One Down, Two to Go

Initial Reactions
Frankly, Mort Kondracke said it best on FoxNews. President Bush looked tired.
The President also looked defensive at times. He kept saying the country needed to stay on the offensive with terrorism, but was primarily on the defensive in this debate. I kept waitng for Mr. Bush to hit the ball out of the park, and God knows Sen. Kerry gave him opportunities. Mr. Bush simply didn't take them. I'm not sure why.

The spin will continue throughout the evening, but in this Bush partisan's opinion, Kerry came out ahead tonight. He definitely helped himself. He was aggressive without being hostile. He held his own, and President Bush did not capitalize on Kerry's miscues. One of the biggest was one of the final questions. Kerry was asked what he thought was the biggest threat to this country. Kerry replied nuclear proliferation. Kerry was a major supporter of the unilateral nuclear freeze movement in the 70's and 80's.

Bush could have come back on that one. He didn't. He missed an opportunity. He now has two more....