DUer's how is Kerry in a Town Hall setting?

[WI_DEM]

I've seen Kerry give stump speeches and I give him mixed reviews here, sometimes he is good and other times, not so, and I know he is an excellent debator in the traditional setting from Thursday night. But how is he in a town hall setting taking questions from an audience? Clinton was great at it and the media says Dumbya is good at it. How about Kerry?

[Rambis]

1. He was great today in Iowa

He was respectful and answered the questions asked of him and showed compassion for the people who were really hurting. He will kick ass in this format.

[soothsayer]

2. R U kidding? Kerry can actually think out answers to questions, while *

has only been answering pre-scripted questions. Kerry will eat bush alive in that format!

[NewYorkerfromMass]

3. Kerry was born to do town halls

He turned the state of Iowa into one gigantic town hall and... well you know the rest.

[mediaman007]

4. Kerry was outstanding in Anoka, Minnesota in August.

I heard him talk to health care professionals that were pro-Kerry or undecided. He actually draws more information from the questioners. He shows an interest in their story and wants to make his answers thoughtful and relevant.

[Tangledog]

5. He should be just fine

I've never been to one, but my first campaign experience of this long year was seeing (on the television) John Kerry in a diner in New Hampshire, fielding questions from an intelligent group. I felt like he was doing just fine; he wasn't as aloof as you might surmise from his up-and-down "stump speech" presentation. He quoted Franklin at the end -- "A republic, Ma'am, if you can keep it" -- a line he used a lot in the early going, to great effect. (I love reading early American history, and anybody who quotes Ben Franklin of Philadelphia gets extra points from me.)

The thing about Kerry is that he appears to be fearless. I don't believe he ever worries about embarrassing himself, or saying something that he'll have to deny later on.

I think that in B*'s younger and less stressy days, he might have been effective with his "aw, shucks, folks" gig, but the empty fear in his eyes can not easily be disguised in a small-group setting.