The mood was much more conversational at the second presidential
debate on Friday, Oct. 9 between President George W. Bush and
Senator John Kerry.

The debate was in the “town hall” format. The candidates were
seated on stools, and they were free to get off and stroll around
the floor while answering their questions. Questions were asked by
members of the audience, and moderator Charles Gibson, of ABC’s
“Good Morning America,” had the job of making sure the audience
members stayed on topic and alloted the candidates the proper
opportunities for follow-up answers.

The first three questions of the debate were on Iraq, and many
of the answers were the same as the first debate. The first
question asked Kerry was why he was “wishy-washy” on the war in
Iraq and the Patriot Act. Bush echoed the sentiment of the
questioner.

“I can see why people think that he changes position quite
often, because he does,” Bush said.

The sixth question asked was perhaps the question that many
young adults thought was the most important question omitted from
the first debate. Daniel Farley asked the president, “Since we
continue to police the world, how do you intend to maintain our
military presence without re-instituting the draft?”

“We’re not going to have a draft, period,” Bush said. “An
all-volunteer army is best suited to fight the new wars of the 21st
century, which is to be specialized and to find these people as
they hide around the world. We don’t need mass armies anymore.”

Kerry agreed, saying he also did not support a draft. However,
he accused the president of conducting a back-door draft because,
“Our guard and reserves have been turned into almost active duty.”
Kerry also mentioned what he viewed as failed alliance building by
Bush.

“You tell Tony Blair we’re going alone. Tell Silvio Berlusconi
we’re going alone. Tell Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland we’re going
alone,” Bush said with a scowl, cutting off Gibson in
mid-sentence.

On the issue of healthcare, Bush was asked why he blocked the
importation of prescription drugs from Canada.

“I haven’t yet. Just want to make sure they’re safe. When a drug
comes in from Canada, I want to make sure it cures you and doesn’t
kill you,” he said.

Kerry responded by attacking the president for changing his
position from what he said in the 2000 debates. He added, “He did
block it, because we passed it in the Senate. We sent it over to
the House. We took care of the safety issues.”

“If they’re safe, they’re coming,” Bush said. “Now he [Kerry]
talks about Medicare. He’s been in the United States Senate 20
years. Show me one accomplishment toward Medicare that he
accomplished,” he said.

Kerry was asked to defend choosing Senator John Edwards as his
running mate. “John Edwards is the author of the Patients’ Bill of
Rights. He wanted to give people rights,” he said.

Bush accused Kerry and Edwards of trying to drive up health-care
costs and wanting universal healthcare.

“That’s what liberals do. They create government-sponsored
health care. Maybe you think that makes sense. I don’t,” he
said.

Kerry responded by saying that he did not want a government
controlled health plan and that he favored capping damages on
medical malpractice lawsuits.

Bush was quick to respond

“You’re now for capping punitive damages? That’s odd. You should
have shown upon the floor in the Senate and voted for it then.
“

On the issue of spending, Bush said that his spending was
responsible because he had to spend what it takes to win a war and
protect the homeland. He added that his tax cuts provided relief
for everyone.

Kerry said, “He talked about war. This is the first time the
United States of America has ever had a tax cut when we’re at war.
Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, others, knew how to lead. They
knew how to ask the American people for the right things.”

Perhaps the most straightforward response of the night was when
Kerry was asked by James Varner to look into the camera and promise
not to raise taxes on the middle and lower classes.

Kerry looked for the nearest camera, walked up to the camera,
looked straight at the millions of people across the country
watching the debates from their home, and said, “I am not going to
raise taxes.”

Bush said, “He’s got a record. It’s been there for 20 years. You
can run, but you can’t hide. He voted 98 times to raise taxes.”

The candidates were asked if they would use taxpayer money from
a person who is pro-life to fund an abortion. Kerry responded by
saying that he could not infringe on someone’s constitutional
rights by denying them an opportunity for an abortion. Bush
responded by saying that he would not spend taxpayers’ money on
abortion.

The final question of the night was posed to Bush, and it asked
him to name three of his mistakes. Bush defended his decisions and
said the only mistakes that he made were in appointing people, but
he would not name them. Kerry said that Bush made a colossal error
in rushing to war.

After the debate, Washington University students were eager to
voice their opinions on which candidate they felt fared better.
Many had long made up their minds, but some were still waiting for
the last debate to make up their minds.

“I thought Kerry had the upper hand because he knew what he was
talking about, and Bush was very inarticulate. He didn’t answer how
he was going to reduce the deficit,” said Alex Jeffrey, a
Washington freshman.

Freshman Nikhil Angelo said, “I thought that John Kerry did a
really good job. He seemed very well-prepared. I think that Bush
started out very strong, but on a lot of his responses he seemed
unprepared. His moral convictions were represented more than his
political convictions. But I’m waiting for the last debate and any
last-minute campaign moves.”

Junior Amelia Rose said she thought Kerry fared better. “Bush
was very charming toward the audience, but he didn’t really answer
any of the questions.” She added that it was hard for her to side
with Kerry because of her pro-life stance as a Catholic, but she
agreed with Kerry on a majority of the issues.

Brian, a master’s student at Wash. U., was in the Bush camp
before and after the debate. He was walking around the campus with
his pet dog adorned with Bush stickers. “Bush did a good job of
showing his command of the issues,” he said. “He didn’t let Kerry
get any points across that weren’t counter-pointed.”

Brian was also able to give a positive assessment of Kerry’s
performance. “I think Kerry did well for his supporters. Some of
these things are differences in philosophy.”

On the other side of the spectrum, junior Patrick Jeulich had no
positive words on Bush’s performance. “President Bush tonight,
embarrassed me. He embarrassed me as a representative of our
country. I don’t think he did a good job of addressing the specific
questions that were asked of him. Bush is going to put a lot of
passion and emotion into his responses, and some of that needs to
be removed in order to have an accurate response.”