The Truth is in the Transcript

Since so much of the post-debate spin seems fixated -- as James Lileks has observed -- on how often the candidates pounded the podium, it's enlightening to read a transcript. Bush did quite well, and Kerry made some statements that -- as Roger Simon and the astute correspondents in his comments section have pointed out -- are especially damning. How many people noticed that Kerry said he opposes U.S. development of bunker-busting nuclear weapons? Or that he said, essentially, that he would give nuclear materials to Iran? The Bush campaign, in the next day or two, will want to make sure that lots of Americans take note of those statements.