Meltdown = President unglued at 2nd debate

George Bush was an uncontrollable hothead in much of the second presidential debate. While it was an improvement over his first pitiful performance, it was still a far cry from the competence America needs in a president.

At one point, true to his record of ignoring rules, he disregarded the agreed format for the debate, jumped to his feet, rushed moderator Charles Grodin like a Chihuahua in heat and barked:

"You tell Tony Blair we're going alone! You tell Tony Blair we're going alone!"

John Kerry provoked the outburst, stinging Bush with descriptions of the "backdoor draft" of National Guardsmen and reservists and the fact that Americans are burdened with 90 percent of the costs and casualties for the war in Iraq.

Kerry, in contrast, was the same calm, thoughtful, informed presidential figure as in the first debate. He gave clear answers and outlined a plan for the future.

Bush offered no new plan. He simply attacked Kerry. It was as effective as that same Chihuahua biting a pant cuff; annoying, but unable to stop a forward stride.

A question about abortion underscored Bush's inability to see anything but black and white, right or wrong. After Kerry gave scenarios of extenuating circumstances like incest or the concerns for the health of the mother that affected his vote on the partial birth abortion ban, Bush couldn't comprehend it and said in rebuttal, "It's pretty simple...yes or no."

Unfortunately, simplistic solutions to complex problems don't work in a world of so many shades of gray.

A dangerous Bush characteristic is rigidity. This appeared in his reply to the final question. Asked to give three mistakes he made and how he corrected them, Bush could not admit one.

In light of the report that no WMD existed in Iraq since the 90's, surely a reasonable person would admit that a rush to war was a mistake. The mistake could be blamed on poor intelligence but not to see one mistake, even in hindsight, is delusional and a bit scary.

For anyone to correct a mistake you have to acknowledge it. Bush's answer tells us he intends to give us four more years of failed policies and admit to no mistakes.

Kerry's ability to see the complexities of issues shows him to be a candidate who can do better. His plan offers us a bridge to a brighter future and a better tomorrow. Bush wants to sell us a bridge that's already defective.

America needs and deserves Kerry's vision for it's people.


10-9-04