From Holden:
The gaggle is up early today, children.
To get us started, would you like to see a fat man spin?
MR. McCLELLAN: The President felt great, because it was an opportunity for the American people to see the fundamental differences in this race. I think the American people saw in the President someone who spoke clearly about what he believes and where he wants to lead the country, and they saw someone who was speaking from the heart. He spoke passionately about his strong convictions and his firm commitment to completing the mission and prevailing in the war on terrorism.
Next, we want to know why the preznit acts like a petulant child:
Q Scott, there are some people saying that he seemed annoyed or exasperated or disgusted at times. Did he say last night, talking about it, that he felt annoyed, exasperated, disgusted by the things Kerry said?
MR. McCLELLAN: Look, I’ve known the President a long time, and I think last night you saw a President who speaks with clarity and strength and shows resolve. And I think that the real issue that came out of the debates last night was the clear differences on how we lead in the war on terrorism. And also, Senator Kerry really needed to show — really needed to explain his contradictions and inconsistencies on Iraq. Not only did he fail to do that, he made matters worse when he talked about Iraq, and continued to show more — it’s part of a pattern with Senator Kerry. He continued to show more contradictions and inconsistencies.
But I think — the campaign is going to be on the ground. You’ll have campaign officials that will be there to talk to you more about those issues.
Q I’m not asking what he showed, I’m just asking, did he tell you or anyone that he felt annoyed or exasperated while he was up there?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, actually the President, last night and this morning, felt great about the debate, I think, like I said, for the reasons that I stated.
Considering that he proved that he was unfit for the job last night, will the preznit wuss out as he has in the past?
Q Is there any consideration being given to not participating in any of the other two debates?
MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, no, I haven’t heard anything like that. Again, those are good questions for the campaign. But I haven’t heard anything like that. The President looks forward to the remaining debates.
Finally, Little Scottie demonstrates that he is unable to comprehend the fact that a word can have more than one meaning:
MR. McCLELLAN: And I think it shows that — a very disturbing sense from Senator Kerry, when — I think it shows something that is very disturbing, when Senator Kerry talks about meeting a global test to base his decision on defending America.
Q What is a global test? Do you know what that means?
MR. McCLELLAN: I think Senator Kerry was talking about how he would leave decisions like this to other countries. And the President has talked about the importance of building strong coalitions, and we have built strong coalitions to confront the threats we face in the world. But he also recognizes that — he’s not going to let some other country veto a decision when it comes to protecting the American people. He’ll talk a little bit more about this in his remarks. I don’t want to get too far into it yet.