A DECISIVE WIN!

But don't my word for it:

NBC’s Tom Brokaw: “Well, I Think That The President Stepped Up His Game Tonight, And I Think That He Came With A Game Plan In Mind, And Tried To Execute It On That Stage.” (MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 10/8/04)

NBC's Andrea Mitchell: "Bush Came To Play Tonight." (MSNBC's "Hardball Special Debate Edition," 10/8/04)

ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "I Think President Bush Was Most Effective, Is When He Brought People Into The Oval Office, Talked About Meeting With The Iraqi Finance Minister, Talking About Going To The Situation Room And Talking To General Tommy Franks, And Then, Finally, Also, Bringing Up Senator Kerry's Senate Record. But You Did See, I Think, A Lot Of Skill Out There Tonight." (ABC's "Special Coverage," 10/8/04)

Charles Franklin, University Of Wisconsin: “Kerry Was Way Too Wordy And Bush Was Folksy, Feisty.” (Ron Fournier, “Bush Fights Against Emotion, Scowls In Testy, Personal Debate With Kerry,” The Associated Press, 10/8/04)

MSNBC's Chris Matthews: "The President Did Well" And Exuded An "Air Of Confidence." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 10/8/04)

Fox News' Chris Wallace Says "George W. Bush Came To Play." (Fox News' "Special Coverage," 10/8/04)

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." (MSNBC's "Hardball Special Debate Edition," 10/8/04)

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." (CSPAN's "Special Coverage," 10/8/04)

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." (Katherine Jean Lopez, National Review's "Corner" Website, www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/corner.asp, 10/8/04)

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)