Second Debate Appears Divided Along Parisian Lines

MSM Media: Transcript

CBS News: In a heated debate rematch Friday, Sen. John Kerry derided President Bush as the first leader to preside over job losses in 72 years and said he had transformed huge budget surpluses into massive deficits with wartime tax cuts for the rich. Mr. Bush said Kerry would have to raise taxes on middle-class Americans to pay for $2.2 trillion in new spending programs. (Note: CBS online poll has Kerry at 88% vs Bush at 12%)

Washington Post:The debate repeatedly turned personal, reflecting the heated rhetoric the two have used on the campaign trail this past week, with Bush accusing Kerry of a record studded with inconsistency and liberal values. "I can see why people think that he changes position quite often, because he does," Bush said.

CNN:President Bush came out swinging Friday night in the rematch with his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry.

Fox News:Bush continued to paint the Massachusetts senator as a flip-flopping liberal who would overtax Americans and be too lax in the War on Terror, while Kerry accused the president of adopting foreign policies that put America in more danger and for putting corporate interests above all else where domestic policy is concerned.

MSNBC: Committing himself to going on the offensive in the last month of the campaign, President Bush tore into Sen. John Kerry during the second presidential debate Friday night, saying he could understand why people thought the Democratic challenger “changes positions a lot, because he does.” Kerry answered Bush’s attacks calmly but sternly, accusing Bush of “choosing a tax cut over homeland security” and “going it alone in Iraq.”
ABC News: In a testy debate rematch Friday, Sen. John Kerry derided President Bush as the first leader to preside over job losses in 72 years and said he had transformed huge budget surpluses into massive deficits with wartime tax cuts for the rich. Bush said Kerry would raise taxes on middle-class Americans to pay for $2.2 trillion in new spending programs. A poll of registered voters had the two candidates statistically equal.

Reuters: President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry argued about Iraq, jobs and taxes in their second debate Friday, with Kerry questioning Bush's judgment and the president accusing Kerry of crumbling under political pressure.

Slanted Conservative

Allah:Allah's free-for-all round-up. Truly legendary.
: Bush connected with the audience with humor (self-deprecating and otherwise), while Kerry utterly failed to do the same. It was Bush's room: Kerry was just visiting. Combining that with solid answers which hammered Kerry on his weakest points made tonight a clear win for Bush on points, if not an utter knockout.

INDC (updated): Overall, a great debate, but I have trouble picking a winner. Kerry was solid, even good, throughout, whereas Bush started a little defensive and reactionary, but then closed with comfort, humor and great talking points. He really beat Kerry up around the mid-point. Given Kerry's demoralizing incompetence on the stump, this second strong debate performance will further energize the Dem base and keep the race tight. Perhaps it's an effective tie, perhaps a slight win for Kerry based on his more consistent delivery.

Hugh Hewitt: Has a pheonomenal scorecard - "No way to call this other than a big Bush win, and no amount of spin can change that. Kerry's defending Kyoto and partial birth abortion, and still hoping to turn the war into a win..."

Powerline's Deacon: I think President Bush may have had a somewhat better night than Rocket seems to suggest. Sure, the president fluffed a few lines and didn't score all the points that were available to him. But I thought he edged out Kerry during the foreign policy portion of the debate, held his own during the domestic portion, and had a more effective closing statement.

Powerline's Hindrocket: One, I had underestimated Kerry. I've always thought of him as a rather dull-witted stiff. But that's wrong. He is a demagogue of some genius, like Father Coughlin or Huey Long, with, I think, the psychopathology that that implies. Two, Bush was much better tonight, more animated and energetic. He had several good spontaneous moments, one or two of which were funny. Did he "win"? Beats me. But he did fine; he certainly didn't lose any ground tonight.

Instapundit: Overall, a pretty good performance by both guys, neither of whom is a stellar orator. As I've said before, my judgment on these things isn't to be trusted -- I thought Carter beat Reagan -- but it looks to me like a pretty solid Bush win here for two reasons. First, the expectations were low, and he was drastically better than the previous debate, especially in the closing statement. Talk about beating the point spread. Second, he stayed focused and on-message, and looked firm instead of exasperated. As some talking head said, Bush came to play tonight. He wins the comeback prize, and the momentum shifts.

PoliPundit: And now, within the first 5 minutes of the second presidential debate, I’m saying Bush is cleaning Kerry’s clock. Bush has the easier task. If he just showed up and didn’t scowl a lot, he’d beat expectations. But the rout goes well beyond that. Kerry is rattling off numbers and sounding negative, not connecting with his questioner. Bush, on the other hand, is sure, at ease, and scoring hits on Kerry.

More PoliPundit: If this debate had been a boxing match, John Kerry would be on his way to the Hospital, with two cracked ribs, six lost teeth, a broken nose, and a herniated disc. Bush scuffed his shoes. He might need a band-aid or two. The ref would have stopped this fight.

Bill Faith at Backcountry Conservative: Knockout! Knock! Out! John Kerry is on record as saying invading Iraq was a mistake. President Bush is on record as saying it wasn't. Kerry brought up the lack of body armor issue. President Bush reminded him about the $87 Billion he voted against after he voted for it...

ACE: I've only watched the foreign policy section of the debate so far, but Bush is definitely far stronger, crisper, clearer, and more passionate this go-round.

JustOneMinute: And who won? If the goal was to win over undecideds, I have no idea - at this point, what is an undecided voter waiting to hear, anyway? But if the goal was to rally the faithful, both candidates won.

La Shawn Barber: Bush 2, Kerry 0

Sean Hackbarth : In the expectations game--which I hate--Bush won because many people thought he did so poorly in Debate I. I call it a draw, but Bush has plenty to add to his stump speech.

PoliBlogger: George Will and the ABC news gang called it a tie, and the Fox crew seems to be saying the same thing. That strikes me as fair, but tonight a tie should redound to Bush after how badly he did in the first debate.

WizBangBlog: If the first debate was all Kerry, this one was all Bush. As I noted a week ago the town hall format was going to be the best format for Bush. He proved it tonight.

Pat Buchanan: "The president was strong and tough ... he looked like he came to fight, and he did it in a presidential way."

Morton Kondracke: "I think Kerry won this debate as he won the first debate. Kerry was much more aggressive and the president was basically on the defense. He didn't have new arguments. He wasn't as facile as he should have been."

Michelle Malkin: John Kerry reveals his true elitist colors

LGF: Bush hands down. Kerry sounded like a worn out liberal whose only plan was to have another plan.

BlogsforBush: This was a great night for Bush. He was Presidential, and trustworthy. John Kerry appeared annoyed, he offered virtually nothing new, and couldn't answer a question to save his life. (no surprise)

Beldar: I score this debate as a Bush win, viewed in isolation. Discounting for my admitted bias, it was at worst a draw for Bush. Big picture, strategically for Bush, that's still a win.

NeophytePundit: Okay. Now I know for sure that Bush won. Bob Kerrey was just on Hardball alongside Gov. Pataki, Kerrey said it was a draw...

Politburo Diktat: Bush connected with ordinary people. Kerry connected with economists. Bush wins decisively.

Objective Conservatism: Detailed Analysis: Mr. Bush won.

bLogicus: My initial reaction for those interested.

Leaning Liberal

John Marshall: Having listened to the whole thing very carefully, I thought it was basically a draw. President Bush was certainly more coherent and on-his-feet than he was a week ago.
Daily Kos: Well, the consensus seems to be that since Bush wasn't as horrible as last time, then he won or battled to a draw. Bizarre. Keep hitting the online polls.

Andrew Sullivan: A DRAW: That's my basic take, although the debate was more interesting than that makes it seem. On style, the president was clearly far better than in the first debate. I think he's woken up and realizes he can lose this thing. He was aggressive, clear most of the time, had a good rapport with the audience and, as the debate went on, became more relaxed.

Eschaton: Kerry Rocked. It's a bit of a habit to judge these things on the basis of how Bush did. But, in this debate it's fair to say that Bush was a bit better than he was in the last one, but more importantly... Kerry was a lot better than he was last time.

Pandagon: Pretty clearly a Kerry win, although I think it does negligble damage to Bush unless his utter miscues are picked up on.

Kevin Drum: Wrapup: this one was closer than the first debate, but what was up with Bush, especially in the first half hour? He was jabbing the air, hectoring the audience, interrupting Charlie Gibson, leaping to his feet, and barely allowing the questioners to finish before he started bellowing. He seemed like he just couldn't understand why these people continued to disagree with him. Why? Why?

TalkLeft: John Kerry won, hands down. He had concrete answers. He was Presidential. He showed his knowledge and exposed Bush's mistakes. Bush was defensive, belligerant and condescending at times. He keeps playing up the fear factor. He doesn't get it. He's detached. He's scary.

Updates:

Captain's Quarters' Whiskey has a number of insightful if not amusing comments: