Review of debate 2 from Goldwater country

Peter Aleshire had the following observations on debate number 2 in the Arizona Republic

Now, that's what I call a disciplined debate.

For starters, Bush kept himself from scowling by keeping his face perfectly blank and blinking really fast.

Moreover, Kerry didn't make a single reference to his military service until 7:23.

But the most impressive feat was Bush's disciplined avoidance of facts - like a Jedi dodging snowflakes. He actually kept a straight face while insisting that the intelligence report proving conclusively that the UN sanctions had stripped Saddam of all his MWDs and nuclear programs proved that we had to rush to invade because the sanctions that weren't working (but actually were) might end.

In addition, Bush said he was worried about the safety of cheap Canadian drugs, considered the rollback of air pollution standards an environmental accomplishment, denied indignantly that he owned a timber company although he does and insisted a mild recession that ended two years ago forced him to run a $415 billion deficit by never vetoing a single spending bill.

Kerry made some mistakes himself. He said we've lost 1.6 million jobs, when it's actually down to 800,000 - although that's still the worst record in 72 years. Kerry implied the Bushies forced out the general who warned we needed a lot more troops to occupy Iraq, although the general had actually previously announced his retirement.

But mostly Kerry kept skewering Bush with the rebar of inconvenient reality. Bush just blinked rapidly and lurched forward. It reminded me of Shawn of the Dead, but not as funny.

The strangest moment? Bush's standard for a U.S. Supreme Court appointment. First, a good judge must favor keeping the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. Second, he can't interject personal opinion like the pre-Civil War justices who upheld slavery in the Dred Scott case. Huh? Dred Scott? Slavery? But if the court had overruled Congress and outlawed slavery, wouldn't that have been, like, judicial activism?

The scariest moment? When Bush concluded a discussion about how to keep North Korea and Iran from going nuclear by reminding us that they're on his "axis of evil" to-do list. Gee, if you thought Iraq was fun...

Bush also helpfully supplied Kerry with his strongest argument: "You can run, but not hide. Look at the record of the man running for President!"

OK, I have to come clean, Mr. Aleshire may live in Phoenix but he's a Democrat and has a ponytail.