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Challenger comes out swinging hard at Bush

By David R. Guarino/ Analysis
Read Guarino's Road to 1600 Blog [ http://news.bostonherald.com/election2004/blogs/ ]

Friday, October 1, 2004

The bar was high last night for John F. Kerry [related, bio] - he was on the ropes, sagging in polls and caught in what had become a web of his own confused verbiage.

But by any measure, Kerry sailed over the bar.

The four-term Massachusetts senator denied President Bush [related, bio] the knockout punch the incumbent wanted and set the stage for a five-week, two-debate sprint to Election Day.

Kerry didn't get tripped up in explaining his stance on Iraq.

In fact, he proved he could stand toe-to-toe with the president and, at times, succeed in knocking Bush on his heels.

It must have struck the president as odd that it was Kerry who made the first reference to a flip-flop of Bush's only moments into the debate.

At several times, the senator seemed to stupefy the president in his lines of attack, leaving Bush grimacing in reaction after he called the Iraq invasion a ``colossal error in judgment.''

The senator's tack was evident from the start, and it was classic debating that had Kerry on the offensive and, for the most part, in control.

``This president, I don't know if he really sees what's happening over there,'' Kerry said of Bush.

Later he added, ``The president's not getting the job done . . . The president's plan is four words - more of the same.''

But Bush yielded no ground and was far from undercut by the aggressive senator.

Bush tried throughout to belittle Kerry by trying to highlight the senator's shifting views on Iraq and to paint him as anti-soldier because he has been anti-war of late.

``He voted to authorize the use of force and now says it's the wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place,'' Bush said. ``I don't think you can lead if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place. What message does that send to our troops?''

The president clearly liked that line, he repeated it nearly every time it seemed Kerry had him on the ropes.

Throughout the debate, Bush hammered the senator with his own statements and positions, casting him as wilting, eager to cede American sovereignty to European allies and - once, seeming to care what Osama bin Laden thought of the U.S.

But Bush seemed so well practiced that he at times appeared to run out of things to say, repeating his lines of attack with more incredulity each time.

The president got tongue-tied at times, mixing his words when he tried to speak of Kerry's ``mixed messages.''

And Kerry appeared to leave Poland off the list of U.S. allies in the war.

The debate was by no means like the fistfights of past elections, it was mostly a bloodless affair.

But it sets a new stage for next week - Kerry may be down, but he's not out.

And, the next time, Bush will have to hit a lot harder if he wants a knock down, or a knock out.

© Copyright 2004 by the Boston Herald

http://news.bostonherald.com/election/view.bg?articleid=46895