Iraq takes centrestage

Bush, who seemed defensive and less sure of himself at the outset, quickly gained his footing, repeatedly charging that Kerry’s record was inconsistent and that he lacked the resolve to defend the nation. He was just as relentless as Kerry, and perhaps more emotional, never ceding ground to Kerry in his insistence that he had used every available means to defend the nation in the aftermath of 9/11. At times, he seemed to lean into the camera, pursing his lips, at some pains to disguise his apparent exasperation at Kerry’s attacks, insisting, as he did at the outset, ‘‘People know where I stand.’’

At one point, Bush burst out a spontaneous answer to a question that Kerry had posed only rhetorically, declaring before the moderator, Jim Lehrer, had recognized him, ‘‘Of course we’re doing everything we can to protect America.’’ At another juncture: ‘‘Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us,” not Saddam Hussein.

The two men agreed the threat of unconventional weapons in the hands of rogue actors would be the biggest challenge facing either of them as president — and that Saddam had seemed to pose such a threat. They agreed the US could not pull out of Iraq precipitately. But they disagreed on virtually everything else, from how to handle genocide in the Sudan to nuclear proliferation in North Korea and Iran.

Facing by far the largest national audience of the campaign to date, with polls suggesting that something between one-fifth and one-third of voters might be influenced by Thursday night’s encounter, Kerry was at pains to rebut the Bush campaign’s portrayal of him as a fickle flip-flopper who has repeatedly changed his position on the war in Iraq and would cede too much control of the nation’s defenses to foreign allies.

When Bush noted that Kerry had voted against an $87 billion appropriation for military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, then said he had initially voted for another version, Kerry’s rebuttal could hardly have been crisper. ‘‘Well, you know, when I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war,’’ Kerry said. ‘‘But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?’’

Bush was just as blunt in his insistence that Kerry’s criticism of the conduct of the war had demoralized the troops and the interim Iraqi leaders struggling to impose some stability on that country. ‘‘What kind of message does it say to our troops in harm’s way ‘wrong war, wrong place,wrong time,’’’ Bush said, echoing Kerry’s recent formulation. ‘‘That’s not what a commander in chief says when you’re trying to lead troops.’’

As the challenger, Kerry had the higher burden, and his performance was more disciplined and controlled than usual. He spoke plainly, politely, but did not shrink from direct and pointed criticism of Bush’s policies. Kerry pointed out that the president’s father, in his memoirs, said he did not go into Iraq ‘‘because there was no viable exit strategy.’’ “And he said our troops would be occupiers in a bitterly hostile land. That’s exactly where we find ourselves today,’’ Kerry said. —(NYT)