The smoke has cleared and the candidates were fact checked. Conclusion: Both are full of it. Additionally, Kerry got a bump. As the Commissar said, Kerry on points, but he needed a knockout.

I’d call it for Kerry based on perception and demeanor. Kerry was confident, direct, and assertive. He had his game face on. Bush seemed annoyed and taken aback a few times. Bush hammered his message that Kerry was inconsistent. Kerry hammered his message that Bush had messed up.

I should point out that calling it for Kerry is based entirely on demeanor and that, as someone who has followed the campaign, Kerry was unconvincing. If this was the only exposure I had to the two of them, Kerry won.

I wonder if Bush is using a Jedi mind trick. I recall the first debate with Gore. Gore took the lead and made his case. Heck, I was convinced Gore won that one. However, the media later reported that Gore was really full of it and most of the things he said weren’t really true. Is Bush doing it again? Letting Kerry appear to have won while the fact checkers do their work? We’ll see.

Foreign policy is the issue that Bush should have had handily. He didn’t run with it. It will cost him some votes.

Chuck Schumer has promised that Congress will take the issue up again during its next session:

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said he hasn’t given up trying to renew the ban, which fell by the wayside two weeks ago.

“Not continuing the ban on assault weapons is one of the great disgraces this year,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, promising that members of Congress will take up the cause during its next session.

A story in yesterday’s Daily News showed how the once-banned weapons can pierce through concrete and even some bulletproof vests.

And some law enforcement officials fear the powerful guns, once used to guard drug dens during the height of the crack epidemic, could make their way back into New York City.

“The Daily News talked about people having AR-15s,” Schumer said. “Nobody needs an AR-15. These were designed as weapons of war. … They should be abolished.”

What’s need got to do with it, Chucky? I’m guessing the push will come after the election. Also, Mayor Bloomberg is taking Bush to task over the issue.

The media portrayal of the assault weapons ban is discussed by Laurence Elder:

Can Americans now purchase assault weapons?

If you listen to some pols and mainstream media, you probably cannot answer that question.

In 1994, Congress passed and President Clinton signed a 10-year ban on so-called “assault weapons.” In reality, the bill outlawed certain semiautomatic weapons with cosmetic features that made them look, well, military.

He also addresses the media portrayal of these weapon as machine guns.

The AP did it. So, again, these are the two best candidates this country can produce?