Over the next several days, I believe that the theme of "Bush as petulant, imperious and incompetent" will be most widely advanced and perpetuated--not by conventional media outlets--but by tonight's inevitable Saturday Night Live parody and Tueday's release of Fahrenheit 9/11 on DVD/VHS.
After all, in 2000, Gore was generally perceived as having won the first debate, until Darrell Hammond skewered him with his unforgettable (and unfortunately `dead-on') eye-rolling, huffing, puffing, orange-tinged portrayal. If the SNL portrays Bush, as negatively as I suspect they will, this will have a much greater impact on the minds of voters than would running a story on the front page of USA Today or the WSJ, especially with regards to younger voters. According to a January 2004 Pew Research Center Report, "Comedy programs are increasingly becoming regular sources of news for younger Americans, and are beginning to rival mainstream news outlets within this generation. Today, 21% of people under age 30 say they regularly learn about the campaign and the candidates from comedy shows like Saturday Night Live and the Daily Show, twice as many as said this four years ago (9%). "
Additionally, the wide release of Farenheit 9/11 will also serve to further cement negative post-debate impressions--especially with "on the fence" swing voters who may now have some doubts about Bush. Ironically, while the major networks have refused to let Sony run F 9/11 ads during their news programming according to LA Weekly*, Bush's unbecoming behavior in front of an audience of 62.5 million people may have done more to boost sales for the movie than any mere ad could have possible done.
*See (www.laweekly.com/ink/04/45/deadline-finke.php for full story)