Graduate students at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy packed into ASEAN auditorium to watch Senator John Kerry challenge presidential incumbent George W. Bush in a debate at the University of Miami on Thursday evening.
Bush and Kerry took up most of the 90-minute debate, which centered around national security and foreign policy, arguing over the war in Iraq.
Kerry said he believes Bush made a "colossal error of judgment" in invading Iraq and that he has a better plan to fight the "war on terror." Bush retorted that Kerry cannot be a leader because he constantly flip-flops on the issues.
The Fletcher debate crowd was clearly partisan, as cheers for Kerry and contempt for Bush resonated throughout the room. The majority of the audience laughed at Bush's facial expressions and frequent long pauses.
"Bush seemed weaker as he [went] on, but [I am] not sure if it was because of the environment I was watching this in," second-year Fletcher student Gillian Cull said.
Many students agreed that the laughter directed towards Bush was disrespectful and that the focus should have been on his message, not the manner in which he presented it.
"Kerry was much more academic, while Bush was much more for America. The world is one thing, but Bush goes for America," first-year Fletcher student Gregory Dimitriadis said
Saudipan Bagchi, a graduate student at Boston University and a strong Kerry supporter, was disappointed with the debate.
"I am appalled [that] the American public has not woken up yet. Kerry needs to drill in the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found. He needs to go into hard detail on Iraq policy; he needs to not tip-toe around his Senate record," Bagchi said. "This is the most important debate in the history of the world."
Professor Tony Smith, the Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science at Tufts, agrees that Kerry erred during the debate by not pushing harder at openings Bush offered, but believes Kerry was much more effective than his opponent.
"The President was more repetitive, less detailed, and broad in his grasp of matters relying more on sloganeering, and simply less articulate with bad body language," Jackson said. "By showing Kerry was so serious, he automatically undid a part of the negative image the Republicans had projected. Kerry came across as presidential."
"To close the deal, Kerry must do equally well, or Bush must do as poorly, at the final two events," said Lecturer of Political Science Michael Goldman, a well-known political analyst. Goldman has served as counsel to many Democratic campaigns, including Michael Dukakis' bid for the White House in 1988.
Pew Research Center polls have shown that the public's confidence in Bush to handle the war in Iraq dropped six percent between Sept. 11-13 and Sept. 22-26. His poll numbers on handling the economy also dropped seven percent.
Despite these drops, the same Sept. 22-26 poll shows Bush leading Kerry 48 percent to 40 percent among registered voters.
"As incompetent as people [perceive] Bush to be, Kerry [is] not a viable alternative," Goldman said.
Still, the debate was a "watershed moment" in this year's presidential campaign according to Goldman.
"Despite what most people believe, a sizeable portion of the people who will vote Nov. 2 saw and heard John Kerry for the first time at that 'joint press conference,'" Goldman said.
"Prior to that joint appearance, $90 million in negative advertising had totally defined the political persona of Kerry," he said.
The second presidential debate will take place Friday and the third will occur on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
