Never Mind

As I watch Schneider, Blitzer and Rothenberg do the post mortem of the debate this morning, I can’t help but laugh at the fact that today they all seem to believe that the debates don’t really mean much in the long run and that nothing really changes because of just one performance no matter how much the public believes one or the other won or lost.

Gosh. It seems like just yesterday that they were saying that last night’s debate was make or break for John Kerry and that if he didn’t pull it off his campaign was in deep deep trouble. Today, all the polls and editorial pages are saying he won. But, it doesn’t really matter.

Rothenberg did allow that Kerry might have helped himself with his base which Blitzer said had been in terrible malaise. So, perhaps winning the debate by two to one may have helped poor old Kerry just a little bit. Maybe.

They also discussed how often the first impressions of who won a debate later change “once people have a few days to think about it” and then named a list of first debate winners — Mondale, Dukakis, Perot and Gore — who went on to lose the election.

I came away with the clear impression that winning the first debate is the kiss of death.