Debate About Debates: An Educator's View

Let The Punditry Begin!
For the last time, the two candidates "met" to discuss the issues before the citizenry goes to the polls.

While answering a question about the economy, the President smoothly changed gears and began to address the subject of education. Bush gets points for mentioning education early, making a forceful argument that he had been a motivator for positive reform of the education system through the "No Child Left Behind Act."

While addressing a question about supreme court appointments, Kerry took a swipe at Bush's supposed underfunding of The No Child Left Behind Act. The Senator said, " 500,000 kids lost their after school programs."

Without mentioning specifics, Kerry promised to be the savior of The American Working Man. He stated that even though he cannot stop outsourcing, he will, if elected, put a stop to the tax incentives that businesses currently enjoy when jobs are moved "off shore."

Bush did well referring to "The Defense Of Marriage Act." As a countermove, Kerry mentioned Vice President Cheney's gay daughter as an example of the tolerance that Americans should have. Without mentioning support for any legislation, Kerry stated that, "Marriage should be between a man and a woman."

Concerning health care, Bush strongly advocated the need for tort reform to bring down the high cost of frivolous lawsuits and medical malpractice insurance. Kerry scored some points mentioning the fact that inexpensive drugs from Canada are now more difficult to obtain.

The candidates then addressed an issue that is of much concern to The Education Wonks, our out-of-control borders. President Bush said, "We have 1000 additional border agents on our border." Unfortunately, he supports a version of the always-failed, never successful "guest worker" program. However, Kerry supports "guest workers" as well, thereby neautralizing any advantage that he may have gained by supporting strict enforcement of our borders. Both candidates also support amnesty, which rewards illegal aliens for breaking the law.

Our insecure borders will continue to be the issue that Michelle Malkin refers to as "The Elephant In The Room." In other words, no one wants to seriously discuss border security and runaway illegal immigration. Both parties believe that they have much to gain by not effectively addressing the border problem.

Kerry alluded to "people from the middle east" illegally (and easily) crossing the border.(Kerry missed a major opportunity there. But if he had taken advantage, it may have alienated a major constituency of his, the Hispanic vote.)

A question was put to Kerry by the moderator about the problem of too many re-deployments of the National Guard and Reserve. Without saying how he would recruit the soldiers, Kerry pledged an additional two divisions of active duty personnel.

Senator Kerry insinuated that Bush was unwilling to court the African American vote. Bush defended himself ably, by referring to the opportunities afforded by education. Bush pointed out that competitive contracts should be open to all, and that more minorities own their own home than ever before.

Style:
At the beginning, Kerry appeared to be more relaxed than Bush. At times, Kerry bore on his face a smile that reminded the EdWonk as that worn by The Cheshire Cat. Bush seemed somewhat better composed than his last two debating efforts.

Bush gets points for using the traditional debater's etiquette of not mentioning his opponent by name.

Summary:
President Bush's strongest attribute in debating is his ability to appear "down home." This was not as much in evidence this evening as it was in earlier debates.

Kerry probably weakened his position by repeatedly accusing the President of mis-leading the American people. It has been observed that when candidates launch personal attacks on their opponent, the attacker's favorability rating tends to decline. That usually translates as lost votes.

Bush's usual strength of a "down home" familiarity with people was not as much in evidence at this debate, especially at the beginning. However, he "hit his stride" later in the debate. Bush has always been a strong closer.

As the debate continued, Bush seemed more at ease. He was most effective when he discussed the personal nature of his faith. "I believe that God wants everyone to be free," was a strong statement. His strongest moments came when he spoke about the strength that he gets from the women in his life.

Finally:
Bush did better than he had at any of the debates. John Kerry did not get anything like the decisive victory that he needed in order to change the state-by-state electoral map. Therefore, Bush won the strategic victory and continues to enjoy an electoral advantage.