Friday, October 01, 2004

Kerry Wins Debate

Last night a friend called me 3 minutes before the debate was to begin. Among my other complaints, I grumbled about the very existence of presidential debates. They are in fact joint news conferences, not really debates, and the reality is often trumped by pro-republican spin among the talking heads.

My friend pointed out to me, that in the absence of real journalism and objectivity for democrats, they are the only opportunity for a candidate to present himself without the news media filter. How right he is. Kerry did well and Bush looked either cranky or confused. This line was Kerry's best.

"I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse? I believe that when you know something's going wrong, you make it right."

Now we have to watch out for media bias, and Karl Rove's evil manipulations. We also have to be careful that we don't "misunderestimate" Bush. Like Kerry, he looked more relaxed as the night progressed. Maybe Rove will hypnotize him before the next debate and he will come out looking less like a deer in the head lights.

Kerry deserves credit for doing well, but I am superstititious. I won't relax unless I wake up on November 3rd and know that Kerry is president-elect.

November 3rd Movement

A Kerry victory is not a get out of jail free card. We still have lots of work to do. I don't want to see more triangulating and Dick Morris clones in a democratic White House. On November 3rd we need to organize anew. I thank Common Dreams for highlighting my thoughts on the subject.