WHO WERE THOSE 2 GUYS?

Last night's debate was supposed to feature George W. Bush vs. John Kerry. Instead, we got "Insomnia Guy" vs. "Clear Concise Guy." My on-the-spot diary from last night:

PRE-DEBATE ON MSNBC
6:40 Tim Russert has already set the tone for Big Media: talk in non-partisan tones about what needs to happen, but have a look of panic and urgency on your face. I like Russert, but there’s no doubt where his political loyalty lies.

6:53 They’re arguing about the time limits for the debate questions. You know what? If you can’t articulate your point-of-view to the public in 2 minutes, you’re not fit to lead the country. Do you really think that Joe and Mary Beer Can can listen past 2 minutes and repeat the substance back?? Early prediction: Kerry isn’t going to gain ground, he’s going to LOSE ground. Bring on the landslide.

6:58 The Conservative Wife almost has a heart attack when I say “part of me wants to see Kerry smoke Bush in this race so I can believe in him.” After receiving a sound beating, I stand by the comment. Not that I expect it to happen.

7:05 Andrea Mitchell and Jack Nicholson’s version of The Joker from Batman….separated at birth. The Conservative Wife says this has nothing to do with her ability to comment on the news. True, but in the morning she’ll still wake up ugly.

7:09 They quote The Centrist Dude!!! “Kerry has to deliver a knockout blow tonight or he won’t beat the champ.” Ok…they didn’t quote me, but they at least stole my metaphor.

7:13 Who the hell is Tucker Askew?? He’s part of the Bush-Cheney team. He sounds like John Edwards as a televangelist. YEESH!

7:22 Ty Devine…Kerry Sr. Advisor. Who from the Kerry camp let this guy on TV? He’s a grease-head who speaks 50 miles per hour, which is the norm in Boston, but it doesn’t play well in a large part of the country. I am continually amazed at how massively incompetent Kerry’s team is.

7:32 Tim Russert: “There hasn’t been a close incumbent race since Woodrow Wilson. They either lose big or win big.” Ok…which way do you think this one will fall?

7:39 Chris Matthews is speaking into an SM-57! That’s a $50 microphone!

DEBATE BEGINS
8i:03 First question: I thought Kerry came out well…until I heard Bush. Bush is reasoned, even and speaks more slowly than Kerry. Period. You get a calming, reasoned, in control guy. It’s a huge disparity.

8:08 Smart comment by Kerry: “Bush outsourced the job of getting Osama Bin Laden to other warlords.”

8:10 Kerry’s talking about opium??? What the *#$%?? He actually can’t keep on topic. Bush will eat him up on rebuttal.

8:11 Yep. Bush says he decided on his own to go to the U.N. Saddam Hussein had no intention of disarming. Kerry has, in chess terms, lost a tempo.

8:13 Kerry has an opening. Bush transposed Saddam for bin Laden. If Kerry has a single ad lib bone in his body, this is the time to use it.

8:14 Nope. Kerry missed the opportunity to say something like “I understand why the President confused bin Laden with Saddam. He also didn’t understand why one was more important than the other.” If I can do that on the fly, why can’t Kerry?

8:20 This is Kerry’s next opening. He suddenly looks confident, and Bush looks like he needs to refresh his notes. He’s playing into the hands of the critics who say “He’s using terrorism to cover for everything.” Bush is fumbling, he’s stumbling, and he’s vulnerable. Can Kerry take advantage?

8:23 Look at how long the cameras stay on the split screen (that they’re not even supposed to use) when Kerry is speaking. That’s unconscionable! B.M. once again being partisan.

Bush’s response says he’s regained himself.

8:33 Bush is now flustered. His answers are stuttering, where Kerry is controlled. It’s as if Bush has been exposed on something, though he hasn’t. Stand up for yourself, you pansy!

8:37 Kerry has taken the upper hand, no question.

8:41 Bush is now talking about a troop death vignette. Comes off as disingenuous to me, especially the Neo-Con lecture afterwards. The Conservative Wife has a different take. “That was pretty powerful.”

8:43 Kerry: “Never confuse the war with the warriors.” That’s a great line. Ahhh…but then he says that he’s got specifics for Iraq. And he doesn’t lay it out. You dumb ass. You’ve missed the single chance to lay it out and opened it up for Bush.

8:46 the 64MM question: Lehrer to Kerry: “Can you give us specifics for what you will do in Iraq?” I loved what Kerry had to say, but again he didn’t answer the question.

8:50 Bush: “The reason my opponent says insurgents are coming in is because they understand that this is the battleground. If we win, they lose.” Bush regains control.

8:53 Kerry: “They outsourced the job of finding Osama bin Laden to Afghan warlords who were just weeks earlier against us.” There’s the line that the press will pick up tomorrow.

8:57 Bush is talking about not joining the International Criminal Court. He’s lost Joe and Mary Beer Can. I didn’t think that was possible. He’s in trouble.

9:12 Bush has blown this debate. All he had to do was to be confident in his responses. He has failed to do that. Kudos to Kerry. Game On unless Bush can close this convincingly.

9:14 Here’s the thing: I listen to what Kerry is saying, and I have the distinct feeling that (as I hear Bush stumble again) he is saying what he believes we want to hear, not what he actually feels in his gut. That’s still a problem that he’ll have to overcome, which is why his winning this debate just makes it “game on” instead of “game over.”

9:18 Bush “Vladimir (Putin) and I have talked….” Oh, please. Call him Mr. Putin, but don’t show me how “presidential” you are because you know his first name.

9:22 Kerry: “I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as your President.” Without listening to Bush’s closing argument, he has done his work to make this election a race.

9:25 Bush sounds phenomenal when he is quoting a script, as he does in his closing statement. (Shades of Reagan…except Reagan could ad lib.)

Jim Lehrer’s eyes freak the Conservative Wife out.

POST DEBATE
What’s interesting is that the Newsweek guy is defending Bush. “He’s tired, he comes off as tired of defending the same old thing.”

Joe Scarborough: “Don’t underestimate the President. He’s confounded everyone, including me, in the days after the debates. People say ‘he speaks like me’ and ‘I trust him.’” Could be.

9:13 Brian Williams: “We looked it up, and the President is right (about the numbers spent in Iraq)” Call this the post-CBS/Dan Rather effect.

10:25 Ok, she’s biased. But Karen Hughes made a better case for re-electing George Bush did than George Bush did. Who was coaching Bush? Fire them fast, banish them far.