WINNER - AGAIN

Well I have President Bush and Vice President Cheney three-for-three, although Laura and I might be the only ones who think the first debate went the president’s way. Notice that as recently as last night Kerry was still trying to explain that a “global test” has nothing to do with other nations or international organizations, huh, OK, riiight. So, now we don’t know any more than when he first uttered the phrase. I suspect, and always have, that for Kerry the “global test” is the approval of France, Germany and UN. Global test is going to dog Kerry until Nov. 2.

But last night’s debate clearly favored the president. He had all the substance of the first debate and combined that with some pretty effective style points. Bush was the big winner because he was able to tie the “liberal” anchor around Kerry’s neck. You know it was working when Kerry’s only defense was, “Labels don’t matter.” Well, when you’re named the most liberal member of a congress that includes Teddy Kennedy, yes they do.

Much of the foreign policy portion was a repeat. The president made the same points from the earlier debate with a bit more style. He effectively pointed out Kerry’s hypocrisy on coalition building. The president restated the need to be consistent on the war on terror. Kerry, laughably, said he had one position on Iraq. Oh yea, when the president said if Kerry were in charge Saddam would still be in power. Kerry’s brilliant come back was, “not necessarily”. Kerry could have been weaker but only if he’d said something like, “I’d have held a summit with Saddam.” The president painted Kerry into a corner by noting that Kerry’s objections are all post war, post 9/11 investigation, post intelligence failure report, and now post WMD report, making Kerry out to be the ultimate Monday morning quarterback.

The real take away line though was the president’s rejoinder referring to Kerry’s 20 year record in congress, “You can run but you can’t hide.” The president effectively painted Kerry as the tax-and-spend liberal he is and did it without the endless repetition of the first debate. The president also uncovered Kerry’s liberal record in the following areas:

Taxes: Kerry looked into the camera and said the only thing he could say, I will not raise taxes on the middle-class. The president pointed to Kerry’s 20 years of voting against the very tax policy he was now proposing. The president didn’t call Kerry a liar, as Kerry is fond of calling the president. Instead the president pointed to the 20 year record. He said that Kerry just wasn’t credible. The president also noted that Kerry’s spending proposals far exceed his revenue proposals and that means higher taxes for everyone – anyone surprised?

Tort reform: The president managed a three-for on this subject. Noting that Kerry not only voted against tort reform but also exposed Kerry’s absenteeism in congress when Kerry said he was for tort reform, after voting against it, the president asked, well why didn’t he show up and vote for it? The last jab the president got in on this subject was his reference to Kerry’s running mate John Edwards. The president noted in a taunting manner, He’s even got a trial lawyer on the ticket.

Healthcare: The president pegged Kerry’s healthcare reform as Hillerycare II. He also skillfully tied the healthcare reform to tort reform so Kerry couldn’t mention one without the president hammering him on the other. You cannot have healthcare reform without tort reform. You cannot take Kerry’s half-measures on tort reform and fix healthcare. Having an ambulance-chaser on his ticket made it particularly difficult for Kerry in these areas.

Abortion: If there was a clear 2nd deck grand slam homerun shot, it was the president’s stand on federal funding for abortion. After assuring us in the very first question that he wasn’t wishy-washy, Kerry spent two minutes wishing and washing about the abortion question. He’s “personally” against it, but he can’t speak or vote against it. The president might have taken some pleasure watching Kerry twist himself tighter than the rubber band on a dime-store toy as he got off another excellent rejoinder, “I’m still trying to decipher that.” The president flatly stated he was against federal funding for abortion and spoke from the heart about a culture of life. Who, in their right mind could be against a culture of life? OK, other than NARAL. The president then pressed the advantage by noting Kerry’s support for partial birth abortion. While the abortion question may break about 50-50, the vile, grotesque and disgusting practice of partial birth abortion doesn’t. The president buried Kerry under a dump truck load of his support for the unsupportable and threw in a “you can run but you can’t hide” for good measure. After burring Kerry, the president steam-rolled the pile, noting Kerry’s lack of support for parental notification. So when the whole thing was said and done Kerry was exposed as supporting a federally funded partial birth abortion for a minor without the notification of the girl’s parents. I think America breaks about 99 to 1 against Kerry’s position.

So, I think Kerry was a big looser – AGAIN – but Kerry’s not the only one. Jim Lehrer has got to be feeling pretty low as well. With the exception of Ifill’s black women with aides question, and last night’s what three (hmm …only three?) mistakes have you made question, Lehrer is a distant third in the moderator department. It is pretty sad for Lehrer when the "unskilled" masses can do a better job of questioning the candidates than supposed “professional journalist”.