Candidates Find the Spotlight in This Race Is Best to Be Avoided
As Sen. John F. Kerry and President Bush prepare this week for their second debate, it seems increasingly likely that the winner in their marathon duel for the White House will be the candidate who best keeps the focus on the other. Each man has tended to wilt in the spotlight.
The presidential race in August and September concentrated primarily on Kerry -- whether he was strong and steadfast enough to lead the country. That hasn't been a pleasant experience for Democrats, who watched Bush establish a clear lead in the race.
One way to look at the last nine weeks -- roughly the period from the balloon drop at the Democratic National Convention in late July in Boston to the beginning of last week's debate -- is that the country held a referendum on whether Kerry inspired confidence as a potential commander in chief.
Bush won that one.
The significance of last week's debate was that the primary focus shifted from Kerry's personal qualities to Bush's performance as president. The change wasn't absolute. Bush still pressed his case that Kerry was too weak and wavering to lead the nation in a time of war.
But in a debate devoted primarily to Iraq, the emphasis inevitably tilted toward Bush's decisions and record. And Kerry did in the debate what he didn't do at his party's convention: He presented a clear and relentless case against the incumbent's performance.
By now, it is accepted wisdom on both sides that Bush did not handle that challenge well. After some initial hesitation, he was strong and confident in his answers. But his irritation at Kerry's aggressive criticism -- pursed lips, scowls, even an Al Gore-like sigh of frustration -- has become a centerpiece of post-debate discussion.
Polls taken after the debate found that picture of Bush surprised many voters, who are more accustomed to the confident and congenial chief executive they see in more scripted settings.
The images were bad enough that senior Republicans, gathering on a campaign conference call Friday, asked if anything in the debate agreement could prevent Democrats from splicing the cut-away shots of a perturbed Bush into an ad. (Apparently not: The Democratic National Committee released a greatest-hits video Friday.)
Are Bush's scowls likely to turn the race? The danger for Bush is that the images will convince voters he is indignant when questioned or challenged. That could reinforce a weakness for the president in the polls: the sense that he's too stubborn.
