And Yet More

Most cringe-worthy moment of the debate: When they talked about their daughters. Especially when Bush said he was trying to "put a leash" on his and Kerry said he's found that that isn't a good idea. Weird.

Also, Bush is doing a good job of repeating the theme that Kerry sends "mixed messages." But Kerry had a great response when he said you can be resolute and wrong at the same time. And he was mighty skillful in the way he managed to accuse the President of ignoring the science of stem cell research during a debate about foreign policy.

Also, I think one of Bush's best moments was his throwaway comment that he doesn't want to guess how Kerry will pay for all his foreign policy programs. I'm surprised that Kerry didn't fire back with some observation about the national debt under Bush.

All in all, I think Kerry came off as the far better debater. But I think Bush scored several small victories by explaining why Kerry's supposed flip-flopping and mixed messages make him unqualified to lead.

The question is whether Bush lost too many points by looking so fidgety, small, and stutter-prone.