Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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Drudge,
InDC Journal
and Hugh are up in arms about Kerry's alleged use of notes during the debate. Hugh goes so far as to write, "he's toast in all of the red states and many of the blues. It is the sort of accusation that a wrongfully accused man would immediately appear to refute by answering all questions of the press corps assembled."

I wish I could ride with the rest of the Pajamahadeen on this one, but color me a skeptic that this issue will attract much attention. Even if it were true, Kerry's fans will stick with him. The predictable explosion of enthusiasm for Kerry and the optimism about his chances in the mainstream media will not be interrupted by a mere breaking of the debate rules. No one has much incentive to make an issue of this, least of all the President or the Bush campaign - they would be immediately labeled whiners by Kerry and his fans in the media.

No, the relentless message from the mainstream media after the first debate was that Kerry ran rings around Bush. The only way Bush can change that for the next two is to hit it out of the park, and to do so well that the pro-Kerry spin looks ridiculous.

[Posted 10/03 08:53 PM]