Political observers say both candidates performed well

"It was less agonizing than I expected," said Wayne Fields, director of the American Culture Studies Program at Washington University in St Louis. "There weren't any surprises. Neither one of them made any terrible stumbles, so what we were left with was the fundamental contrast before us this year, between a president who believes that certain things, like 9/11, happen, and those things give you a vision that you pursue unwaveringly. And you've got Kerry's notion that you learn and grow as you move ahead, and you adapt and respond."

Kerry had the most to gain from the debate, Fields and others said, and "he gained some of it."

"He did it in part simply by being able to stand on the same stage and say, 'Much of what we are disagreeing about was [over] the right way to do things," Fields said. "He could undermine the notion that he was flip-flopping, which the president returned to over and over again. But just being able to appear presidential and knowledgeable and to go aggressively at the president without it being fake the way [Democratic nominee] Al Gore did it four years ago, in a way that didn't seem mean-spirited at all."

Kerry needed to dispel the notion, pushed vigorously by the president and his supporters, that he was a flip-flopper who constantly shifted positions, especially on Iraq. Most of the analysts agreed that Kerry stated his views more succinctly and vehemently than he often has in the past, transcending the flip-flop label despite the president's repeated attempts to pin it on him.

Several analysts said Bush seemed defensive at times. "He's turtling," said Garrison Nelson, professor of political science at the University of Vermont, who was surprised by what he called the consistent toughness of Kerry's statements. "Bush keeps pulling his shoulders up like a turtle," Nelson said. "He is not happy about this. There is no cheery little smile, no little winks. Kerry is coming out a lot harder than Bush anticipated. Bush is still on message, but the body language -- he is really tight, he is pulling his shoulders up, and is in a real defensive posture. He's under attack and he hasn't been under attack and he's not used to this, and he's not handling it well."

•	Political observers say both candidates performed well Boston Globe, Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 Byline: Yvonne Abraham

	Story also ran in 2 others:  Contra Costa Times CA and Helena Independent Record MT