The long-awaited first debate between President George W Bush and presidential candidate and Senator John Kerry has passed. Kerry, by all counts a seasoned debater, sized the opportunity to communicate with voters who he is and what he stands for. He also successfully kept Bush on the defensive for nearly the entire debate, clearly understanding the President's personal weaknesses.

Bush's strategy was clearly to hammer on the same few points that he's comfortable with (and on the podium). He gave the impression that the situation was decidedly unpleasant for him.

Morons.org political consultant John Persson provided his analysis of the debate:

Some people are saying that although you can't really win in a debate of this format, you can definitely lose, and the clear loser here was George W Bush. Many viewers were put off by Bush's demeanor. You know, a lot of people actually noticed that whenever Kerry was speaking, Bush reacted disrespectfully, making childish, impatient faces. Many voters saw that reaction as not only rude, but actually quite unprofessional and unpresidential as well.

Others thought Bush came across as arrogant, like when he said, "I just know how this world works." Well I sure wish he'd enlighten me about it! Some people were also put off by his sarcastic laughter.

Kerry on the other hand is an articulate and confident debater. He managed admirably to overcome his perceived shortcomings in connecting with voters. People now are saying that because of this debate, they know who John Kerry is, they know his positions, they feel better informed about John Kerry the man and maybe what they can expect in John Kerry the President than they were yesterday.

The Bush team knew that Kerry was clearly the better debater of the two, and that's why they started managing people's expectations down in the press, with Bush strategist Matthew Dowd saying Kerry is "the best debater since Cicero" and spokesman Brian Jones saying he's "certainly a formidable debater."

Unfortunately because Kerry managed to keep Bush in a defensive posture, some people are now seeing him as an inarticulate, angry hillbilly.

After watching the debate, it's perfectly clear to me who I'd like to see as president: Jim Lehrer.

---Nick

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