In what many analysts are saying must be a slam-dunk win by John Kerry, the Democratic challenger and President Bush prepared for their first head-to-head debate tonight in Florida.
Kerry, who has trailed in most polls since the Republican National Convention, can make up valuable ground if he is able to come across well against the incumbent president.
“I think it’s make or break for Senator Kerry,” Jeffrey Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University in Boston, told CBS MarketWatch. “He has an opportunity to re-introduce himself to the American public — a public that doesn’t really know that much about him, and what they do know about him comes from Bush campaign ads.”
Tonight’s 90-minute debate will focus on foreign policy and homeland security issues. While Kerry will likely go after Bush over what he calls a “quagmire” in Iraq, the president can highlight the many different positions the Democratic senator has taken on the war. Surveys show voters trust Bush more to deal effectively with Iraq and the war on terror.
Just five to seven percent of voters are considered undecided and tonight’s debate could have a defining impact on them.
The contest will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., and will be carried live on all the commercial networks, cable TV news networks, PBS and C-SPAN.
The next two presidential debates are scheduled for Oct. 8 and Oct. 13.
Bush toured hurricane-damaged areas of Florida today, thanking volunteers for showing “the true heart of America. We long to help somebody when they’re hurting.”
