Thursday's presidential debate was by no means a blowout for John Kerry. Many people, including some conservatives, were worried that President Bush's intrinsic lack of public speaking ability would crumble under the pressure of Kerry's well-tuned debate tactics, but that didn't exactly happen.
Needless to say, the damage was done. While The State News' own freshly assembled debate panel might have seen the debate as a draw, the national news media - and our editorial board - have proclaimed Kerry the victor. The focus of Thursday's orations in Florida were the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism and how those two do or do not intertwine with each other. To lose a debate with just more than three years of fighting terrorists under his belt can't be a good thing for the president. His strong leadership in times of change wasn't overwhelmingly, or even effectively, asserted in the latest debate, and a collected Kerry was there to revel in it.
When Bush's lectern-hugging speech stance looked like a slouch, Kerry looked confident and calm under pressure. Beyond body language, Kerry owned up to and explained what has been called his flip-flopping nature. When Bush made a charge, Kerry had an answer. A crushing trump card of an answer wasn't always the reply, but a confident answer to each question is what put Kerry above Bush for Thursday evening. The polls now reflect that.
The fact that Kerry didn't win by a blowout doesn't matter - it might have even helped him. Currently, Bush and Kerry are dead even in the polls and any advantage Bush had after the Republican National Convention has evaporated. If Kerry had won by a landslide or failed to restrain himself, some moderate voters might not have found him appealing. On a side note, even if third-party candidate Ralph Nader had been included in the debates, he would have likely made little difference.
Because the second presidential debate on Friday will be a town-hall style debate with no exact topic, the public is bound to ask both candidates some tough questions. The crowd is not likely to treat the president or the senator with kid gloves. In a setting where just about any question can and will be asked without the pretense of professional courtesy, it's likely the oration skills Kerry displayed on Thursday will parlay into a similar tasting victory - not dominating, but working one step ahead of his rival.
Where victory is not clear, however, is in this evening's vice presidential debates. It must be acknowledged that John Edwards has youth, presentation and a physical appearance that Dick Cheney cannot match. Edwards is a trial lawyer used to interrogating personalities like Cheney's from the witness stand.
Given these contestants, content could very well finish second to delivery in tonight's debate. Edwards' populist appeal could warm over audiences turned off by Cheney's mechanized mannerisms just as easily as his inexperience in national politics could visibly seep through. There's little doubt that Cheney has the experience, but there's less doubt that Edwards has more mainstream appeal. If the vice presidential candidates take a page from Thursday's debate, style over substance could be the impetus for success.
