A little late getting in, but let's see what's going on.

9:26: Activist judges rant. He's really obsessed with marriage being defined by courts. After all, only presidential elections should be defined by courts.

9:28: Kerry: "We are all God's children." Mentions Cheney's daughter. The wingnuts will crucify him for this. Points out that rights are codified in the Constitution.

9:29: The Catholic issue. Schieffer is lobbing softballs at Bush and hard questions at Kerry. I wish he'd say that the Catholic Church should have its tax exemption revoked. Kerry has to find a way to hammer home that it's not the role of a president in a democracy to impose his religious beliefs on everyone.

9:31: Bush talks about reducing the number of abortions. No, Bush wants to ELIMINATE ALL abortions. EVERYONE wants to reduce the number of abortions. Bush wants to do it by punishing the evil unchaste sirens who tempt men's baser instincts. Kerry wants to do it by having more and better access to information about contraception and to contraception itself.

9:33: Bush does the Beavis laugh.

9:34: Bush blames the entire cost of health care on litigation. Never mind the profits being raked in by Big Pharma and HMOs. Bush says it's also because they don't use technology. He must be talking about the internets. Or that intarweb thingie (TM Mary Ann Johanson). No one wants to address the 800-lb. gorilla in the room...which is that health care can't be done on a for-profit model. The ONLY solution is going to be single-payer.

9:36: FINALLY...Kerry talks about insurance company profits.

9:37: Bush seems to think that Kerry should have run the entire Senate for 20 years. He forgets that Kerry is just one of 100 Senators. But the fact that Bush isn't a babbling idiot tonight and he's not behaving like a crack addict means that the pundits will declare him "Churchillian."

9:39: Bush is drinking a lot of water. Looks like he got hold of Ramon before the debate again.

9:41: Bush says that increasing Medicaid is a disincentive for employers to provide health care. They already have a disincentive -- it's called 10%+ cost increases every year. Outsourcing is even more about health care costs, which companies can't control, than it is about salaries, which they can.

9:42: Yeah! Kerry hits Bush with the zinger that he's cut veterans benefits. He emphasizes that he's not proposing a government program. Why the hell not?

9:45: Boom! Kerry states the truth: that today's workers pay for today's retirees and that investing Social Security in private accounts would be a disaster. Kerry's hitting his stride, and Bush is looking down and smirking. Schieffer invokes Greenspan. Good Lord, he's editorializing: "Does this mean that you're going to leave this for our children to pay for?" Kerry's people should have protested vociferously at this FOG (Friend of George) doing the debate. Good. Kerry invokes the tax cuts for the rich as being the reason for the shortfall.

9:48: Kerry reminds everyone that Bush has presided over the biggest loss of jobs in 72 years.

9:50: Bush touts 1.9 million new jobs, which still leaves him about a million in the hole. And the new jobs pay significantly less, most are part-time and don't provide health insurance. I hope Kerry gets on this one fast.

9:52: Oh, good Lord. Bush just touted the $5.15 minimum wage as being a beacon of hope for immigrant workers. Wait a minute....Bush just said we shouldn't have amnesty. Lies again.

USA Today, 8/27/2004:

GOP delegates divided over party's immigration position
By Sergio Bustos, Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON — The question of what to do about millions of illegal immigrants is causing a rift among Republicans only days before their party's convention begins in New York.
Party conservatives are angry that the GOP's influential platform committee, which decides the party's principles and priorities, is endorsing President Bush's plan to create a nationwide temporary foreign worker program. That program, which the president outlined in January, would legalize the country's 8 million to 10 million illegal immigrants.

Conservatives view the proposal as an amnesty program that essentially rewards illegal immigrants for breaking the law. They have pledged to fight against it at the convention.

9:54: Bush says borders are more protected today...."He just doesn't understand how the borders work." Borders work? What a condescending asshole.

9:56: Schieffer asks Kerry if it's time to raise the minimum wage Bush touted as being so generous a few minutes ago. Bush says that instead of raising wages, we make sure the education system works. How, George? By teaching creationism? Earlier he talked about science education. This is the most anti-science administration in history!

10:00: The Roe v. Wade question. Bush says he won't have a litmus test. Let's hold him to that. Kerry notes that Bush didn't answer the question. Says that he won't appoint judges who take away rights.


10:01: Bush invokes "liberal Senator from Massachusetts."

10:02: Bush looks like he's going to cross over the split screen.

10:03: The draft. Kerry sounds like he knows what he's talking about here. He notes, correctly, that the National Guard should be used for homeland security domestically. Notes that when we share the burdens and use diplomacy, we don't have to go it alone. I wish he'd point out that under Bush's plan, we'll NEED a draft.

10:03: Bush LIES about working with allies, insists on the "I won't ask permission" meme. This is, of course bullshit, but it works. He's put Kerry on the defensive, which is NOT where Kerry wants to be. Come on, Big John, call him what he is: A LIAR.

10:08: WTF? Bush said that Democrats wanted to repeal the assault weapons ban.

10:12: Bush is blinking like mad. "Cocaine may cause seizures (convulsions), a stroke, or movements that you cannot control. These may include head jerking, constant chewing, and frequent eye blinking. If you have fast, jerky movements, and are unable to sit still, this may be called "crack dancing"."

10:14: Bush says "Today more minorities than ever before own a home." Yes, and many of them are in hock over their heads and are at risk of losing everything.

10:15: The Jesus Christ on a Damn Bicycle question. "How does your faith inform your decision-making? Jeez, can these questions to Bush get any softer? OK, now he said that it's OK to not worship anyone. I'm gonna hold him to that. "Prayer and religion sustain me...I receive calmness in the storms." Or help him come down from the coke... "I love the fact that people pray for me and my family...." Narcissism...it's all about George, isn't it?

Evangelical code: "Unleash the armies of compassion." Now is this a fucked-up statement or what? Armies imply war, right? What are we doing. shoving compassion down people's throats? How do you do that? By forcing them to accept Jeebus?

10:18: Polarization. Schieffer asks Kerry if he'll set a priority on bringing us back together. Listen, asshole, it's not the Democrats' fault that we're as divided as we are. This Republican party is not just about winning, it's about pounding the opposition into the ground. I linked to Orcinus the other day for an essay on this very topic. Kerry points the finger right back at Bush. Not strongly enough, but he does it.

10:21: Whopper of the Night: Bush: "My biggest disappointment in office is how partisan Washington is." Damn, that man can lie with impunity. Now he blames the 2000 election -- all those damn Democrats who wouldn't fall into line and worship him.

10:23: Bush admits he's pussy-whipped. He can't tell you how much he loves his wife and daughters because he doesn't. He can't, because he's a narcissist. To the extent that they revolve around him and his needs, he loves. Other than that, he has no use for them.

10:24: God, this culture hates women. So much fear about strong women coming from both these guys. This was a stupid fucking question.

10:28: Bush is mumbling something about a painting in his closing statement. Mentions how we've "come through an attack on our country and a stock market decline." However, his administration keeps telling us to keep being afraid, and the Dow closed at barely above 10,000, down 75 points today.

Overall: Probably a wash, slight advantage to Bush, only because he didn't utterly embarrass himself. I really wish Kerry had just slammed him tonight, though Schieffer made it very difficult with the kind of ridiculous questions he asked. I've rarely seen a debate with as little substance as this one.