another brief debate assessment

Bush was better this time than last, although this would translate into a draw of the debate only by dint of the low standards of expectations for him in forums where he has to articulate his perspective on matters he is supposed to have been working hard on for the last four years. Kerry continued to be impressive and has made me now truly and genuinely excited about the idea of him specifically being President, as opposed to being just enthusiastic about how he is Not Bush.

In any case, I watched the debate alone here in the RV* and Bush's invocation of the Dred Scott decision in his answer about Supreme Court decisions made me laugh out loud until I started to cough. What on Earth was that supposed to be about? The truly bizarre thing about it was that it seemed plainly part of an prepped answer--I wonder if Bush muffed the answer he'd been given or if the people prepping him muffed the idea of what would be a good answer. In any event, I'm sure that was a moment of beaming pride for the various lawyer-bloggers out there who are so enthusiastically supporting Bush.

* Yes, this means that I hooked the antenna up to my TV and tuned in to the one channel for which I get reception in order to watch it. Indeed, until I could get things hooked up correctly, the only way to get picture and sound simultaneously was to hold the antenna to the plug on the back of the TV by hand, meaning that I watched the first twenty minutes or so of the debate with my face about three inches from the TV screen.