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David Warren: The debates
Anything can happen in election debates, and I can understand how frontrunners would rather sit on a lead than risk the bad hair day that changes history. The pressure on the challenger is more constructive: he will do or he will die. From his view, risk looks good, and should the final nail be hammered in his coffin, it was nevertheless a coffin that was closed.We have three debates coming up in the States between President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry, the first tomorrow. From the fact Bush aced Gore in their exchanges four years ago, and Mr. Kerry is no match for the debater Mr. Gore was before he lost his marbles (his recent public statements have been incoherent rants), it does not follow that Mr. Bush will land knockout blows this time around. Mr. Kerry has the strength corresponding to his weakness: like our own former prime minister, Jean Chretien, he is impossible to pin down. But it's deeper than that. Not since Carter v. Reagan has a U.S. presidential election offered so stark a choice, if then. The two sides have shifted farther apart, and the views of Jimmy Carter himself illustrate the progressive evacuation of common ground. Posted by: tipper 2004-10-01 |
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