During each presidential debate, watch political analysts Peter Robinson and James Norton exchange wit and wisdom in a real-time format.

Join us each debate night at 9pm (ET).

Transcript of the Diablog from the third and final presidential debate held Wednesday, Oct. 13, at Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.:

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 8:56:59 pm ET)

Good evening and welcome to Diablog: real-time repartee. My name is Josh Burek and I'll be serving as tonight's moderator. We're delighted to welcome back two distinguished guests: from the left, James Norton, and from the right, Peter Robinson. James and Peter, thanks for joining us.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 8:57:27 pm ET)

Avec plaisir. (That's a little French, in honor of John Forbes Kerry.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 8:57:28 pm ET)

Great to be back, Josh. Nice to chat with you again, Peter.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 8:57:49 pm ET)

Of course, I use "chat" kinda loosely here.

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 8:58:07 pm ET)

Before this final presidential debate begins, I'd like to pose a few questions: First, if you could take the place of tonight's moderator, Bob Schieffer, what question would ask Kerry and Bush?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 8:58:18 pm ET)

Loose, tight, whatever. It's always a pleasure, Jim and Josh.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 8:58:59 pm ET)

According to the conservative Club for Growth, in the last three years we've had the biggest farm bill, the biggest education bill, the biggest foreign aid bill, and now the biggest healthcare bill. Mr. President – as a self-proclaimed conservative, how do you defend this level of spending under your watch, and do you plan to turn it around? Mr. Kerry – without leaving Americans vulnerable in a time of economic uncertainty or damaging the War on Terror, how do you plan to reverse the growth of the budget deficit?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 8:59:11 pm ET)

For Bush: Mr. President, going into the first debate, polls showed, you enjoyed a substantial advantage over Sen. Kerry. That advantage has now all but disappeared. Why?

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 8:59:48 pm ET)

Second, if you could chair the Commission on Presidential Debates, how would you change the debate format, if at all, to make these events more valuable to the voters?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:00:29 pm ET)

For Kerry: Senator, ever since you returned from Vietnam, you've proven skeptical of providing resources to the Defense Department and even more skeptical of actually making use of American power. Now the nation is at war. What makes you believe that your record suits you to the highest office in the land at this hour?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:00:54 pm ET)

I'm not sure this will be a popular response, but I actually think the current format has worked very well. We've learned a lot about both candidates – the 90 minute time limit is incredibly big, but that allows for a lot of depth and real exploration of issues.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:01:42 pm ET)

I'd shorten the debates – neither candidate has seemed able to sustain his performance for a full 90 minutes – and figure out how to get more questions like those in the second debate. That is to say, the town-hall format seemed much more productive – more useful to voters – than the single-questioner format we're about to view again tonight.

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 9:02:00 pm ET)

And a final speculation question: What do you think Bush and Kerry really say to each other upon greeting? (And remember, this is a G-rated newspaper).

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:02:07 pm ET)

And they're off!

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:02:25 pm ET)

It may just be me, but I kind of enjoy seeing both of these guys tired as a draft horse at the end of the day. Stress is revealing.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:02:46 pm ET)

I imagine a crisp and completely artificial "good luck."

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:03:23 pm ET)

I think the G-rating has effectively gutted my palette of options.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:03:23 pm ET)

James, you have a point there. I take it back. The 90-minute format is indeed revealing.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:04:41 pm ET)

I'm watching this on C-SPAN, which is once again going with a split screen, just as it did during the first debate.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:04:42 pm ET)

Where did that question come from? It's impossibly broad and general. I guess they just want Kerry and Bush to open up and start talking, but I wish it had been a little more pointed.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:05:28 pm ET)

Still, Kerry seems to have turned it into an attack, and it's one we've heard before. I wish he'd started with something a little more uplifting.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:05:44 pm ET)

I dunno. Those open-ended questions are an invitation to original thinking, to spontaneity. Kerry tossed Schieffer no more than two original sentences before going back to his scripted responses.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:06:02 pm ET)

Although Bush seems to be instantly annoyed, which may be a good thing for Team Blue.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:06:21 pm ET)

Low points to Kerry on that first question, right, James? Just the same-old, same-old.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:06:52 pm ET)

"Freedom and liberty." There's your uplift, James. And it's coming from Dubya.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:07:08 pm ET)

I'd award low points to both. Bush is claiming the same "comprehensive strategy" on terror without explaining the chaos in Afghanistan and Iraq, or acknowledging that Iraq wasn't an Al Qaeda hive or WMD workshop.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:07:23 pm ET)

Bush seems a little too "hot," once again, but much calmer and more composed than in the opening moments of either of the previous two debates.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:07:23 pm ET)

Yes, it's uplifting. It's hot air.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:07:33 pm ET)

That's what it does.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:08:00 pm ET)

I think both of these guys must be rationing their strength this time around.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:08:24 pm ET)

This debate might heat up in last third.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:08:27 pm ET)

"Chaos" in Afghanistan? But they just held elections, James. And the last time we blogged we both agreed that those elections would almost certainly be disrupted by violence. They weren't. In other words, they went off better than either of us expected. Progress is progress, James.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:09:05 pm ET)

Lord, Lord. Dubya is fluent tonight. This is very nearly a different man from the one we saw in the first debate.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:09:13 pm ET)

Yes, I guess I'm just weirdly fixated on the continued existence of the Taliban, the continuing power of the regional warlords, and the incredible boom in the Afghan opium crop.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:09:39 pm ET)

Flu vaccine? Where in the Sam Hill did that come from? Astonishingly enough, though, Bush is handling it with complete ease and competence.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:10:36 pm ET)

The flu vaccine is pretty up-to-the-minute ... could have been revealing, but I think you're right – Bush is doing fine, although he's spuriously claiming his version of "legal reform" has anything to do with the vaccine shortage.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:11:12 pm ET)

Dubya provides a competent explanation for the shortage of vaccine, and then – ta-da! – goes on the attack, using the question as an opportunity to talk about the need for medical tort reform. That was deft. Really, this is astonishing by comparison with the Dubya of the first debate.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:11:46 pm ET)

Kerry, I think, will score real points on health care tonight. Premiums are soaring, Bush is blocking Canadian drugs, and Bush has named Thomas Scully – the guy who threatened to fire an actuary who was going to tell Congress the truth about the coast of Medicare – as his health care surrogate.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:12:18 pm ET)

Again, Kerry is simply dropping the needle into an old groove, talking about health insurance. That's a valid enough line of attack, but he's using the same words – the very same words – he's used again and again. He risks seeming robotic.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:13:24 pm ET)

I'm inclined to agree with you. I think both of these guys are hammering the talking points thus far. If they're going to develop a novel attack, I haven't seen evidence of it. But Bush, at least, is not hopping angry.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:14:02 pm ET)

Now, how do we score this exchange on health care? There's not one member of the audience in ten thousand who can actually evaluate the competing claims. What does it come down to? A sense of competence? Of energy? Of compassion? What think, James?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:14:56 pm ET)

Hmm. Bush seems more rested, relaxed, and alert. Kerry appears to be dragging just a little. On the level of animal spirits, this is almost a precise reversal of the first debate – so far, anyway.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:15:04 pm ET)

I think that people's guts are going to go back to their personal conditions, first and foremost, as a kind of truth check on this sort of convoluted issue. Most people's gut checks are going to reveal wildly spiraling health care costs during Bush's four years.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:15:37 pm ET)

Incidentally, Kerry is nailing this "pay as you go" point, I think. It makes a lot of common sense, and it's one explanation for why the deficit has exploded.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:15:58 pm ET)

He looks calm, clearheaded, and – dare I say it? – presidential.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:16:24 pm ET)

Loopholes, favors to oil and gas, ceiling fans from China. Does Kerry really believe anyone can actually follow all this? He seems simply to be hoping that people will be overawed by all he knows.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:16:52 pm ET)

Bush is lobbing some pretty big hunks of granite from within his sprawling glass mansion here. Kerry was one of 100 senators; Bush was the president under our current frenzy of spending.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:16:58 pm ET)

Dubya on Kerry's record strikes me as very powerful – and something people can actually grasp.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:17:41 pm ET)

I thought Kerry led with a very clear point, however: "Pay as you go." That colored and framed everything that followed.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:17:49 pm ET)

On spending, alas, you're entirely correct: Bush is wide open to attack. But Kerry is hardly disposed to attack spending, is he?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:18:28 pm ET)

Strange that Bush is talking about "continuing" to grow our economy, and funding community college education he's the first president since the 1930s to create no new jobs, and he's actually proposed cuts to federal funding for community education.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:18:47 pm ET)

That outsourcing question could have been rough. But Bush appears completely unruffled.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:19:51 pm ET)

Oh, James, James! As you certainly must know, the job losses started under your boy Clinton, and, although the bulk took place under Dubya, occurred as a result of the bursting of the Clinton bubble, which was never, ever sustainable. What Dubya has set in place is policies that encourage the kind of sustainable growth we're now experiencing.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:20:21 pm ET)

Instant fact check on Pell Grants: His 2005 budget is the third in a row that has failed to increase the value above $4050. His Pell Grant proposal would deny 84,000 low income students eligibility for funding. His record doesn't back up his rhetoric.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:20:33 pm ET)

Full points to Kerry: He picked right up on the avenue of attack that Dubya opened.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:21:04 pm ET)

He's counting on people to not call him on this kind of thing. But, fortunately, Kerry just got him on the Pell Grants.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:21:38 pm ET)

Out of curiosity – which of Dubya's policies encourage anything sustainable?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:22:17 pm ET)

This could be economics, foreign policy, environment, anything – this president has reveled in sacrificing the future for the immediate gain of his political supporters.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:22:36 pm ET)

His tax cuts, amigo. And you needn't take my word for it. Look up the piece in The Wall Street Journal that was authored by Nobel Prize winners (and my Hoover Institution colleagues) Gary Becker and Milton Friedman.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:23:02 pm ET)

You've got your Nobel Prize winner; our side has more than 40 Nobel Prize winners who passionately disagree.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:23:16 pm ET)

James, you give me no choice but to reinstitute my acronym: TYGA (There you go again).

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:23:57 pm ET)

The Congressional Budget Office said the Bush tax plans are "least likely to generate significant stimulus" and Goldman Sachs described them as "especially ineffective as a stimulative measure."

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:25:30 pm ET)

I refer you again to Becker and Friedman. They applauded the tax cuts in large measure precisely because they were not shaped to provide short-term stimulus but rather to encourage long-term growth. Oh – the newest Nobel winner, Prescott, has been saying in interviews over the last couple of days that Dubya's tax cuts weren't deep enough.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:26:21 pm ET)

I think the President looked a little childish there when he said "no one played with your votes" and then hauled out a precooked zinger about Kennedy being the conservative senator from Massachusetts.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:26:48 pm ET)

What's your take – do you think Kerry's record has been irresponsibly manipulated to paint him into a political corner?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:27:49 pm ET)

This or that little detail may have been compressed for the sake of sound bites, but the overall presentation of Kerry's record – that is to say, the insistence that the senator is a liberal – has been entirely correct.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:28:32 pm ET)

"We're all God's children, Bob." Please.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:28:50 pm ET)

I'd agree that he's left of center. But Kerry hasn't been trying to slash our defense budget to liquidate our armed forces. Kerry hasn't been wildly raising taxes. It's garbage.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:29:59 pm ET)

It's absolutely unfair to jump on Kerry for using a religious reference when Bush hides under the cloak of religious righteousness while ignoring one of the central messages of the New Testament (take care of the poor) and doesn't even attend church.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:30:10 pm ET)

Interesting. Both men are in effect taking a pass on the gay-marriage question. Bush, I thought, presented his position cogently. But he resisted the opportunity to turn the question into an attack.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:30:41 pm ET)

Moreover, anyone who reads history comes away with one clear message: the reckless mixture of religion and politics is one of the most dangerous fuels for intolerance and violence there is.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:30:49 pm ET)

It wasn't the religious aspect of the answer that I found offensive. It was the utter banality.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:31:09 pm ET)

Ah, well, you're on firmer ground then.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:31:39 pm ET)

Altar boys for choice? Not a very big constituency.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:32:01 pm ET)

Very interesting to hear Kerry take the question of faith head on. How do you think this will go over?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:32:13 pm ET)

James, this seems to me to be Kerry at his very, very worst. A straightforward question on abortion – and he's slipping and sliding all over the place.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:33:16 pm ET)

On abortion, Bush is winning just as decisively as he did on this question in the second debate. How? By being dignified and straightforward.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:33:17 pm ET)

Now we're getting to the crux. You hear "slipping and sliding" and I hear an intelligent, responsible man wrestling with difficult issues. You hear Bush "standing firm," and I hear a man who can't admit a mistake or rationally process hard data from the real world.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:33:39 pm ET)

The test, I might suggest, is this: Did we fight the right war in Iraq? Is the economy booming? Is Bush running on his record, or from it?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:34:09 pm ET)

And where you see chaos in Afghanistan, I see progress and, in the recent elections, an astonishing and historic achievement.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:34:14 pm ET)

He drove realists like Paul O'Neil and Christie Whitman out of the administration. We've reaped the consequences of a black-and-white mentality in the White House.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:34:55 pm ET)

Wouldn't it be great, though, if we'd put five time the troops into Afghanistan, caught bin Laden and Zawahiri at Tora Bora, and pacified the country, while shutting down the warlords and the opium industry?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:35:18 pm ET)

Answers: We did fight the right war in Iraq, and the economy is, if not booming, then growing very well. No need to run from that record. But let's see how Kerry handles this question on rising healthcare costs. If he can't hit this one out of the park, he ought to drop out of the race and slink back to Beantown.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:35:28 pm ET)

All coulda happened! But no, we had Iraq. Back to the debate: High costs in medicine are because "they don't use the information technology."

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:36:44 pm ET)

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned Tora Bora. After our exchange on that during the second debate, I blogged about it on National Review Online. Learned a huge amount, but what it comes down to is: a) that the terrain was pretty nearly impossible, and b) to the extent that there's evidence we let OBL slip away, it was Tommy Franks, not Dubya, and not the troops on the ground, who hesitated at the critical moment.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:36:47 pm ET)

The American people – and American troops – increasingly disagree with you on whether Iraq was the right fight, Peter. I don't think your heart is in this war – but you're duty bound to defend it. I don't envy you in the slightest.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:37:41 pm ET)

Kerry is on fire here about the question of affordable drugs – I think Bush will pay at the polls because of the Medicare mess.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:37:44 pm ET)

Aw, gee. This healthcare stuff is Kerry's ground. But he's producing paragraph after paragraph of policy wonkish stuff. Where is there a memorable line? A heartfelt story? Something his own people can grasp?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:38:26 pm ET)

Not to overplay Tora Bora, but someone at a higher level than Franks decided the kind of fight we were going to fight in Afghanistan: A strictly limited one, by proxy, so we could save our resources for Iraq.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:38:43 pm ET)

You're wrong there, James, though of course I don't for an instant doubt your goodwill or friendship. My heart really is in the effort in Iraq. (Blogged about it at some length this morning on NRO, in case anybody wants to check.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:39:05 pm ET)

We didn't have our guts in that war. That was the war the administration had to fight. It was like the string beans or creamed corn of wars for Bush and company. Iraq was dessert.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:39:43 pm ET)

But Tora Bora wasn't fought by proxy – on that, Kerry and Edwards are flatly mistaken. The Afghan forces were present only to cut off certain routes of escape, not to go in for the capture or kill. That was up to Delta Force and the British SAS. But back to this debate.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:40:07 pm ET)

I don't doubt that you really want to see Iraq succeed – I do, too. I hope it succeeds wildly. But I didn't think it was the right war going in, and the more I've learned, the more I realize just how toxic the mix of hubris, ignorance, and deception was that fueled that conflict.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:40:45 pm ET)

Deductibles, premiums, benefits. Wonk, wonk, wonk. Can't Kerry come up with some memorable or moving formulation? Geez. The guy's talking as if he were in a seminar across the Charles from The Christian Science Monitor (which is to say, at Harvard).

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:41:41 pm ET)

Yes, back to the debate. Kerry's throwing out a lot of plans with numbers in them. I'm not entirely sure that they're painting a clear picture, overall. But if Kerry can keep hitting points like Bush's move to stop the government from bargaining with drug companies, I think he'll do well.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:42:00 pm ET)

I'm giving you an opening here, James, but really. I mean, really. Isn't Kerry missing a one big opportunity here after another? Bush is staying even with him on healthcare, which just wasn't what anyone expected, right?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:42:34 pm ET)

Here's Bush talking about how he doesn't think big government is the right answer. Oh, what's that noise? It's a cinder block being thrown through Bush's incredibly delicate glass foyer!

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:42:57 pm ET)

Astonishing performance by Dubya right here. In answering Kerry, he's showing he has just as firm a policy grasp as the senator from Mass.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:43:24 pm ET)

Well, based on the second debate, Peter, I'd say the expectations were that Bush could hold his own on domestic issues. It was on Iraq that he's taken his worst shellackings... probably because he gets emotional and "tilts."

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:44:17 pm ET)

Bush is doing very, very well. On this VA matter, Bush is calm – and able to marshall the relevant statistics. Even I, his staunch supporter, would have expected Dubya to stumble and bumble over that one.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:44:54 pm ET)

Again, fact check: Bush is affirming Social Security's solidity. It's lost seven years of solvency under this administration, two years of which can be attributed directly to bills pushed by Bush.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:45:38 pm ET)

Just snuck a look: Bottom of the fifth. My Yanks are up over your Bosox, one to zip. (Between the debate and the game, this is shaping up as a thoroughly delightful evening.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:45:40 pm ET)

I agree with you – I think Bush is holding his own here, in swampy territory. Here is where I would make a transmitter joke, were I not the principled gentleman I so clearly am.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:46:24 pm ET)

The Sox like to come from behind. The Yanks are vulnerable now. Every run they score ... seals their doom.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:46:46 pm ET)

Something big just struck me: Bush is enjoying himself, whereas Kerry gives the sense of slogging along.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:47:32 pm ET)

Kerry has hammered Bush here on fiscal responsibility – even making positive reference to Senate record, for extra measure. I wish he would carry this argument more vocally and more often.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:48:23 pm ET)

I think what you're seeing, Peter, is that Bush has more emotional range in public – he's looked both happier and more irritated than Kerry. Kerry is strong and steady. Bush is more publicly passionate.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:48:29 pm ET)

By the way, what do you make of Schieffer's questions? Fair enough, but a little flat, no?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:49:34 pm ET)

I think they're flat and wooly. I'm having a hard time engaging them, and they're drawing the candidates into these endless thickets of figures. Not that the debates shouldn't have substance... but... if I were an average citizen, I would've switched over to the game, or Futurama or something by now.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:50:15 pm ET)

My guess, a little past the halfway point – another draw, but a much diminished impact, for this debate.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:51:25 pm ET)

You touch on an interesting point. I think we have to assume the audience for this debate is smaller than that for the second and much smaller than that for the first. So what matters is ... what? Elite opinion about who will have won? The sound bites the press chooses to replay? (Neither has made an obvious gaffe, but neither has produced an especially memorable turn of phrase, either.) So...what matters here?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:52:54 pm ET)

I think what matters is whether this debate has an impact on the momentum of the race, which – depending on how you read it – is still slightly pro-Kerry, or come to a halt, overall. Even a slight tip at this point might have a real impact, and shift the electoral battleground back away from the states out West to states Bush really wants to fight for in the Midwest.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:53:00 pm ET)

Hmm. Bush is giving a muffy, unfocused question on the borders and immigration. He had the opportunity to snap it right back to the war on terror. Wonder why he didn't.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:53:56 pm ET)

Will it...? I'm guessing it won't, and we'll see another event have an impact. I'm hoping it's a growing public awareness that in Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nevada, there have been serious problems with voter registration and voting machines – all to the advantage of the Republicans.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:54:34 pm ET)

Agreed. Kerry had momentum coming in. Not sure Bush's performance is strong enough to stop that mo cold. But it will certainly have heartened his base, putting him in a good position for the close combat of the final three weeks.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:56:19 pm ET)

I think the reason Bush didn't nail the border question is that it's not where his head has been. He's been very focused on Iraq at the expense of homeland security – all you need to know is that the Dept. of Homeland Security needs to go to the Defense Dept. for anything it needs, making it bureaucratically powerless.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:56:32 pm ET)

Defense – i.e. foreign wars – still calls the shots.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:56:42 pm ET)

We have another 30 minutes to go, but I figure the short take coming out of this is very likely to emphasize Dubya's surprisingly good performance, if only because it proved just that, surprising.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:56:50 pm ET)

Often at the expense of what the National Security Adviser, State Department, or any independent or academic experts might say.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:57:56 pm ET)

There's another reason Bush is fuzzy on immigration: He has to make sure – and I mean positively sure – that he says nothing to offend Hispanic voters in Texas, but, even more important, in New Mexico, Arizona, and Florida. (California, alas, is lost to him.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:58:01 pm ET)

You're playing the expectations game, Peter – I think most people realized that Bush was strong on domestic issues before, and won't be surprised that he was reasonably good once again. I don't think he's managed to dominate Kerry in any significant way. Overall impact: a draw.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 9:59:04 pm ET)

No, no, my boy. I'm not playing the expectations game. I'm saying I figure the press will do so.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 9:59:15 pm ET)

Bush has played a tricky game with immigration. The travel restrictions on Cuban immigrants may yet haunt him in Florida. At Air America we've had a number of Cuban-American callers register their deep displeasure with the president.

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 10:00:01 pm ET)

Other than a Red Sox victory [moderator disclaimer: I'm a Yankees fan], do either of you expect an "October surprise" – some sort of late-breaking political headline that changes the election? Put another way, how do Bush and Kerry stay visible in the days left until Nov. 2?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:00:17 pm ET)

Even a draw on style is a good outcome for Dubya. Why? Because that will raise the question of substance. And on that, amigo, Dubya stands where a little better than 50 percent of the electorate stands.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:00:31 pm ET)

Boy?! Why, I was doing political commentary back when you were ... well, I'm going to let you off the hook here, granddad.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:01:10 pm ET)

The only event that could push the candidates out of the headlines, Josh, is an event we must all pray will never take place: A terrorist attack on this country.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:01:13 pm ET)

The Sinclair Broadcasting plan to can their regular programming in order to run an hour-long smear on Kerry smacks of October in a big way.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:01:48 pm ET)

And the incredible and deeply disturbing efforts of GOP secretaries of state to halt Democratic voter registration was definitely a shock in terms of how widespread it's been.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:01:59 pm ET)

Can't help it. You're such a promising youngster, James, that I feel ... paternal toward you.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:02:19 pm ET)

Other than that: I doubt they'll pull Osama out of a magician's hat.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:02:39 pm ET)

What? The huge story of the last few days has been the enormous spike in voter registration all over the country – but especially in the battleground states.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:02:53 pm ET)

Heh, thanks, Peter. That comment will definitely make the "warm-and-fuzzy" portion of the Diablog highlights reel....

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:03:53 pm ET)

The huge story, in my opinion, has been what's happening in Missouri: the GOP going to bat to make sure St. Louis polls don't open early enough to accommodate voters. In Milwaukee, GOP officials not printing enough ballots. In Nevada, an RNC voter registration team tearing up the registrations of Democratic voters.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:03:57 pm ET)

James, just think what you're suggesting there: that the president of the United States just might be holding Osama in a cave somewhere in order to pull a cheap political trick, manipulating the election. Tell me you were joking.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:04:44 pm ET)

We're into the final half hour now. Neither man seems winded. Much more consistent performances tonight, no?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:05:10 pm ET)

I wasn't joking – I was acknowledging the most widely speculated "October Surprise" of the year – Osama's capture. I don't think even this administration – which sets the ethical bar pretty low – would sink to such depths as to politically manipulate something so serious.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:05:30 pm ET)

Yes, they're both still on an even keel – they burned off most of their fury over the past couple encounters.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:05:42 pm ET)

Thank you. I feel better about the Osama comment now.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:06:29 pm ET)

One of Kerry's most potent lines: challenging people to consider whether Iraq was truly a war of last resort.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:07:16 pm ET)

Kerry's back to the "he took his eye off the ball" trope. Well, at least nobody could argue the debates haven't been thorough. We've been around this corner before.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:07:48 pm ET)

It's not a trope if it's dead true, Peter. The problem was – and is – Al Qaeda and proliferation. Iraq was neither.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:08:15 pm ET)

TYGA.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:08:50 pm ET)

Here Bush goes again – equating Kerry's vote for the use of force with a vote for war. Bush at the time was saying he didn't want the vote to lead to war.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:09:05 pm ET)

Bush nailed him there – just nailed him.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:10:06 pm ET)

And yet, he's stepping in it by implicitly defending the failure of the assault weapons ban. Cops – across the country – support that ban.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:10:22 pm ET)

It makes good sense. And Kerry, as a former D.A. and hunter, is creaming Bush on it.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:10:28 pm ET)

Interesting point: In all three debates, not a single question about the death penalty. Kerry favors the death penalty, but it would be interesting to see how each man handled the question.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:11:10 pm ET)

I agree – it's a strange omission, particularly as the death penalty was thrust onto the national stage due to events in Illinois (where it was suspended) and elsewhere.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:12:07 pm ET)

And there's the infamous interview where Bush did his hilarious impersonation of Karla Faye Tucker, a woman executed under his watch in Texas.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:13:02 pm ET)

Hmm. Affirmative action. No previous questions about that, at least as best I can recall. Gee, whiz. There Kerry goes, policy wonking away when he could be quoting Martin Luther King or any one of a handful of other powerful speakers.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:13:56 pm ET)

That impersonation of Karla Faye Tucker is much in dispute – Tucker Carlson insists it happened, Karen Hughes insists it didn't. The important point? That a vicious killer was put to death.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:15:20 pm ET)

I'm not entirely sure if that's the point. I think the point is that there's a lot of evidence on the public record that this is president who truly gets excited about war, death, and killing. He's never experienced it. It makes sense that he doesn't really understand it. But I think that kind of attitude has had some tragic consequences as we rushed into war.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:15:32 pm ET)

You know what? Bush is just beautiful here. He's being dignified and eloquent on opportunities (as opposed to reverse discrimination). Just an amazing performance.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:16:02 pm ET)

Oh, James, really. The idea that the president is morbid is just absurd.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:16:14 pm ET)

I'll give this one to you – I think Bush has been eloquent tonight, and this is one of his high points.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:16:46 pm ET)

Ah, he's the opposite of morbid. He doesn't fixate on death or overly meditate on it. He just doesn't take it seriously. It's a game. "Bring 'em on!"

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:17:22 pm ET)

Wow. This answer on prayer and religious freedom – again, I can hardly believe the poise and eloquence I'm hearing. Even you called Dubya eloquent tonight. In my highest hopes for him tonight, I never thought we'd be using that word.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:18:39 pm ET)

Heh, you hand out a compliment, and it gets hung around your neck.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:18:43 pm ET)

Aw, heck. Bush just spoke from the heart. Kerry's wonking away again.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:19:10 pm ET)

Say something nasty about Bush – quick. (You'll feel better.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:19:24 pm ET)

On this kind of emotional ground, Bush is strong. He's never shy about brandishing his faith as a political tool. I think Kerry hates doing it.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:19:33 pm ET)

How was that?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:20:26 pm ET)

Very good, my boy, very, very good. (Your future as a pundit is so bright, I'm determined to make you into a conservative. But don't worry. I'll work by degrees so small you won't notice a thing.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:20:42 pm ET)

Kerry's got a big windup here, complimenting Bush on the post 9/11 unity. And the swing – full connection. Bush has driven America from fully united to incredibly divided in a mind-boggling and un-American fashion.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:21:39 pm ET)

Nope. Kerry's in a dry hole, here. Attacking Bush as a divider worked okay in the first debate. But this evening Bush has been so – well, so likeable – that this sort of attack falls utterly flat.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:21:42 pm ET)

Ah, but I am – in many ways – already quite conservative, Peter! I believe in fiscal discipline, responsible, diligent use of American power on the world stage, and respect for the Constitution and its protections for the American way of life.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:21:57 pm ET)

Thus, I'm voting for Kerry.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:23:08 pm ET)

Very nice, James. And you know what? Bush is doing so well tonight, I'm not even going to attempt a riposte. You'll need these stylistic sallies to console yourself.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:23:33 pm ET)

Amazing – Bush is pretending America's division isn't due to cramming tax cuts for the rich down our collective gullets, and his wildly controversial march to preventative war.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:24:24 pm ET)

Great question on the strong women ... kind of an after-dinner mint.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:24:29 pm ET)

Great! Bush just got the sound bite of the night. Genuine spontaneity, authentic humor.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:24:39 pm ET)

Letting both candidates loosen up and segue out.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:24:45 pm ET)

Yes, an after-dinner mint. Wonderful.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:25:02 pm ET)

"She speaks English better'n I do." Wonderful!

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:25:19 pm ET)

Ah, Kerry topped him!

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:25:35 pm ET)

That was hilarious.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:25:43 pm ET)

Gee, James, I actually feel sorry for Kerry on this one. A canned joke after Bush's beautiful performance.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:25:51 pm ET)

And self-deprecating.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:26:09 pm ET)

Canned? It was knowingly self-deprecating and got a solid laugh.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:27:20 pm ET)

Top of the seventh: Yanks 3, BoSox, zip. What a night.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:27:28 pm ET)

And now: the closing statements, and the end of these three debates. What a relief in this political season of scorched earth that we've had these opportunities to listen to what the candidates actually have to say. Corny, but I really think we're lucky.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:27:50 pm ET)

Poor old Kerry. This closing statement is just so ponderous.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:27:51 pm ET)

Sox are coming back. They're biding their time like a crocodile lurking in shallows.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:28:25 pm ET)

I'm with you on that. (Not the BoSox rally; the little Valentine you just penned to this democracy.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:28:29 pm ET)

I agree – Kerry's not on fire as he closes.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:28:55 pm ET)

Oh, man, Bush is pouring it on thick and sweet, though.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:29:57 pm ET)

Bush's closing statement is Reaganesque. (Just to be clear about this, coming from this old Reagan hand, that's a compliment. Come to think of it, that's the highest compliment I know how to pay to a politician.)

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:30:20 pm ET)

Again: If I were Bush, I wouldn't bring up healthcare costs in my closing statement. But I would – as he does– emphasize my unwavering toughness on terror and dedication to freedom. It's a strong card to play.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:30:34 pm ET)

Heh, the highest compliment I have is "honest."

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 10:30:41 pm ET)

A parting question: What one thing would you tell voters to consider – or reconsider – before they vote Nov. 2?

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:31:46 pm ET)

All the experts agree that the prospect of a terrorist attack worse than that of 9/11 is genuine. Which man is more likely to carry the fight to the terrorists themselves? Which will do a better job of keeping us safe?

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:32:11 pm ET)

Consider whether this president has been telling you the truth about the most important question of the day: the war in Iraq and the war on terror. If you think the facts back him up, vote him back into office.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:32:42 pm ET)

If you think we've been lied to – and/or we're less safe, vote for Kerry.

Peter Robinson (Wed. 10/13, 10:32:46 pm ET)

Josh, this has been a high pleasure. Young James is a splendid sparring partner – and being associated with The Christian Science Monitor, even if only in cyberspace, has been an honor.

James Norton (Wed. 10/13, 10:34:30 pm ET)

Peter, thanks for sparring with me – I hope I've been able to give you a bit of worthwhile political sport. It's been an honor and a pleasure. And thank you, Josh, and The Christian Science Monitor, for giving us the chance.

Josh Burek (Wed. 10/13, 10:34:56 pm ET)

Gentlemen, you have our hearty thanks for giving up most of the baseball playoff games to join us this evening. I trust you – and our loyal readers – found it a worthy sacrifice. Until we meet again, farewell.

 • Read the transcript of the Diablog from the first presidential debate, held Thursday, Sept. 30, at the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Fla.

 • Read the transcript of the Diablog from the second presidential debate, held Friday, Oct. 8, at Washington University, in St. Louis, Mo.