Weekly Law School Roundup #29

This Week: The First Presidential Debate, In Which Your Editor Hunts Down Law-School Punditry from Weblogs Across the Land, Then Excerpts It Here For Your Enjoyment . . .

So Who Won?

The Irish Trojan "The impact? Kerry has to gain, I think. At the very least, this was a draw on the president's most favorable turf."

Legal XXX "I think it was ultimately a draw. Where Kerry had eloquence and confidence; Bush had resolve and determination . . . Substantively, it was one of the better Prez debates. That also made it one of the more boring. There weren't many zingers or 1-liners."

Signifying Nothing "I got the impression that Bush was completely unprepared to go beyond his talking points—I could have made a better defense of his policies, unbriefed. Bush gave an absolutely horrible performance, and one that I suspect may give Kerry the breathing room he needs to rebound. In sum, I don’t think Kerry so much won the debate as Bush lost it."

Ichiblog "I still didn't like [Kerry], and here's why: He had some impressive talking points, but despite what he says, he has no plan."

Shouting Fire "One thing Kerry did well is to lay out a stance on Iraq that explains away the tensions in his position, which I think will make attempts to continue the 'flip-flop' criticism appear disingenuous or stupid."

Neo Tokyo Times "I thought Kerry lost the debate. Apparently I was wrong, which is fine by me. If and when real public polls are released, I’ll be curious to see their results. I just have very low expectations for Bush, and he seemed to be relatively in control."

Law Sloth "I may be biased, but can anyone with at least the most basic knowledge of current events deny that Kerry absolutely destroyed Bush tonite? Bush was clearly on the defensive, and seemed flustered and almost stunned as Kerry grew some balls and went on the offensive about the disastrous and exponentially worsening Iraq situation, clearly calling him on out all his bad decisions and empty promises."

[Below the Fold: Twenty More Weblogs!]

Rating the Bush Performance . . .

Why Law "Bush seemed tired last night. He didn't seem to really care so much about the debate - it was almost as if he wasn't prepped beyond someone telling him to stick to the talking points. Kerry, on the other hand, seemed very 'presidential.'"

Eric's (Hibernating) Decrees and Ramblings "I don't have much to say about it other than the obvious: G.W. is possibily the worst public speaker that has been in the White House since I've been alive. Also, there must have been something really interesting on those note cards of his because he was looking at them even during his answers."

Confessions Of An Exhausted Mind "I do wish the president was a better public speaker. I don't consider it a necessary requirement of the presidency, but in this age of instant media it just looks better if a president has better tempo in speaking for want of a better word."

More Analysis . . .

Matt Schuh Online "I just feel really disappointed in the job that Jim Lehrer did as moderator. These are some of the most important issues of our time, and his line of questioning did not force either candidate to move beyond campaign pitches about 'getting the job done' and 'help is on the way.'"

Glorfindel of Gondolin "I think the actual exchange of views was pretty shallow--no surprise there--but it was clear that one candidate was a committed multilateralist while the other was not. I suppose this clear differentiation of views is about as much as you can hope for in these overly-scripted debates, so I'll take it . . . I do wish Kerry had made the case for multilateralism as an important way to build America's strength, which might have been more appealing to undecided voters."

Red and Blue "I could see Kerry getting a poll boost. But I think that's less because Kerry 'won', whatever that means, than because many in the media will suggest he won, or at the least talk about how 'presidential' he looked."

Buckeye Law Guy "The common wisdom was that Kerry would be boring, dull, and long winded. He was none of those, so he showed well. Bush looked fidgity, unsure or cocksure, nervous, and smirkey. Kerry looked stately."

Magic Cookie "I was pleasantly surprised by the debate; it was civil and I thought both sides did a good job of articulating their positions and how they were different on several issues."

Some Random Notes . . .

The Unreasonable Man "My favorite part of the debate... when President Bush pointed to Poland to say that we have such a strong coalition... and then when Kerry pointed out that all we really had was us, then England (a little), and then Australia (a lot less)... THEN, in his rebuttal, President Bush said 'Well, he forgot Poland.' Wow."

Parenthetical Statement "[Bush] certainly has a soft spot for Poland."

J. Concurring in Dissent "Basically, it's been the same useless rhetoric. In other news, the Yankees have clinched their 7th straight division title."

Diary of a Something L "Somebody should have told Theresa to smile when she came in."

Mackenzie's Weblog "Other hilights include when the moderator specifically quoted Bush, who then said that he actually said something different and all the times Kerry baited, and finally succeeded, Bush in to saying 'Nucular.' I particularly thought it was funny that the first time he said it, there was a pregnant pause beforehand and then he said it really quickly."

Whatever Remains "On the surface, I think the debate was a wash — and to someone listening on the radio, it certainly was a wash. Neither candidate had an edge in terms of content and comments; Kerry still sounded patrician and in control, Bush still sounded 'down home,' a little rattled, and as if there was a joke going around that only he understood."

a mi parecer "Kerry looked good. Nice, cool, and collected. What was with Bush's tongue/monkey face during Kerry's answers?"

Singing Loudly "The Democrats have a good reason to feel strongly about what has happened tonight. The country is in a bad situation but any improvement that could come in the future, which I think Kerry would be able to bring (even if it's not all that is needed) would be better than the chaos of Bush."

Comments From Some Who Didn't Watch . . .

The Electric Commentary "First, I didn't watch the debate. It didn't matter. Increasingly the debates are all about not screwing up. Voters care far more about what you look like and what you do than what you say. That's why the consensus is that Kerry won. Apparently Bush did funny things, made funny gestures, and looked annoyed, but none of those are catastrophes. Kerry will get a little bounce."

Three Years "[N]o debate for me. You know how everyone says that 2L year is busy? I'm beginning to agree..."

Debate Fun and Games . . .

inquire within "Ah, the debates. Senator Kerry has an exceptionally talented dentist . . . And that’s all I have to say about that."

The Slithery D "Best debate moment: MOO-laws."

Comments

[Abnu]

You forgot Poland.

In the 1976 presidential debates, Ford forgot Poland, too:

"Ford's Remarks Startle Europeans; Poles Among the Most Bemused"

Washington Post, Oct. 8, 1976; A8; By Peter Osnos

The media made much of the foreign policy "gaffe" President Ford committed in his second debate with Jimmy Carter. In his remarks, Ford stated that the Soviet Union was not politically dominating the countries of Eastern Europe. The media interpreted this statement as completely contrary to the accepted view, which saw the countries of Eastern Europe, especially Poland, as being well within the Soviet sphere of influence.

Perhaps, Bush thought he'd caught Kerry in a similar foreign policy blunder.

But the most telling line in this debate was when Bush confused Saddam Hussein with Osama bin Laden.

"But to say that there‘s only one focus on the war on terror doesn‘t really understand the nature of the war on terror.

Of course we‘re after Saddam Hussein—I mean bin Laden." --George W. Bush

[Evan]

Abnu: Don't forget--rumors of bin Laden's capture have been greatly exaggerated.