Baltimore Sun: Kerry's counterattacks keep Bush off his stride

[displacedtexan]

THWACK!


Kerry's counterattacks keep Bush off his stride

By Paul West

Originally published October 9, 2004

ST. LOUIS - Oops, he did it again.

For the second time in a row, Sen. John Kerry put President Bush on the defensive, frustrating Bush's hopes of turning around last week's subpar debate performance with a clearly superior showing last night.

The town hall setting, which featured incisive questions from an audience of uncommitted voters, was supposed to work to Bush's affability advantage.

And while Bush was more forceful this time around, he wasn't able to put Kerry away. The president again seemed rattled by his rival's tenacious counterattacks, and only began hitting his folksy stride fairly late in the evening.

Kerry, who has pulled even with Bush in the polls, managed to achieve several of his goals: He came off as presidential and fleshed out details of his domestic agenda, effectively pivoting several times from the Iraq war to its costs here at home.

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