The bar that has been set for * is now so low

[Walt Starr]

even if he curls up and starts sucking his thumb, he still wins so long as he doesn't shit his pants.

[wurzel]

1. Then he will probably lose. That is what those "faces" were really about.

[frank frankly]

2. he may shit his pants--LOL!

thanks for the laugh, Walt!

[Sliverofhope]

23. He will if he's forced not to use his earpiece

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/08/bulge/index.html

[unfrigginreal]

3. I'm not sure that it could have been avoided after the performance

he gave last week. He's under big pressure to perform though, so I wouldn't rule out another disaster for him.

[Erika]

4. Bush Can't & Won't Win...

He may do well enough to redeem himself to his core base but they aren't the ones deciding this election. Kerry has ten times the deprth and skills when it comes to debating than does Bush.

[beyurslf]

5. I have worried about this too. What if he did poorly just so he can shine

later on? He likes the low bar of expectations and now he has it. On the flip side, Kerry has a very high bar. If Bush does even moderately better, they will say Kerry "lost" momentum by letting Bush "catch" up in this debate.

[RobinA]

6. Gotta Agree

All he has to do is perform arguably better than last week and he's the winner. Again, it'll be "don't pile on the retard" time.

[madaboutharry]

7. I don't think that is true anymore.

I think the second standard has ended. I think things are too serious in the world for Bush to get away with being a dumbshit. I think everyone got a good look at John Kerry looking like a President of the United States and now it is over for Bush. I don't see him getting an inch. Not an inch. If he is allowed to skate tomaorrow night, then it is all over for our nation.

[Gabi Hayes]

15. totally agree, AND

the fact that the media have allowed him to skate on his incompetence, mendacity, and, for appearances' sake, ILL TEMPER, has served to provide a wake up call for those idiots in the news consuming public who haven't been paying attention lo these past four years.

they're SURPRISED at what an imbecilic asshole this guy has proven to be, and he's going to have to go a long way to dig him out of his own Ahole tomorrow night

the pressure is on HIM to show that he's not the puppet who can't speak without a script that everybody here knows he is

sorry if that sounds elitist, but if knowing the difference between fantasy and reality is elitist, find yourself a trial lawyer and SUE me

[WilliamPitt]

8. But he is 'The President'

and so has to perform at some level of competence. He has some explaining to do. 'Duh' won't get it done, no matter how artfully delivered.

[Ducks In A Row]

9. Disagreed, people saw what a horrible prez he was being...

he will HAVE to prove he is capable of being able to prez.

remember this is the first time he has had to run for RE-election. He's not trying out for a job, he's defending the job he's supposed to have been doing.

He didn't do that last thursday and it was a SHOCK to the public. He have this second chance, and I think he will still blow it, the pressure it going to be too much.

[are_we_united_yet]

10. That is also my concern.

I'm worried W will go into his patented "empty generalization" mode or snide-ass remark mode, make the 'morans' laugh and rw zealots will start spinning the "Bush scored a knockout on Kerry" crap.

I am worried that the bar has been set so low for W, that a poor to mediocre performance by W will be perceived as a overwhelming W victory.

Sorry, I just have completely lost faith in peoples ability to be objective.

[leftofthedial]

11. no, actually, Residential pant-shitting is okay according to the rules

Rove negotiated it into the 2nd and 3rd debates.

[Beetwasher]

12. No. After His Abominable Performance Last Week, He Needs a KNOCKOUT

He will be under a microscope. The pressure is on now for him to PROVE he is competent. All Kerry has to do is perform well, which he will. Bush NEEDS a KNOCKOUT or he's done.

[BillZBubb]

20. I agree that Bush* needs a clear win.

If Kerry holds his own, he's proven that he's got what it takes to be the president. Once the public has made the assessment that Kerry is a decent, acceptable choice, the Chimperor is through.

I do not see Kerry having any serious difficulties--he must keep the answers short and crisp and avoid any more talk about things like "global tests".

[athena]

13. It's not up to the media any more.

Don't you remember what the pundits were saying right after the first debate? The media tried very hard to spin it in Bush's favor, but the public's response forced them to admit the truth. They even tried, as in 2000, to cast Kerry as the annoying A+ student in the front row and Bush as the annoyed teacher -- but it didn't stick. It doesn't matter any more what the media's expectations are. Last week, Americans saw their president as they had never seen him before. No amount of "Bush held his own" could erase the memory of what they had seen.

So the trick is to hold the media's feet to the fire -- not let them get away with pretending that black is white. There is no way Bush will do well tomorrow -- he hasn't had enough time to prepare, busy as he has been, trying to repair the damage of the first debate. Furthermore, Bush doesn't perform well when he thinks he's losing. All the odds are in our favor, and Kerry has consistently surpassed our expectations -- we need to have more faith in him.

[frank frankly]

14. this still makes me laugh!

ROFL!

[Mortos]

16. This is all part of Karl Rove's plan

read about it here.

[pfitz59]

17. I hope JFK demolishes the prick!

Kicks him in the nuts, and stomps on his prostrate form! The BFEE has got to go!

[pfitz59]

18. No mercy, no quarter.....

No conditional surrender. Render the entire dynasty impotent for the remainder of my natural life!

[emulatorloo]

19. But media thinks that Kerry is BAD AT TOWNHALL FORMAT

However ---- HA HA HA THEY ARE WRONG.

Just as they were when they though his convention speech would be bad.
Just as they were when they thought he would be boring and wordy at the first debate.

So expectations are quite low for KErry. . .and HE ROCKS in town hall format.

[gemlake]

21. It's the bush* "soft supporters" that I worry about

Who are these lunatics? Particularly with the chimp's horrific record. I hope we don't get any "gotcha" questions from the audience.

[Kazak]

22. It's pretty obvious at this point, we need a President!

In the worst way...