There were a number of issues that could have been aired out during the so-called debate last night in the University of Miami. I am always amazed at the way political enemies make nice to each other before, after and even during the battle they fight when trying to present themselves in the best of lights and their opponent as unworthy.  But some things got aired out and these have to do with misconceptions on my part and the way the disputants were presented by their moderator, Jim Lehrer, and not interacting with the audience.  There were so many restrictions of how this meeting of opposites was played out that all we had were familiar political speeches that we have heard before.  Nothing new was presented except, perhaps (and this is a bias of mine) the demonstration that Mr. Kerry has a lot of class and Mr. Bush has little or none.

I thought that Kerry was much taller and Bush was much shorter.  They were not that much different in height and that made little difference anyhow. The pontification of the Senatorial Mr. Kerry was at a minimum and the squinty-eyed and sour look of Mr. Bush was at odds with his ability to show his Good Old Boy grin at various time when he seriously lost his place in his script and came up with his malapropisms and forgetting the subject of his sentences.

The differences between the candidates were not earth shattering and the faithful of each party will not have had their minds changed by what took place last night.  What is important is that each side could claim they had it figured out correctly and the next “debates” would be even more restricted and more closely managed so that weaknesses, particularly on the part of Mr. Bush, would not be allowed.

The American people and the people of the world who were interested in this “debate” had a chance to size up the next President for four years by a contest of words and some very good questions asked by the moderator.  Lacking was fire and brimstone along with witticisms that could slice and dice the opponents but the rules forbade them. The world, however, could see that there were differences and these were solidly set in stone in why and how the United States ended up as the main player in a war that only Mr. Bush seemed to want. Every American who backs Mr. Bush in this war should sign up immediately and go out to do his bidding.  He did not seem regretful that he ordered the war and the deaths of Americans and “others” who were not the terrorists he claimed he was after.  Mr. Kerry, caught in circumstances brought about by his role as a former military officer and as a Senator for many years, performed well in showing that he had a plan that, like anything else, we will have to wait and see if it is better than the future promised by Mr. Bush.