The candidates shook hands closer to Kerry’s podium.
Straight to the questions. Could Kerry do better than Bush in preventing another 9-11-type attack?
“Yes, I do.”
Unlike the networks, C-SPAN is running a split screen. One can see the reactions of the one candidate while the other speaks.
Although the tops of their heads are at the same height on the screen, Kerry’s podium covers about 10% less of his body.
Kerry nodded and agreed with the President when Bush noted that the world was better off without Saddam Hussein.
The President accused Kerry of a “Pre-September 11 mentality.” He answered Lehrer’s question about going after Saddam and going after OBL by saying that we can do both, and that this is a “global effort.”
Both Kerry and the President have caught themselves using “Osama bin Laden” when they mean “Saddam Hussein.” In their minds, the two are interchangeable.
Kerry mentioned that he was “in combat.”
Also, Kerry is scribbling constant notes while the President spoke, even if he would have no rebuttal. The President is doing so sparingly.
Kerry nods. “Yes, we have to be steadfast and resolute, and I am.” And he played the “I can bring the allies back to the table” card. They allies to which he refers were never at the table.
He’s used the “opening firehouses in Iraq, closing them here” line. That one’s been dismissed, right and left.
President Bush: “I don’t see when we’re going to get to how he’s going to pay for these programs. … Oh, well. That’s for another debate.” Conversational, a lot like people might have been feeling at home. That was very good.
Kerry “knows what it’s like to go on one of those missions where you don’t know what’s around the corner.”
