The presidential debates: final round

[illusionofjoy]

Moderated by Bob Schieffer, of CBS news and held at the State University in Tempe, Arizona, the third and final presidential debate (the fourth debate overall, regarding competitors for the White House) proved to be the least interesting. At this juncture it was apparent that both candidates had hit their stride in what their plan of attack would be against the opponent. This time when Bush walked onto the stage, he didn't look nearly as nervous as he did the last time around.

With the focus on domestic issues, Bush made it his strategy to call Kerry a liar at every opportunity he could. One could say this were the pot calling the kettle black, save for the fact that Kerry's command of the facts remains unshakable, while Bush's is flimsy at best. In an attempt to keep his most confident "aww shucks" face on, however, the president proceeded down this route, even going so far as to make a barb towards the moderator in response to Kerry's citing of "two major new networks" in one of his arguments. Still, while Kerry could reference great former presidents - both Democratic and Republican - in his arguments, Bush would have been hard-pressed to do the same thing without seeming completely phony.

To me, this debate seemed to be very by-the-numbers, following the same pattern of the previous two presidential debates. Kerry is the presidential-looking one who knows what he talking about while Bush is the hothead who tries to get by on his alleged "likeability." The only difference this time was that these differences were more subtle.

Final score:
Democrats - 4
Republicans - 0

With the debates over, it is now time for the American public to digest what they've seen, heard and read and decide who will be the next president of the United States. My hope is that they make a decision based on logic and reason, and refuse to lay down, should another "Florida debacle" occur. It is not enough to be registered to vote or to even commit to the act of voting; one must be an informed voter for democracy to perform most effectively. Let's hope that something great happens on November 2^nd.