Gould 0738 wrote:
Bush performed well in the second presidential debate.

While the Limbaugh Little Leaguers and other right wing fanatics have been
crowing about Bush's "victory" in the first debate, the majority of the country
saw a dramatic difference between Kerry and Bush in their first debate, and the
difference was not in the incumbent's favor.

The Friday night rematch was more evenly fought. D's and R's alike could take
some pride in the overall performance of their favored candidates- and each
side
got off a few "zingers" against the other.

Were the encounters boxing matches, rather than debates, the first would have
been a knockout and the second contest narrowly decided one way or another by
points.

There was an aspect of Bush's performance that must surely concern a geat many
people. How could the confused, bumbling, face-making buffoon from the first
debate have morphed so convincingly into the still bull-headed, but now
adequately communicative full participant in the second?

Such inconsistencies in personality and performance are often symptomatic of
serious underlying issues. Was the POTUS "medicated" for one of the two
debates? If so, which one? Was that the *real* George Bush, standing erect and
making eye contact with the crowd while speaking coherently enough to convince
his loyal base that he hadn't lost his mind entirely?

Which of those Bush's would occupy the White House if he is reselected for
another four years? The smirking incompetent? The oh-so-wrong but adequately
functional statesman? Both at once?

Jekyl and Hyde?
There can be no greater, or more potentially disastrous "flip-flop" than that.


Bush did better than in the first debate, but he didn't look or sound
Presidential. He's got all the intellectual curiosity of a rotifer.

And he continues to blame others for his mistakes.





--
"...vice president (Cheney), I'm surprised to hear him talk about
records. When he was one of 435 members of the United States House, he
was one of 10 to vote against Head Start, one of four to vote against
banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors. He voted
against the Department of Education. He voted against funding for
Meals on Wheels for seniors. He voted against a holiday for Martin
Luther King. He voted against a resolution calling for the release of
Nelson Mandela in South Africa. It's amazing to hear him criticize
either my record or John Kerry's."

- Senator John Edwards, 10/05/04