Countdown

Welcome to the Den of Democracy's coverage of the last presidential debate to feature George W. Bush, whether he wins or loses. Pretty exciting. I guess he should be expected to lose tonight, given that the debate is supposed to focus on domestic policy and Bush pushes himself as a war president. (His own team wanted the first debate to focus on foreign affirs because they considered that his strong suit.)

But here's the problem. Political pundits, out of some confused sense of fairness, like to say that one candidate won one debate, the other candidate won another, and the third was a draw. The conventional wisdom is that Kerry won the first and the second was a draw. Which means the patth of least resistance will be to say Bush is the winner tonight, as long as he does decently.

Another problem: Kerry really can't close the deal with voters until they start to like with him. Last night I watched Alexandra Pelosi's film "Diary of a Political Tourist," which included lots of candid Kerry footage. He comes off as alternately solitary and self-confident, but never as morose or arrogant. He has his ups and downs in the film but he's sturdy. I don't know if there's a way to display that kind of inner strength in the debate, but if he can, he'll do well.

So. We're a few minutes away, and I'll start a fresh post when the debate starts. As always, I'll continue to post my thoughts and when I thought of them. If you feel like posting in the comments lounge, please do.