Final Debate Redux

I gave up an evening of baseball to watch the final presidential debate, and I'm glad I did, because in baseball the Evil Empire (the -spit- Yankees) prevailed, but in the presidential debates, I thought my man President George W. Bush was the clear winner, both in style and in substance. That means that the Bush-Cheney team won clear victories in three out of the four debates, and in the first presidential debate, Kerry made such serious blunders on substance that he left himself open to immediate and strong counterattacks. The Bush campaign took advantage of Kerry's errors, especially the "global test" faux pas, in the president's campaign speeches. President Bush used it again in tonight's debate (transcript) to bludgeon John Kerry.

Disappointing Debates for Democrats

So, on the whole, I think the debates have to be viewed as pretty disappointing for the Democrats. The next three weeks will tell, of course. The first debate helped Kerry, without a doubt, but I think he made such serious blunders on substance that the bounce he got from the first debate will be short-lived. He wasn't able to land enough serious blows in any of the debates to convince many people to vote for him that weren't already committed. With the economy doing well, democracy moving forward in Afghanistan, and the tide turning against the terrorists and insurgents in Iraq, Kerry just doesn't have much traction with the electorate. My expectation is that following this final debate, President Bush's lead in the polls will widen, not by a huge amount, but by a significant amount - perhaps three percentage points.

The conventional wisdom prior to the debates was that John Kerry would, ahem, carry the final debate, since it was on domestic policy, traditionally the Democrats' strength. What I think some people have forgotten is that George Bush was elected in 2000 as much on his domestic policy agenda as he was on foreign policy. He clearly has thought about and understands domestic policy issues quite well. As governor of Texas, he had to deal with these issues, and many people credit him with doing a very good job as a governor dealing with education, border security, job creation, and so on. So once again, I think President Bush confounded the conventional wisdom by being much stronger on domestic policy issues than expected.

In my view, tonight John Kerry was ponderous and pedantic, citing statistic after statistic after boring (and irrelevant) statistic. It made him look like a policy wonk, not a president. Again and again, he said, "I have a plan" without ever saying anything about what his plan actually is. I think the American people are catching on to his empty rhetoric and are getting very tired of it. I know I am. On the other hand, President Bush doesn't say, "I have a plan." He says, "this is what I am going to do." He spells out the specifics, and then does his best to do exactly what he said. John Kerry either can't do that (because he really doesn't have a plan) or won't do that (because his "plan" is a lot of hot air).

The Personal Touch

One of the things that people like about President Bush is that he seems like a "regular guy." My wife and I have commented several times that we would feel comfortable having George and Laura Bush into our home. They seem like people that would be gracious, interesting and genuinely nice to be with. I get the feeling that I would like President Bush personally, and Mrs. Bush seems like such a classy and gracious person - she reminds me of my own wife so much in that respect. In tonight's debate, you could see how much George Bush loves and appreciates his wife; he is absolutely genuine and credible when he talks about her. I understand him when he does, because I feel the same way about my own wife. It contributes very much to my trust and support of the president, because he is so believable. In my heart, I think, "Here is a guy that absolutely loves his wife, and she loves him. They trust each other, so I think I can trust them."

On the other hand, John Kerry just doesn't seem like the kind of person I'd enjoy being around, and his wife seems loud, condescending and rather brazen. I just don't think I'd like either of them personally. Kerry's classless and crass comment about Dick Cheney's daughter was an example of why I don't think I'd like him personally. It was an uncalled-for dig at a family matter; in my view, it was completely out of bounds in a political debate. Another bit of evidence on John Kerry's weak and not-very-likable character was that, rather than talking about his wife and daughters when given the opportunity, he talked about his mother. I don't know much of anything about how John Kerry and his wife interact or what their relationship is like, but it just doesn't seem as warm and genuine as the Bush's.

That's certainly an intangible reason for voting for someone, and it certainly isn't my only reason, but I believe perception plays a pretty large part in how people make political decisions. Tonight, the intangibles definitely went President Bush's way. When he talks about his faith, his family, his vision for freedom in the world, people connect. They get it. They understand what he means, because they feel the same way.

Three Weeks to Go!

Aren't you glad that the debates are finally over? I'm looking forward to voting on November 2^nd and electing President Bush for four more years. I'll be praying for guidance and wisdom for the voters of our country and that, no matter which candidate is elected, he will lead our country wisely. It will be a blessing just to have the election over, so we can move on with the serious business facing our nation and the world.

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