I think this morning's Gallup results rather clearly show how people viewed the debates.
Kery won the debate, Kerry is much more articulate, they understand the issues the same, Bush is more believable, Bush is more likable and Bush demonstrated he is tougher for the job.
Kerry kicked Bush's ass in the debate. This seems to be largely based upon how articulate Kerry is as people were evenly divided over their opinion of their understanding of the issues. Bush won on the points that are giving him an advantage going into the election. He's believable, he's likable, he's tough enough for the job. I guess being from Texas beats being a war hero. That's good marketing.
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