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WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kerry was offered the chance to clearly state his position on a divisive but crucial Democratic issue, and perhaps to squish that wishy-washy tag the Republicans pinned on him months ago. He didn't take it.
President Bush was given the chance to be humble, to look back on the last four tumultuous years and blunt the Democratic charge that he values rigidness over sense, and sticks to his guns regardless if they're shooting in the right direction.
He didn't take it, either.
Facing real questions from real undecided voters at their debate Friday night in St. Louis, Kerry and Bush each missed a key opportunity to settle some of the longstanding concerns many voters have about their leadership styles, providing a murky end to an otherwise vigorous and often combative performance.
Throughout the debate, Kerry was all the things the Bush campaign has said he is not: decisive, clear and forceful. Despite having always been described as somewhat aloof and patriarchal, he seemed to connect with the audience just as well as Bush.
Then came a question, the next-to-the-last one, from a young blond woman in the front row: Would you allow federal money to be used for abortions? It is forbidden now.
His answer was harder to follow than a rabbit down a hole. He jumped from respect to religion to international family planning aid to, eventually, yes, he would support it, so poor women could have access to abortion, too.
Bush jumped right on it - not the final answer, which was no surprise, but the circuitous route Kerry took to get there.
The president flashed a bewildered look as he got up from his stool, then shot the audience a little grin as he moseyed up.
"Tryin' to decipher that," he said. "My answer is we're not going to spend taxpayers money on abortion."
But the president's turn would come. The next question, the final question, came from a middle-aged woman with silver hair and a red sweater who stood and said she wanted the president to name three mistakes he had made, and what he had done to correct them.
The president sounded like one of those job applicants who says his biggest flaw is working too much. He turned the question into a defense of his tax cuts; of the decision to invade Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which Kerry never questioned; and his decision to invade Iraq.
"Now, you asked what mistakes. I made some mistakes in appointing people, but I'm not going to name them," Bush said. "I don't want to hurt their feelings on national TV."
This week, the government's own weapons inspector issued a wide-ranging report that said while Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may have wanted to obtain weapons of mass destruction, the administration's insistence that Hussein had such weapons was wrong on virtually every count.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi officials in Iraq worry the nation is teetering on civil war.
Kerry jumped on that.
"I believe the president made a huge mistake, a catastrophic mistake, not to live up to his own standard, which was, build a true global coalition, give the inspectors time to finish their job, and go through the U.N. process ... and go to war as a last resort," he said, reiterating an argument he made throughout both debates.
At their first debate, on Sept. 30 in Miami, Bush seemed impatient, flustered, and at times unprepared. The president's uneven performance in the first debate was blamed for cutting his lead in the polls.
Mark Rozell, a political science professor at George Mason University in suburban Washington, said that this time the president seemed more at ease, better prepared, and more confident. Kerry was equally prepared, and again demonstrated his command of facts and issues, ranging from foreign policy to the deficit to education funding.
"I don't think either candidate came out noticeably ahead, but the difference for Bush was just significant enough that it's going to give a boost to his campaign and his people for sure," Rozell said.