The Debates: Why Kerry Is The Underdog
One thing is certain in the upcoming Presidential debates: George W. Bush won't be, to use his own word, "misunderestimated." After besting smartypants Al Gore four years ago in the court of public opinion -- if not on debate points -- Bush earned his spurs as an effective rhetorician whose folksy "average Joe" approach in televised encounters has disarmed foes in three straight elections. And while Republican spinners will build up John Kerry as a brilliant debater with a track record worthy of the National Forensic League Hall of Fame, it is the President's challenger, not the President, who is on the spot as the debates open at the University of Miami on Sept. 30.
Kerry, whose eight 1996 Senatorial debates against Republican rival William Weld are the stuff of Massachusetts legend, will have to be in top form. After six months in the lead or deadlocked, the Democratic nominee has dropped behind Bush. Equally disconcerting to Dems, Bush now is the people's choice to handle two of the three top issues -- terrorism and Iraq -- while he's holding his own on the economy. The three Presidential debates and one Vice-Presidential face-off could be Kerry's last best chance to reshape the contest. "The debates are going to be enormously important," says his campaign manager, Mary Beth Cahill.
For Kerry to break through, he will have to survive a clash of debating styles. Bush tends toward the vernacular, while Kerry is far more formal. The plainspoken Bush needs to avoid factual error. The more cerebral Kerry needs to avoid condescension. Immodesty is "the common mistake senators make and why they don't get elected as Presidents," says Republican pollster Ed Goeas. "If Kerry falls back to where he's comfortable -- I'm smarter than George W. Bush -- he will lose the debates."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_40/c3902072_mz013.htm
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(553 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
