No longer ABB: John Kerry went from being Anybody But Bush to being John Kerry after last night's resounding trouncing of George W. Bush in the presidential debates. While Kerry was thoughtful, nuanced, and compelling, Bush seemed confused, inarticulate, and sometimes petty. While Bush appeared to freeze in front of the camera several times, Kerry was on-point each and every time, offering nuanced, smart, presidential responses. Bush opted for guffaws, eyeball-rolling, and befuddled Alfred E. Neuman impressions. Kudos to Kerry for:

[S]mart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking if 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.

And:

The president moved the troops, so he's got 10 times the number of troops in Iraq than he has in Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden is. Does that mean that Saddam Hussein was 10 times more important than Osama bin Laden -- than, excuse me, Saddam Hussein more important than Osama bin Laden? I don't think so.

I laughed out loud at this exchange. Kerry wondered why the president has done little to secure our ports and transit systems from terrorist attacks, instead opting to send money to add cops and firehouses in Iraq. The president's response was, typically, that he's "working hard" and spending money--he mentions no measure of success on how the money's spent. His response: he's "changing the culture at the FBI," "there's a lot of good people working hard," and he created the Department of Homeland Security. That's it? "Changing the culture" is your solution to quashing extremist terrorism?

Now, as Josh Marshall says, "comes the hard part: winning the spin."

Doesn't measure up: While Bush didn't grow in eloquence during the debates, he seemingly did in height. TalkLeft notes an apparent photoshop job at the Fox News website, where the 5'11" president is shown shaking the hand of his 6'4" opponent--and looking just as tall.

Debunking Bush: TalkLeft also calls W to the mat for misstatements, including the erroneous claim--debunked by CNN--that "75% of known Al Qaida leaders have been apprehended."

Put a leash on 'em: In the debate Bush joked that he'd "like to put them [his daughters] on a leash," to which Andrew Sullivan points out, "No president who has presided over Abu Ghraib should ever say he wants to put anyone on a leash. That's all."