It was a weird debate in some ways, this last presidential debate.  Senator John Kerry seemed extremely well prepared and had excellent answers and great poise, while President George Bush bounced from good answers to very poor answers.  It was not like the first debate where George Bush was just having a very "off" night, but more like he couldn't seem to get his bearings, and thought every road led to his No Child Left Behind act.

Now, don't get me wrong, education is a wonderful thing, and even if it is underfunded, the No Child Left Behind act has had some very positive outcomes, even in ways that I wouldn't have expected.  Yet in this debate, it seemed to be the only answer Bush had for everything from jobs to health care to civil rights.  He just couldn't seem to shake it.  He didn't even attack John Kerry as relentlessly as usual, but just went on and on about education.  It is not the answer to everything.

So, it seems very clear that Kerry won, which puts him as the strong winner of two debates and a contender for winner of the third.  Pretty good for the challenger.  I think you'll see the polls go way up over the next few weeks.

Copyright © 2004 Genii Software Ltd.