From my blog

Kerry totally rocked the debate.

You know it.
I know it.
Republican spinners know it.

Not to say that Bush made any huge blunders as often happens in past presidential debates, a la Bush senior nervously checking at his watch when asked how he relates to the average voters he represents.

However, both in content and demeanor, Kerry bested Bush by quite a margin. Kerry never went over his allotted time, never looked frustrated or angry, which one would expect him to be after seeing two full months of bad news of his campaign.

Bush, on the other hand, was on edge, often looked exasperated and angry, indicated by both his facial gestures and his tendency to ask for more time from Jim Lehrer just for the sake of having the last word, though having nothing to say when it came time for him to speak.

Any text from the debate transcript won't do justice to the debate. The RNC actually only posted the audio from the debate on their website, because the video is too painful to watch on their side.
You can watch the debate here.

Nonetheless, there are some portions of this debate that deserve quoting. I don't think I've ever seen Kerry so to the point before. It was as if he had a copy of the questions beforehand, because never once did he ramble or pause or search for something to say. He was fuckin' ready.

In a rebuttal to Bush's answer to the question: "Do you believe the election of Senator Kerry on Nov. 2 would increase the chances of the U.S. being hit by another 9/11-type terrorist attack?", Kerry began his response with the following:

"Mr. Kerry: I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists wherever they are. But we also have to be smart, Jim. And smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking it off to Iraq where the 9/11 commission confirms there was no connection to 9/11 itself and Saddam Hussein. And where the reason for going to war was weapons of mass destruction, not the removal of Saddam Hussein. This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment. And judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States of America."

Then to the question: "Colossal misjudgments, what colossal misjudgments, in your opinion, has President Bush made in these areas?"

"Mr. Kerry: Well, where do you want me to begin? First of all, he made the misjudgment of saying to America that he was going to build a true alliance, that he would exhaust the remedies of the United Nations and go through the inspections...
He also promised America that he would go to war as a last resort. Those words mean something to me, as somebody who's been in combat: last resort. You've got to be able to look in the eyes of families and say to those parents, "I tried to do everything in my power to prevent the loss of your son and daughter.'' I don't believe the United States did that. And we pushed our allies aside. And so today we are 90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent costs - $200 billion, $200 billion that could have been used for health care, for schools, for construction, for prescription drugs for seniors."