I have just finished watching the third presidential debate.  The recent messages posted on JoeUser are awarding the third debate to Bush.  (The declaration of victory may be a bit tepid, but it is there.)

I don't know... if you are a conservative idealogue, Bush probably hit all of your bullet points.  He also didn't embarass himself.  I suppose that's good news.

He didn't pull off a stunningly good debate ala Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton.  He did okay.

Kerry did the same as usual (per my opinion.)  He wasn't fantastic, but he continued to try to establish the voting public's faith.  I doubt that this debate caused him to lose any supporters that he had gained over the first two debates. 

At best (for Bush) I would call this last debate a "wash."

(I am not even going to touch that (property tax-funded) boon for the national test-making companies referred to as "No Child Left Behind."  For the sake of a veneer of impartiality: any analysis I attribute to the Bush effort will not cover that, as it has the possibility of eliminating or limiting my career choices.)