Monday, October 4 2004
PEW INTERNALS ON DEBATE PERFORMANCES: This is fascinating. Look at the responses from 727 people who watched the debate surveyed in the just-released Pew Research poll:

Please tell me what one word best describes your impression of George Bush/John Kerry in the debate.
Bush	Kerry
33 Honest 23 Strong/Strength 14 Sincere 14 Confident 13 Defensive 11 Determined 11 Good 11 Steady/Steadfast 11 Adequate 11 Liar 11 Nervous 10 Tired/Fatigued/Exhausted 9 Leader/Leadership 9 Repetitive 8 Angry 8 Confused 8 Resolute 8 Frustrated 8 Uncertain 7 Stubborn 7 Flustered 7 Unprepared 7 Consistent 7 Integrity	47 Confident 25 Prepared 19 Intelligent 17 Presidential 16 Strong/Strength 14 Good 12 Knowledgeable 11 Arrogant 11 Wishy-washy 11 Articulate 10 Indecisive 9 Flip-flop 8 Politician 7 Untrustworthy 7 Polished 7 Thoughtful

There's a lot of good and bad in there for both candidates, but if you boil it down to the top three impressions generated for each candidate you're left with the following nut: Bush = honest, strong, and sincere, Kerry = confident, prepared, and intelligent. If this is truly indicative of how the country feels about what they saw last Thursday night, then President Bush may have indeed come out much better than expected and remains in a pretty strong position. - T. Bevan 4:29 pm Link | Email | Send to a Friend