A few more from the pundits.
MSNBC Analyst Pat Buchanan: "The Guys In Western Pennsylvania, Working Class Guys In West Virginia, Ohio, These Guys Who Are Concerned About Their Lost Jobs, They Like A Tough Customer As President, And The President Came Off As Tough, Assertive, Confident, Even Defiant."
CNN's Candy Crowley: "I Think This Keeps The Game Open. … I Do Think That Bush Certainly Came To Play Tonight, Certainly Put In A Strong Performance." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 10/8/04)
USA Today: "Bush Appeared More Relaxed And Forceful." ("Voters' Questions Energize Candidates In Second Debate," USA Today, 10/8/04)
Time Magazine's Perry Bacon: "The President Actually Did Better, Did Stronger, And Put Kerry On The Defensive On The Domestic Section." (CNN's "Larry King Live," 10/8/04)
The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "The Format Served [President Bush] Well. He Looked Comfortable And Sounded Confident." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "Live Webcast," The New York Times Web Site, 10/8/04,
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/politics/200401008_SEELYE_LIVE/index.html?hp, Accessed 10/8/04)
NBC's Tim Russert: "George Bush Was More Energetic." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 10/8/04)
Charles Franklin, University Of Wisconsin: "Bush Looked Comfortable, And Produced A Plausible Story Line." (Ron Fournier, "Bush Fights Against Emotion, Scowls In Testy, Personal Debate With Kerry," The Associated Press, 10/8/04)
Pat Buchanan, MSNBC: "He Wiped Up The Floor With John Kerry." "I think quite candidly, Chris, maybe I'm the only one here, I thought he wiped up the floor with John Kerry." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 10/8/04)
National Review's Stanley Kurtz: "I Think The President Won This Debate – Certainly As A Matter Of Momentum And Beating Expectations, But In An Absolute Sense As Well." (Stanley Kurtz, National Review's "Corner" Website,
www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp, 10/8/04)
The Weekly Standard's Steven Hayes Said "I Would Say That President Bush Won The Debate, And For Me, It Was Actually A Rather Decisive Win."
New York Times Columnist David Brooks: "I Thought He [President Bush] Won This Debate, Not By A Lot But By A Significant Chunk." (PBS's "Special Coverage," 10/8/04)
* New York Times Columnist David Brooks: "So I Think Overall, The Effect Of The Debate Will To Be To Give The Bush Campaign A Boost." (PBS's "Special Coverage," 10/8/04)
The Houston Chronicle: President Bush Had A "Looser, Folksier Delivery And More Varied Phrasing Of His Answers," And He "Could See The Glass Half Full, But For Kerry The Glass Was Still Leaking." (Cragg Hines, "St. Louis Debate: Can Bush Have It Both Ways?" The Houston Chronicle, 10/8/04)
Columbus, OH Undecided Voter Lisa: "I Was Kind Of On The Border, But After Hearing Both Candidates Tonight, I Think That I've Kind Of Swayed Over To Bush's Side." (CNN's "Special Post-Debate Wrap-Up," 10/8/04)
Robin Toner And Adam Nagourney, New York Times: "Mr. Bush Came Back Swinging This Week." (Robin Toner And Adam Nagourney, "Bush And Kerry Trade Attacks In Their Second Presidential Debate," The New York Times, 10/8/04)
Columbus, OH Undecided Voter Larry: "I Think This Was The Best Of The Three Debates So Far. I Think The Tone Was Positive In Some Degree And Negative In Others. I Think Bush Stuck With His Agenda That He's Had All Along And I Think Kerry Was On A Very Negative Attack Tone During The Debate." (CNN's "Special Post-Debate Wrap-Up," 10/8/04)
The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "He's Very Comfortable In His Own Skin." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "Live Webcast," The New York Times Web Site, 10/8/04,
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/politics/200401008_SEELYE_LIVE/index.html?hp, Accessed 10/8/04)
* The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "Bush Seems To Have The Crowd." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "Live Webcast," The New York Times Web Site, 10/8/04,
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/politics/200401008_SEELYE_LIVE/index.html?hp, Accessed 10/8/04)
* The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "Bush Was Well-Prepared For The Environment Question, Citing A Couple Of Items That Even Environmentalists Give Him Credit For." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "Live Webcast," The New York Times Web Site, 10/8/04,
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/politics/200401008_SEELYE_LIVE/index.html?hp, Accessed 10/8/04)
Columbus, OH Undecided Voter Bob: "I Think President Bush Is Strong On Security And Fighting The War On Terror." (CNN's "Special Post-Debate Wrap-Up," 10/8/04)
National Review's Katherine Jean Lopez: "'Enjoyable.' Bush Means That, You Can Tell. Bush Wins."
CBS's Bob Schieffer: "I Thought The Best Part Of The President's Presentation Tonight Was His Closing Statement, When He Truly Seemed To Be Speaking From The Heart." (CBS's "Special Coverage," 10/9/04)
The Washington Post: "President Bush Sharpened His Performance Considerably." (John F. Harris, "Candidates' Differences On Vivid Display In Debate," The Washington Post, 10/9/04)
* The Washington Post: President Bush Used "Impassioned And Plain-Spoken Language." (John F. Harris, "Candidates' Differences On Vivid Display In Debate," The Washington Post, 10/9/04)
CBS's John Roberts: "No Question That President Bush Was Amped Up Tonight." (CBS's "Special Coverage," 10/9/04)
New Republic Columnist Andrew Sullivan: President Bush "Was Aggressive, Clear Most Of The Time, Had A Good Rapport With The Audience And, As The Debate Went On, Became More Relaxed." (Andrew Sullivan, "A Draw," AndrewSullivan.com, 10/8/04,
http://andrewsullivan.com/, Accessed 10/8/04)
The New York Times: "Mr. Kerry Was Weaker When He Had To Respond To A Woman Who Wanted To Know About Spending Federal Money On Abortions. Social Issues Seem To Bring Out The Senator's Worst Tendencies To Paint A Word Picture In Shades Of Gray And Equivocation." (Editorial, "The Town Hall Debate," The New York Times, 10/9/04)
Howard Fineman, Newsweek: "There Were A Number Of Points I Thought Where The President Really Put Kerry On The Defensive." (MSNBC's "Special Coverage," 10/9/04)
* Howard Fineman, Newsweek: President Bush Made "Kerry Feel Uncomfortable About His Own Record." (MSNBC's "Special Coverage," 10/9/04)
University Of Pittsburgh Communications Professor Gordon Mitchell: President Bush "Expressed An Air Of Confidence That Was Missing In The First Debate." (David M. Brown And Bobby Kerlik, "Regional Experts Call Round Two A draw," The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 10/9/04)
MSNBC: President Bush Was "Clearly Energized By The Opportunity To Interact With The Audience." ("Bush, Kerry Go Toe-To-Toe In Quarrelsome Debate," MSNBC.com, 10/9/04,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6191353/, Accessed 10/9/04)
* MSNBC: President Bush "Set The Tone Immediately." ("Bush, Kerry Go Toe-To-Toe In Quarrelsome Debate," MSNBC.com, 10/9/04,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6191353/, Accessed 10/9/04)
Time Magazine's Joe Klein: "I Think That You Saw One Of Those Classic Flip Flops" When Kerry Answered Questions On Taxes. (CNN's "Newsnight," 10/9/04)
National Review Magazine's Rich Lowry,: President Gets An A-Minus On Substance, "Surprisingly Strong On Domestic Issues." (Fox News's "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren," 10/9/04)
US News And World Report Magazine's Michael Barone: "I Give President Bush An A." (Fox News's "On The Record With Greta Van Susteren," 10/9/04)
The Washington Post's Tom Shales: "Bush Came Through As More Passionate In His Beliefs Than His Challenger And Covered A Lot More Territory As He Moved Around The Stage." (Tom Shales, "Bush And Kerry Come Out Of Their Corners," The Washington Post, 10/9/04)