Bush reassures his base, loses the center

[dsewell]

That's my take on the debate. In retrospect, it's obvious that one reason he did poorly in the first debate is that he was trying to appeal to the undecided center, and it cramped his style--he had to walk and chew gum at the same time. Tonight he just chewed gum, letting himself be the quintessential Bush, Texas accent, unapologetic no-longer-compassionate conservatism and all.

So he has reassured the base, but they were going to vote for him anyway, even if he were to descend into blithering idiocy. I don't see him picking up many of the undecideds tonight. The undecideds are undecided because they're not convinced that four more years of the same is in our best interest, and what Bush offered tonight with jubilant glee was four more years of the same. Kerry, on the other hand, continued to show that he's not the stereotypical Dukakis-wimpish-liberal the Republicans desperately want him to be.

It's a Pyrrhic victory. Bush won by not losing, but he loses by winning on a battlefield that he has drawn to encompass at best maybe 40% of the voters.

[trotsky]

1. I agree completely.

He gave his "red meat" answers to every question. Thus his loyal freepers will whoop it up that * took command and "won" the debate, but the undecideds will be scared away.

[liberal_in_GA]

3. Good point

and good letter-writing fodder...

[quinnox]

2. I think that's true

Bush was in the fundamentalist christian mode big time tonight.

I doubt his abortion answer will win over any women, and most people agree with choice than pro-life.

[RareLubbockDem]

4. Bingo... you hit it right on the head. eom

[makhno]

5. Yes

Exactly my thoughts. You could see it well in the audience's disappointed reaction to W's answers. Kerry actually engaged the undecideds on tough grounds - abortion, tort reform and so on. The tough questions, planted as they might've been by a pro-Republican moderator or audience members, actually worked in Kerry's favor, who demonstrated to the undecideds that he is not some kind of daredevil communist crusader.

If one buys the whole undecided center argument, Kerry's performance tonight was spot on.

[Boomer]

6. Yup, totally typically Bush

He won't win many converts, but he didn't shake the confidence of his Faithful either.

Both Bush and Kerry delivered to their particular constituencies, so I'd call it a tie.

Worse luck.

[seabeyond]

7. i had a real eeeew moment, with the abortion answer on

bush followup....that was the disgusted sick moment. the eeeew moment was the head going up and down in laugh. asked husband, just my eeeew or other bothered. he said is bush, just bothers me.........but the abortion followup i was disgusted and cussing

[Booster]

8. Right on. He didn't get any more votes tonight than he had

yesterday.

[KittyWampus]

9. IMO, This Indicates Internal Polling Shows Base Eroding.

[BurtWorm]

10. That's all he can do. They've painted themselves into that corner.

It would be supremely depressing to think that's a winnable strategy.