Watched Round 2 of the Presidential debates tonite with a group of ideological soulmates. I was expecting Der Shrubber to have a crash + burn moment, some sort of meltdown that would represent the turning point in the campaign. That didn't happen-Bush did well enough to provide some hope to his wingnut base, and Kerry squandered some nice opportunities to slam the door. On balance, Kerry won because he is better-informed and more articulate, but I wish he was able to package his thoughts in a more succinct and effective way. Semanticist George Lakoff has been working with the Kerry campaign to improve their framing of the issues, but they still have a long way to go to acheive the sort of message clarity that Bush and the Republicans know how to communicate.

Michael Tomasky over at the American Prospect thinks that women voters will probably respond badly to some of the Bush antics this evening. He was yelling throughout most of the debate, while Kerry remained cool and statesmanlike. The questions asked by the citizens of Missouri were impressive- both fair and tough. I wonder how a group of citizens who are so thoughtful and perceptive can manage to remain "undecided" at this stage of the campaign?