The Master[De]bator

As to the nuts and bolts of the Coral Gables, FL debate itself, DJ Drummond has the tale of the tape, why Dems still don't get the point of presidential debates, and why gratuitously fretful pachyderms have nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, Jay Nordlinger sees this clash as an opportunity for Bush:

"George W. Bush needs to stick it to Kerry in that first debate — not merely play defense. He needs to find a way of saying, 'What kind of democrats are you Democrats? I mean, don't you hope we succeed? Does the Taliban out, and Karzai et al. in, and Saddam Hussein out, and Allawi et al. in, embarrass you? Sure, Kofi Annan and the thugocracies of the U.N. are against us. But where do you stand? Does our relative unpopularity at the U.N. embarrass you?'

"Get 'im, W. This is no time to act overly 'presidential.' Your job is to shame these people — a job for which they have given you plenty of material."

Confrontation isn't really Dubya's style, IMO. But if he can do the above with a wink and a smirk, I won't be complaining.