Debates?
Base10 watched the debates last night of course, and like every other pajama-wearing blogger has to throw in his two cents. There's lots of good comments by political analysists far more knowledgeable and articulate than Base10 so please check out RealClearPolitics.com for a good survey of (mostly conservative) opinion.

All in all, I thought that Kerry showed himself to be very articulate, which is way more than I expected out of him. Bush was on point, but his delivery seemed slow and sometimes disjointed. I have noticed this about Bush--he doesn't do as well when he is overly scripted. During the 2000 campaign, I thought Bush was at his best when he was more or less unscripted in town hall style rallies taking questions. You could tell his answers were sincere and from the heart. I'd like to see more of that.

The other side of the "Kerry talks real good" issue is how much that really helps him. The fact that Kerry seems articulate to Base10--an attorney from New York--doesn't detract from the fact that a midwesterner would perceive Bush as "talkin' like plain folk."

The pundits pretty much are calling it a tie. Some are calling it a snoozer. You be the judge.

In other news yesterday, Islamic terrrorists detonated a suicide bomb in Bahgdad killing forty-six people including 35 children. An American troop convoy had been in the area to attend the opening of an Iraq sewage treatment plant when a car bomb exploded. The troops were being mobbed by young children asking for sweets. In Pakistan, another Islamic terrorist suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a Shiite mosque killing sixteen worshipers. Although no group has claimed responsibility. al Qaeda is likely behind it. And they call us barbarians?

At least there's this: an American offensive in Samarra has killed 96 of the bastards. Now if we could only stop France and Italy from paying for their weapons.

Fans of James Lileks must catch his bit today. The debate apparently got him very worked up. Best bit:

So, I get it. We are wrong and bad and stupid and stupidly wrong-bad. We failed to make France act as though it wasn’t, you know, France, a militarily insignificant nation that is understandably motivated by self-interest, and we haven’t convened a summit so we could be castigated for ignoring the extralegal use of Israeli helicopters to turn Hamas kingpins into indistinct red smears. You’d think we nuked Paris and converted everyone to Lutheranism.

Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Finally, if you've got a little time on your hands, there's this and the links at the end of this AP piece.
- posted by Base10 @ 8:11 AM