All the initial snapshot polls show that the electorate clearly felt that Kerry won and won by fairly large margins. Kerry was strong, concise, and forceful. Bush was weak, confused, and stumbling. There is no doubt who won the debate. Now, the spinners will have their say and we will see how this pans out in the coming days in the press and in future horse race polls.
Still, though, there is no doubt who won this debate. Was it a knock-out punch by Kerry? No, but it was certainly a heavy blow to Bush. It sets the bar much higher for him in future debates. We will see how he does. If I were a republican, (and thank God I'm not) I would be pretty worried about now. Because my candidate just proved about every joke that has ever been told about him in an hour and a half.
Meet our president, the joke.