Kerry Vs. Bush Round 2

To start, a quick guarantee: both sides genuinely think they won this one. This debate was certainly closer, and the opinions on it will definitely be more varied than last time. My opinion however, is that John Kerry may have edged this one out. This is largely stemming from some rather odd things I saw from George Bush especially towards the beginning of the debate, such as his occasionally over-aggressive attitude. He seemed to jump up before even being acknowledged right off the bat, which I think is a perfectly fine strategy to appear aggressive and energetic. But, he then seemed to be yelling at the audience, and even interrupted and yelled at Charlie Gibson because he wanted to respond to something Kerry said rather than answer the question Gibson had for him. Another of my initial reactions was that Bush seemed to have been advised for this debate at the same time as Cheney was advised for his debate on Tuesday. Especially at the beginning, there were a couple lines from Bush that were verbatim repeats of something Cheney had said. Kerry on the other hand, seemed just as calm and collected as he was last time, although there were a couple of moments when he seemed somewhat tongue tied.

In terms of policy and proposals, I think this debate really showed where Bush and Kerry stand in relation to each other. It was probably one of the most helpful events yet for undecided voters. But, I think the reaction will be pretty evenly split, and if there is any affect on the polls, it will probably be minimal. If anything, Kerry may get a slight bump based on demeanor and personal likeability, but I wouldn't count on anything too significant. It should be interesting to see how the instant-polls gauge the event tomorrow morning.