The Debates May Prove to be the Key to the White House

A Good Showing by Either Candidate May Be Enough to Seal the Deal

-With only five weeks to go until voters head to the polls, both candidates need to make a good case at the debates. A sound victory may be enough to push John Kerry past President Bush, as Bush remains vulnerable with polls showing voters are unhappy with his performance. Both candidates are seasoned veterans of the televised debate, so defeating one another will prove to be no easy task. The key may lie simply in style and appearance. Bush's strengths are in his unorthodox style of approach to the debate, including bluntness, definitive facial expressions, and a simple theme repeated again and again. Kerry, on the other hand, is a strong debater known for his aggressive, ruthless style and attention to minute details of policy. With the debate focused on foreign policy, Kerry will likely attack the president on the Iraq war. Bush will likely defend the war as a choice in which there was no better alternative. However, in a competition where emotion is often seen as more important than intellect, both sides must pay attention to the smallest details. Bush's famous double take in the 2000 election may have cost Gore the debates, and George H. W. Bush's glance at his watch in 1992 proved to be enormously damaging, despite its trivial nature.