Doug Ross @ Journal

Debate Reaction - What exactly is the 'Global Test'?

I thought Kerry did as good a job as his constantly shifting positions would allow. His 'tan', newly whitened teeth and manicure all looked good. And Bush refrained from calling him a "wrinkle-tard" (ref: Conan O'Brien).

InstaPress reaction will be that Kerry edged Bush. But I think the Bush strategy was much craftier than that of the Kerry camp. Kerry was speaking to the mainstream press, trying to cement his positions after making so many, divergent statements. At that, he did reasonably well. But his content was vastly inferior to that of the president.

In contrast, President Bush was speaking to the people, hammering home the point that Kerry is an equivocator and that in this, the nuclear age of terrorism, equivocation equals catastrophe.

The reaction will come two, three, four days out as the messages are digested. People will remember three things about the debate: Kerry's ultra-bright teeth, Kerry's comment regarding pre-emptive attack... provided it passed the 'global test' (big mistake), and Kerry's return to a nuclear freeze (another monumental error).

The 'global test' will not pass the 'smell test' for most Americans. Nor will unilaterally stopping development of weapons system. So... Kerry goes full circle, returning to his anti-Reagan roots instinctually, promising to unilaterally stop development of necessary weapons system.

John Kerry... I don't like you, because you're gonna get me killed.

Jonah Goldberg: "WHY Does Kerry keep saying we didn't secure Saddam's nuclear facilities if he thinks he didn't have any?"

InstaPundit: Bush is hitting Kerry on North Korea, contrasting the Clintonian bilateral strategy with his own multilateral strategy -- see, he can bring in allies! "Now there are 5 voices speaking to Kim Jong-Il." Kerry straddles in response to a Lehrer followup: I want both bilateral and multilateral talks!

Hugh Hewitt: Biggest mistake by Kerry: "The Global Test." The FoxNews panel agrees: "Global Test" is the takeaway. On substance, Kerry wants appeasement of North Korea and Iran, gloablization of conflict resolution, and a summit. Bush wants to take the war to the terrorists. Kerry wants meetings... tomorrow and for 30+ days I'll be playing the 'global test' clip, because it was the window into Kerry's soul, and Bush immediately rejected it because Bush wants nothing of it. As I wrote below: Game, set, match.

DJ Drummond: Now I know Kerry does not respect the voters, he actually denied ever wavering or being equivocal. He brought up domestic issues again. FUMBLE??? Did Kerry just say he would STOP US development of Nuclear Weapons UNILATERALLY, in order to stop proliferation?