I also think Kerry won, on the finer points of debate. He was definitely more polished and articulate. I have no idea what kind of effect he had on more undecided voters, but he didn't say much that really moved me. He also looked much better than Bush, mainly because I think Bush expected to not be on camera, which he was. The networks were very clever in circumventing the language in the debate contract, which said the camera could not "cut away" to show either the opponent or the audience when one candidate is speaking. Instead of "cutting away," they just split the screen, and I think it caught Bush flat-footed.
The one thing I heard that bugged me is Kerry's line: "passes a global test." Positions like this always make me worry that Kerry will be nothing but a UN bitch. I'm all for being popular around the world, trust me. But when you are THE global superpower, you don't just abdicate your spot at the top of the hill so people will like you.
If Kerry finds out that Syria has WMDs that they plan to give to Tamid or Ansar Al Islam, is he going to blink when France doesn't want him to attack another country in which France has major oil interests? I'm not so sure he wouldn't.
