By J. Matt Barber
Conventional wisdom suggests that Thursdays Presidential debate was a close one with Kerry perhaps having a slight edge. Many feel that Kerry prevailed on style and presentation, while Bush came out ahead on substance. But did Kerry do enough to stop the clear momentum enjoyed by the Bush campaign going into the debate?
Again, leading up to Thursday nights contest, conventional wisdom held that Kerry had to hit a homerun in order to halt the Bush momentum. It appears that, at best, Kerry was able to deliver little more than a bunt, and barley made it to first base. Kerry had to convince voters that Bush had to go, and that he was a viable alternative in the War on Terror.
It appears that Kerry fell well short of that goal. The liberal media notwithstanding, many, including Kerry Campaign political guru Joe Lockhart, are calling the debate a draw. Flash polling indicates that the debate didn’t even cause a ripple in the bottom line (that is, who’s voting for whom).
In reality, Kerry gave the Bush campaign more than expected to be used against him in coming weeks. Bush, however, played it conservative and did not provide the Kerry camp with even a table scrap for fodder. So, its the bottom of the ninth and Kerry is way behind on points. Thursday night, to the dismay of his fans, he chose to bunt and was able to come up with little more than a base hit. Its a little early to start chilling the champagne, but it looks like Bush may be on his way to a World Series repeat.
Copyright © 2004 by J. Matt Barber
J. Matt Barber is both a non-practicing attorney, an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer (Matt Bam Bam Barber), and a professional jazz drummer in the Chicago (IL) Land area. In addition to his Law degree, Barber holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy. Matt is married to Sarah Marie Barber, has a son (Jim-Luke, 3) and a daughter (Helen, 1), with number three on the way. Matt Works for Allstate Insurance Company as a Territorial Senior Manager in Allstate’s Law and Regulation Corporate Security (Internal Fraud) Department.
