corrente

Unfortunately, I was out of the country for the debate, so all I got to see was a split-screen snippet on CNN.

And boy, did Bush look bad. The smirk, the bemusedly raised eyebrows, the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, the petulance.... And until I saw him next to Kerry, I didn't realize how short Bush really is. Never send a boy to do a man's job....

Anyhow, it wasn't just me. Others saw what I saw.

I read this in the Herald Trib—which, alas, is starting to suck now that it's 100% owned by the The Times, instead of WaPo having part interest—and thought it summed up how Bush looked, and why he looked the way that he did, really well:

Several analysts said Bush seemed defensive at times.
.
"He's turtling," said Garrison Nelson, professor of political science at the University of Vermont. "Bush keeps pulling his shoulders up like a turtle," Nelson said.
.
"He is not happy about this. There is no cheery little smile, no little winks. Kerry is coming out a lot harder than Bush anticipated. Bush is still on message, but the body language - he is really tight, he is pulling his shoulders up and is in a real defensive posture. He's under attack and he hasn't been under attack and he's not used to this and he's not handling it well."
(via International Herald Tribune)

Now we know why His handlers keep Him in the bubble, don't we? (Funny nobody in the Kerry campaign is calling the Republicans on this.)

Turtle, eh? Hmmm.... Hey, Maw! Reach me that firecracker, will ya?

UPDATE The firecracker story is here: "Having a beer with a nut job" (back). I thought everybody knew this one. Guess not! Nasty stuff....