Red Meat

After scanning the net I have come up with the following.

Polls: This is a tight race, there are only 10 points in play to begin with and going into the debate Bush had most of them. Bush had nowhere to go but down and Kerry has nowhere to go but up. Those 10 points are very volatile. I expect to see a slight Kerry bounce for a few days until the counter ads hit and then go back to where they were before the debate.

The debate has created new ad opportunities for Bush.

Coalition of countries: Kerry wants to destroy the coalition of countries trying to solve the problem in North Korea (Japan, China, Russia, S. Korea) and go it alone. At the same time he claims to want a coalition of countries for Iraq. But he denigrates those countries that are already on our side by calling them, "The coerced and the bribed" as well as denigrating the Iraqi President. In addition France and Germany have stated they will NOT send troops to Iraq so after he chases away the partners we have now who will he get, who is left? What country is stupid enough to send troops to Iraq that Kerry claims is the, "Wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place"

Weaken our military: He wants to weaken our military by stopping a nuclear bunker buster bomb because he doesn't trust us with that weapon but just having that weapon will send shivers down the spine of Sadam wannabes who think they can hide in a bunker.

Global test: Here Kerry states that any action from the US has to pass a global test which translates to getting permission from the world before we do anything and everybody knows that means he will do nothing. Bush said he would not get permission to take action to protect America. Hey, don't get mad at me, that's what Kerry said and he obviously believes it.

The Plan: Kerry has been saying he has a plan but no one knows what the hell it is. At some point he will have to reveal this 'plan' so the voters can judge it. Barring that his plan will be scorned as it should be. So far all he has said is he will have a summit and do it, "Better and faster" WTF? That's not a plan and it sounds stupid.

I have not found any ad opportunities for Kerry based on things Bush said at the debate. I'll keep looking but so far it seems that Kerry will continue with the same things. He might use pictures of Bush's looks at the debate in an attempt to make him look like Gore 4 years ago.

Over at the liberal stronghold, The Democratic Underground they have a long linked list of online polls and are encouraging democrats to take the polls and boost Kerry. I guess republicans could also do that but I haven't seen such an effort. I looked at their talking points and didn't find anything substantial. So I guess if they haven't found any red meat from the debate their isn't any and it is the red meat that will be the more lasting impression from the debate.

Transcript: First Presidential Debate