Instant, Biased, Alcohol Fueled Analysis

First, I spent the five minutes before 8 o'clock scrambling around for batteries and headphones for my ancient Walkman--Entergy cut power at twenty till (line work on my street) and came back on line just as Senator Kerry was acknowledging the first question. So luck was on my side.

Bush, like president Cheney, channeled the ghost of Richard Nixon, only Dubya's Nixon was hopped up on amphetamines for roughly the first half of the show. Seriously. Someone must have pumped an IV full of crank into his veins--either that, or they put a cattle prod on the seat. Or, perhaps Rove managed to drill the idea that "it's now or never" into the dauphin's skull. Regardless, he was the used war salesman ("what's it gonna take for me to get you into THIS WAR right now?"). Under those circumstances, Kerry takes the debate by default.

Unfortunately, the Senator let the moment get to him at times, and actually stumbled on a couple of questions, particularly the one on stem cell research. However, I can't imagine any Bush supporter being particularly comfortable with his performance. I'll put it this way: if Bush was the starting pitcher in a baseball game, his first five pitches would've gone over the heads of the batter, catcher, umpire, and perhaps even the first few rows of seats behind the backstop.

Years ago, I read Ulysses Grant's memoirs--in it, he recalls a humiliating moment as a youth when charged with buying a horse. He wrote that he told the seller that he was authorized to offer twelve dollars, but was allowed to go as high as sixteen (or words to that effect). Guess how much he ended up paying...

That's what Bush sounded like. Between the lies, the overeagerness (and the weird expressions that seem to be congenital), and his overall mein, Bush showed more than ever that, while he might make a passable mayor of a small town (or a weak governor, as he was in Texas), the man just isn't capable of handling the role of commander-in-chief of the United States. His attempts to at humor fell flat, his rhetoric was strained, he didn't know his OWN business affairs--which makes any sentient being wonder how he can handle the affairs of the nation--in the end, it was simply a pathetic performance. Keith Olbermann at MSNBC scored it 14-4-3 for Kerry, and I don't think he was particularly partisan. For anyone who hasn't swallowed hook, line, sinker, rod and reel the Bush program of "trust me--I want you to have this war today," Bush's performance must have been painful to view.

OK--I might be back tomorrow (wow--a second straight weekend post)--but I'm gonna read the big blog's spin and maybe hit the bars around here--if the rain finally stops--later on, y'all.