John Kerry speaks with the daughter of Dean Halsey.I stop by Trader Joe’s this evening to get strawberries and whipping cream in honor of Juliet’s birthday. Then I listen to most of the debate as I run a few errands. In doing so I miss the Medicare exchange. That’s a relief, though on the whole, John Kerry does rather well tonight against Dubya.

John Kerry attacked by shovel-wielding colleague.Don’t get me wrong. Dubya comes out fighting and he makes a stronger stand than he did in the last debate. The town meeting format works against the good Senator. Georgie seems to work well with an audience and he has a good feel for the stage. He isn’t as flat-out pathetic as he was during the last debate. But though Kerry seems to have worked himself into a stupid corner on a few issues, he makes some seriously good points (in response to the stem cell question, for example, he responds that he doesn’t want to legislate anything based on one or another party’s religious beliefs. Good answer.)

Kerry decapitated by shovel.Speaking with BoBickerstaff and DipperMouth at Jones tonight, I’m happy to hear that they feel Kerry came out stronger after this debate. Public opinion seems to be divided along party lines.

Having been reanimated by his colleague, Kerry explains his fiscal policy.Alright, alright. You’ve probably guessed that these photos are not from the presidential debate (especially those of you who watched it rather than simply listened to it, like I did.) These are, of course, images from the film Re-Animator. The actor is David Gale, now deceased (though of complications from heart surgery, not a shovel through the neck.) He’s splendid in that film as the calculating and ambitious Dr. Carl Hill, but damned if I didn’t favor the pre-primal scream Howard Dean over Kerry simply because Kerry made me think of that headless body shambling about with Dr. Hill’s head in his hands, liberally smearing blood and goo over Barbara Crampton’s naked body.

Issues, Will! Issues! Not slime.