On AAR: Unfiltered, Rachel and Liz theorize.......................

that perhaps * threw this debate to even further lower his expectations for the next debate - in which there are plans for him to sucker punch Kerry (I don't know what he'll sucker punch him with, though.).

What do you think?

I just can't see Bush doing any better when it comes to domestic issues. His record is awful. Foreign policy was his "strength" and he blew it.

You get in there and see your children!

Then he'll totally foul up the third to set the stage for the election.

And then... uh...

I can't believe Bush would ever knowingly let an opponent get the upper hand, ever. No way.

but they will wind up accepting that spin, because that is the best face you can put on it.

Now Rove experiences real terror. Kerry is giving him a proxie cross examination, and the jail-o-meter is dinging like the Chicago fire in the corner.

I think. Many made up their minds for Kerry last night and might not tune in for the other 2 debates.

Sadly, most people aren't the political junkies we are.

They tuned in, saw Bush look like a spoiled child and Kerry like a statesman. They may not tune into anything else before election day.

the GOP will spin furiously and may even throw out a terror alert

Rove will come up with something to stem the bleeding, they could take heavy hits across the board on this and I doubt they'll let that happen.

Watch out for an October surprise in the form of a big apprehension of terror suspects that were planning a big hit here in the US, that's my bet.
I also have strong suspicions of ginning up an Iran resolution

maybe Rove didn't prepare him for this debate and will for the next one. * just doesn't have the imagination or brains to think one up like that.

* is the idiot savante of memorizing a few ideas and regurgitating them on cue. Kinda like a parrot.

watch ONLY the first debate. And it was on national security and homeland security, Bush's key topics. No way Bush threw this debate.

We can't sit back and think this election is in the bag. If it helps to convince yourself that you are about to be set up in order to keep involved then fine.

B* won't quit until someone physically removes him from the oval office, and we can't either. Rove has plenty of tricks up his sleave.

Be prepared!

We should never think it is in the bag until after the election.

Sometimes AAR gets a bit silly. Love 'em, but gotta say it. They had a huge stake in this one, and they flailed. The Yankees don't intentionally lose games 1 to 3 of the world series just to come back in 4 straight. They may need the scare to get their game on, but Karl Rove is no Joe Torre (and I've shaken Joe's hand, back when he was a Met). And Shrub sure ain't no Bernie Williams. These guys get nasty and dirty when cornered, they don't rise above and master the situation. They start throwing beanballs (though they've been doing that for months now).

No one is mentioning something else here: has anyone heard the phrase "Swift Boat Veterans" or "forged documents" in the last 18 hours on any media outlet? Didn't think so. That's over. Now it's about the men as they stand before us in the present, and that has to favor Kerry.

No, Rove may put Chimpy in the woodshed for the next debate, but the upside is that he has only a week to do it, and that's some valuable campaigning time taken off the scorecard if they have to go into emergency session at Crawford.

No freaking way Rove planned this. Or the media would have been completely in the pocket. That's how he does things. They are not, though they are making a lame attempt to tell us the emperor still has at least his panties on.

RCM