Nice analysis in Salon

[beaconess]

John Kerry didn't destroy George W. Bush in the presidential debate Thursday night. John Kerry didn't turn water into wine, and he might not have turned any red states blue. But for 90 minutes, John Kerry put George W. Bush on the defensive. For 90 minutes, John Kerry looked like he could be president. And for the moment -- for the moment -- a race that once seemed lost suddenly seems alive again.

John Kerry won.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/01/debates/index.html

[trumad]

1. a race that once seemed lost suddenly seems alive again.

There's that Meme again...UGGGG

The fucking race is even and has been for a couple of months.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

2. Why he won: Kerry made the spin job easy

"...But by the time Team Kerry rolled into Spin Alley, their candidate had made their job easy. Devine pronounced Kerry's debate as "the best wire-to-wire performance I've ever seen in a debate." Even John McCain, on hand as a Bush surrogate, conceded that Kerry had done a good job. "


Kerry delivered. He led his troops to victory and makes it easy to follow.
Kerry did the "hard work".