Unspun

The right has finally settled on three arguments, aside from the transparently stupid "global test" nonsense. The first is to concede that Kerry won on style, but to assert that Bush won on substance. But what they fail to realize is that what was so damning about Bush's performance was his lack of substance. Hence the 30 minutes of material jokes. Relatedly, Brooks suggests that Bush's simpleminded rhetoric on Iraq was more "visionary." But of course being visionary doesn't help when you're incompetent, which the mess in Iraq and Kerry's repeated references to Tora Bora demonstrate.

Second, the Republicans try to say it really wasn't that bad, i.e. his stumbling is "folksy" and his saccharine comments about the people he talked to are effective. As to the latter, I really can't say- I have developed a real loathing of that rhetorical device. But on the former, well, folksy doesn't necessarily mean dumb. Which is what all these latte-drinking volvo-driving ivy-league attending journalists fail to realize (now THAT was fun to write!). In the real world, Americans want a President who doesn't look like a total moron.

Thirdly and lastly, the spinmeisters on the right have attempted to hold onto the flip-flopping charge. Look, I this is really quite simple. Kerry thinks that the Bushies had a decent idea and just screwed it up. They botched the intelligence analysis, they botched the diplomacy, they botched Afghanistan, and they botched the peace. It's really that simple. It only looks like a complicated position because Kerry is being too nice.

None of this spin matters, though. The 48-hour cycle is over and has set in stone that Bush got his hat handed to him. The good guys finally won one, and the Bushies are in deep doo-doo. Now we just need to keep the pressure on. As as the Byzantine general Belisarius said, "never give the enemy a second chance at victory."