Even over at the Fox News site they can't come out and say that Bush won last night. Of course, they state that even though G.W. didnt' come off well, he was 'right' on the issues.

I wasn't able to catch the whole event, since I was on the subway during most of it. I did catch the last half or so and thought Kerry did an outstanding job. He was decisive and looked at ease, while G.W. looked like he wasn't sure why he had to be there with somebody who disagreed with him. If Kerry is able to maintain that manner in the next two debates, as well as in public appearances I think he may have a shot at actually swinging those undecided (which I really think is a much smaller group than some pollsters would have you believe, at this point).

Got to hear the line about 'leashing' his daughters, which is one of those jokes parents will say to one another, but seems odd coming from Mr. Family Values. As they pointed out on Morning Sedition, it also is borderline bad taste given what went on at Abu Ghraib.

It will be interesting to see how the Bush supporters spin this one (and you know they will), trying to convince us all that G.W. actually won the thing.

Now there all those stories about how the 'debate agreement' called for NO reaction shots. I figured with the folks at Fox working the cameras they would do exactly that. Guess they couldn't resist the split screen shots, but it may have backfired. You can bet there were phone calls from Rove to the Fox control room shortly after the handshake took place. :-)

This really should have been Bush's best shot, since he has shaped his campaign on his leadership in the War on Terror and as Commander-in-Chief. The upcoming debates on the economy, ecology and social issues are going to be more difficult. To use the phrase that you hear on Air America, "They got nothing!"