The Final Debate

The final debate is over, and we are left with spin doctors and campaign speeches to help us decide who should be the next president.

Thursday night's theme could be, "But Iraq IS a domestic issue!" Although the debate was to be devoted to Domestic Issues, the candidates were more animated when given the opportunity to discuss foreign policy and the war in Iraq.

How did the candidates look?
Both candidates appeared relaxed and confident, especially President Bush. At times John Kerry looked as if he was having the time of his life. Both candidates appeared well-prepared, and unruffled when challenged by the opposing candidate. Both candidates made some mistakes in "facts", but not many, and when debating without notes it is impressive when there are so few mistakes made.

Who won the debate?
Well, even the Republicans are conceding that Kerry has gained an advantage. As Ralph Reed told John Stewart on The Daily Show, John Kerry is a formidable debater. He debated in college, and his debate coach at Yale said he was one of the top five best debaters he had ever seen or coached. So no wonder he looked like he was enjoying himself -- John Kerry loves to debate. He looked and sounded presidential. He was effective in presenting specific strategies for addressing and dealing with the present problems facing the country.

President Bush stayed on message, as he has in previous debates. The president's main message is to trust him to do the right thing. He also hammered home his commitment to education as the key to the problems that face the nation. He spoke like someone who understands from experience the job of the president, and he projected the warmth and congeniality that gained him a reputation for being a uniter when he was governor of Texas.

Even so, the edge went to John Kerry, who had more substance to his statements, and never avoided a question.

What mistakes were made?
Both candidates had the usual factual inaccuracies (although none as good as Vice President Cheney recommending factcheck.com, an ad site originating in the Cayman Islands, as a source for accurate information instead of factcheck.org), but more than that, they made a couple of strategic errors. President Bush evaded a direct question about abortion rights, giving Sen. Kerry the opportunity to point that out. When asked about what he would say to someone who was laid off because of outsourcing, his reply was to hand the person some money to go to a local community college to gain the skills to look for a new job. It lacked compassion, and adhered to the erroneous assumption that people who are outsourced are minimum wage earners with no training.

Senator Kerry cited Vice President Cheney's daughter, who happens to be a lesbian as well as the vice president's campaign manager, when talking about gay marriage. The post-debate furor over that remark has focused attention on the ire of the Cheneys and diverting attention from Senator Kerry's plans.

Bob Shieffer lobbed the candidates a couple of softball questions. His question about the strong women in the lives of the two men prompted a warm, sweet account by the president of love at first sight when he met his wife, and a joke about marrying up from the usually serious Kerry. It was heartening to see that both men are, like the rest of us, more than their jobs, but fathers and husbands.

So now we count down to the election. As the spin masters go into high gear it is important to remember that the platforms of each candidate, and the substance of the debates, should weigh heavily into which candidate to choose. Both men are strongly committed to their ideals, and there is a clear difference between them.

Most importantly, choose and vote.