playoff baseball games, the audience was likely small. He needed to make sure there were no major gaffes, and though some would argue the "I never said I wasn't worried about Osama" line was an issue given that he did say something to that effect, I don't think anyone truly believes he wasn't concerned, and would assume the statement was taken out of context.
Comments
It's all over, it was his final political debate.
Say goodbye.