Personality verus Politics

With the conclusion of the Presidential debates each side has unleashed an unlimited number of statements justifying their stance on every topic and portraying their opponet as out of touch with reality. Both canidates manage expectations of themselves by touting the negative issues of their opponet. Bush is not an unknown this time, his identity is clearly fixed and that is both good and bad. He will not be able to offer himself as a change from the established order or portray his foe as a poster child for the status quo. He already has an edge because he is President. He must play defense a little more because it is his record that's really up for grabs and his performance that's being scrutinized. Bush has always pitched the stay the course message, he has not found other approaches so he play's lots of defense with this stratage. He has had a free ride with the press, they challenge him on very little. He has never needed to justify his decision making. Bush connects very well with the general public. Most people like him even tho he mandles language and makes mistakes, he seems like a regular person.
Kerry has an unusual command of the facts and specifics, and that makes it almost impossible to stump him. He sometimes has a hard time connecting with people thru the television media because of his uncanny ability to change the subject without appearing to do so. This works in his favor by preventing Bush from lowering the publics expections of a Kerry administration. We formulate our opinions about personalitys thru television, it's the only time most of us get up close and personal with the candidates. We see facial flaws, the eyebrows, the way they stand. We should focus more on what we hear rather than what we see. Substance is never the predominate factor in a presidential campain, because that's not what people remember. Informed voters search out substance, but they are few, most make their choice for president from a 30 second sound bite or a 2 minute video clip on the national news, and that is surely a recipe for disaster.