Don't get me wrong, homeland security is an important issue, but it's not going to sway my vote one way or the other.  But just in the presentation of the two candidates, Kerry was the better of the two.  Bush is the worst public speaker ::pause::  I have, uh, ::pause:: ever seen.  And stand up straight!  America needs a leader with good posture :)

-al

"Who won the debate" is such a broad question...
After the first debate I am still undecided, but Kerry does a point in his corner after the debate. Bush seemed to just repeat the same things over and over, take long pauses, and lay on the podium.
But of course a debate should not choose who the president is.
I'll keep watching and we'll see how I am swayed in the upcoming days.

I think the previous two posters showed a lot of wisdom, and I will add that I feel the same way.  You should not choose a candidate on the basis of a debate.  Decide what issues are important to you, and pick a candidate whose stance on those issues is closest to yours.  That said, I will make the following observations on the debate.  I felt Kerry did a good job of stating his position clearly, and distinguishing his position from the President's.  He also clearly outlined his plan as far as foreign policy is concerned.  I felt the president did not address some of the things he and his administration have done during his first term, and did not clearly outline a plan for dealing with the situation in Iraq.  For that reason I would say Kerry came out on top.  I would also agree with Allyson that Kerry simply looked better.  He was attentive during the times his opponent was speaking, he did not stumble as much, and seemed better prepared.

Dave

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value -- Albert Einstein

Not to be redundant or anything, but I think Kerry came out better.  Of course, you can't really say somebody won a debate, but there are some main things that every debator must do which Bush did not.

1. Dress neatly and appropriately
2. Address the concerns that were raised
3. Have more than one point to make.

Honestly, the man kept going on about how Kerry's a flipflopper even after Kerry disputed it.  He's the president; he should be a lot better at public speaking than this.

The debate was more worthwhile than I had expected, although the amount of talking points and stale rhetoric (along with pure misinformation) provided by both sides was... staggering.

Kerry was stronger than I expected, Bush was, well, a bit out of it, really... I have a feeling the 'wrong war' phrase is one we're going to hear for a while, and I'm not sure Kerry should have said all that.  We'll see.  He certainly got a boost in the polls.

Dodge this.

Feel free to post thoughts about last night's debate here, as well....

Dodge this.