Why the president didn't want to do the town hall meeting

I'll let Louren dig into this. I admit, Kerry seemed to fight cleaner this time (he must have read my blog) and Bush seemed to be petulent and unhinged. I'm sure that it comes as no surprise to anyone that politics is a game for keeps and that feelings run hot. Still, Bush's animosity toward Kerry was so apparent that at one point he called him Kennedy (that's the GOP equivalent of calling someone Satan)

Once again, I doubt it matters. The President showed what a class act he was in the first campaign calling some reporter a "major league a**hole" and people ate it up.

In scanning some of the newsfeeds, the pundits are even saying that appearing in front a room full of ordinary Americans and totally losing your cool is somehow better than his peformance. Incredible.