PrintOctober 1, 2004
No sale
The snap polls showing John F. Kerry 'won' last night's presidential debate miss the point entirely. Maybe a few teachers of rhetoric will base their voting decision on the quality of the self—presentation last night. Lawyers, actors, college professors, and other occupations which place more faith in eloquence than in the realities of getting a difficult real—world job done, will support Kerry. But they already do, in overwhelming numbers.
Most Americans are looking to other qualities in their wartime Commander—in—Chief. They want a president who will defend us in a world that both candidates agree is pretty scary. As the stated positions of each candidate are evaluated over the next week, some of Kerry's words will come back to haunt him. Important seeds were planted last night, and I think they will ripen into bitter fruit for the Kerry campaign.
By drawing forceful attention to the nuclear threat of North Korea and Iran, Kerry intended to...(Read Full Article)
