TV Guide's take on the debates (from the Sept. 26-Oct 2 issue)

1). "Kerry will be good. Bush won't have to be. Why? Because we'll be expecting him to be so bad - especially facing off against Yale debating champ Kerry - that there will be nowhere to go but up. And that's exactly what the Republicans want."

2). "It's Bush's message, and he'll stick to it. Nobody stays on message better than Bush. "He not only stays on it, he repeats it," (former Texas Governor Ann) Richards says. "No matter what the question, he is going to respond with the message."

3). "Mano a mano, Kerry will shine. Kerry may be stiff on the campaign stump, but he can dazzle in one-on-one verbal combat."

4). "The debates will matter more than ever. "It is not an exaggeration to say that the winner will almost certainly be the next president of the United States," says ABC News political director Mark Halpern."

I am sticking with it.

The expectations set up for Kerry in that article make it impossible for Kerry to "win" the debates - all he could do is meet the expectations for him.

As usual, if Bush doesn't pass out during the debates then he will be declared the winner.

We need to play the expectations game on this better than we usually do.

Pubs haven't been pushing it as much as they were in 2000, but they still are trying to lower the bar for shrub. I do also hear a lot of the media saying Shrub has never lost a debate! Their ploy may not be working as well this time as in the past.

I have confidence in Kerry because he does a much better job speaking on his feet than the village idiot.

We had the primaries season just 6-9 months ago. What were there, maybe a dozen debates. In all seriousness, how many would you honestly say Kerry won? Any at all? If he 'won', it was because he was the front-runner and he didn't hurt himself. When he was behind (i.e., before Iowa), he wasn't impressing anyone in the debates. It's not his best forum, especially if he can only respond to 'gotcha' questions from the panel and he can't directly question his opponent. Since he gets caught in his own nuance, he has a harder time staying on message.

These debates play to Bush's strength of being willing to repeat the same thing over and over again with total conviction and without compunction.

That is something that needs to be repeated often. Every left-leaning talking head should say exactly this every day leading up to the first debate.

People have to remember that if Bush wins because Kerry doesn't completely clobber him to the floor, then people have to remember that if Bush is so stupid that he only loses if he gets beaten verbally within an inch of life then he is too damn stupid to be the leader of the most powerful nation on earth.

Bush will slay yet another opponent with masterfully oratory skills and quick wit. We all know he is the king of the debate dare I say a Master Debater.