Sensational! After months and months of garbage, of child like name calling, of lies and half truths, of immature discussion, of bias and spin – the American elections finally seem to have taken a turn for the better. Last night, President Bush and John Kerry squared off for the first of three debates at the University of Miami Convocation Centre.

The importance of the debate was not lost on anyone. Firstly, it was a make or break night for Kerry who had sagged in the polls ever since the end of the Republican Convention about a month ago. Second, it was a chance for the real John Kerry to show up face to face with the American people without the media bias, without the spin and minus the snide commentaries. Even more importantly to some, this debate offered the first chance in four years for someone to bump heads with George W., to look him in the eye and hold him to account for his many questionable policies.

Most people outside America and many in the States have been extremely irritated and anxious as to the direction American politics seemed to be heading. Many were appalled that a couple of billion dollars has been spent so far by each campaign, mainly to finance negative agendas. Even more were bewildered with the lack of educated and meaningful discussion on the future of the United States and ultimately the rest of the World. Till last night, their hearts had been broken with the perceived conception that John Kerry had been an ultimate failure to articulate the very strong arguments against Bush’s policy. The debate offered perhaps the last hope of a resurgence of the John Kerry that so convincingly won the primaries in early spring.

As the countdown to the debate began, the tension in the auditorium could be cut with a knife, each side concerned that a fatal mistake could easily swing the tide the other way and ultimately cost them heavily in the polls. Many expected a cautious debate, but as the candidates walked on stage and the battle began those fears were shelved. For the first time in a long time, American politics at its best was on display.

The first question was directed at Senator Kerry, "Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?" Kerry answered confidently with a, "Yes, I do." But his opening statements were far from convincing and there was a hint of nervousness as he hesitated as to how best to respond to the question while trying to set the tone for the rest of the evening. His two-minute tirade lambasted Bush for his inapt policies, his weak alliances, his arrogance and failure to face reality. However, his own solutions lacked strength and conviction. Contrast this to President Bush’s opening, he used his position as the incumbent to full advantage, looking both relaxed and presidential. George W. summarised his Presidency and foreign policy in few but adequate words. He highlighted that seventy-five percent of Al Qaeda had been killed, the nuclear network of A.Q. Khan had been dismantled and Iraq and Afghanistan were in transition to democracy.

But for once first impressions seemed to be deceiving, indeed as the debate wore on Senator Kerry seemed to gain ground and increase in confidence. Finally, John Kerry seemed to be able to articulate the strong arguments against the war in Iraq. At one point lambasting Bush’s claim that Iraq is the central front on the war on terror by stating that, "Iraq was not even close to the centre of the war on terror before the president invaded it." He claimed that the inspections were working, "we had Saddam trapped," and that the President had forsaken the promise to the American people to only use military force as a "last resort." Using his military experience to his advantage, he claimed that "Those words mean something to me, as somebody who has been in combat."

Bill Clinton in his autobiography admitted that the incumbent President Bush was probably the most talented politician of the Bush clan – something many people don’t give him credit for. Initially, he proved again what a skilful communicator he is. Though he will not be remembered for his articulate speeches, he more than makes up for it using his charm, compassionate tone of voice and steady resolve in the face of criticism. His simple language and positive outlook are effective in touching the hearts of the average American who usually is not very politically adept. But tonight, using effective arguments, John Kerry demonstrated that there is more to politics and governing the world’s lone superpower than Bush’s simple rhetoric. John Kerry hammered the point that the President comes across as misleading, stubborn and out of touch with reality.

But John Kerry had to dodge some bullets too: firstly he had to make the case against the flip flop label, which has effectively ruined his campaign for the Presidency. Tonight he waited for the inconsistency jibe and each time responded by making the case for his position. When President Bush criticised Kerry by saying, "what my opponent wants you to forget is that he voted to authorise the use of force and now says it’s the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place," Kerry calmly replied, "We have to succeed. We can’t leave a failed Iraq. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a mistake of judgement to go there and take the focus off of Osama bin Laden. It was."

His arguments tonight proved that Kerry could get the best of both worlds, he constantly criticised the President’s decision to invade and at the same time insisted that it was important to "get the job done," but that there was a right way and a wrong way. The democratic candidate, in probably the debate’s most clever moment, used Bush’s own words to prove that the President had taken his ‘eye of the ball.’ When asked whether he would ever consider a pre-emptive war again, Bush replied, "the enemy attacked us, and I have a solemn duty to protect the American people, to do everything I can to protect us." John Kerry quickly jumped on that, "the president just said something extraordinarily revealing and frankly very important in this debate. In answer to your question about Iraq and sending people into Iraq, he just said, "The enemy attacked us. Saddam Hussein didn’t attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us."

All those years in debate clubs and as Senator finally paid off for Kerry tonight. He side-stepped the regular Bush bullet (if you criticise the war, you’re criticising our troops) by replying, "Secretary of State Colin Powell told this president the Pottery Barn rule: If you break it, you fix it. Now, if you break it, you made a mistake. It’s the wrong thing to do. But you own it. And then you’ve got to fix it and do something with it. Now that’s what we have to do. There’s no inconsistency."

With another significant and insightful statement, Kerry probably won many friends across the globe. He condemned Bush’s walking out of many treaties and argued, "You talk about mixed messages. We’re telling other people, "You can’t have nuclear weapons," but we’re pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using. Not this president (pointing to himself). I’m going to shut that program down, and we’re going to make it clear to the world we’re serious about containing nuclear proliferation."

History will reveal the true significance of this debate. An impromptu poll conducted by CNN soon after the end of the ‘battle’ concluded that 53% of undecided voters felt that Kerry had won the debate compared to 37% for Bush. A CBS poll declared Kerry the winner by 44% - 26%, 20% feeling it was a tie. But expect the Republicans to come out swinging in the coming days. The debate tonight has convinced many that Kerry is more capable than we were perhaps led to believe and has rejuvenated his campaign. The election is now in the hands of the American people. As for the people around the world, the majority would prefer a Kerry presidency, but probably for more sound reasons after this debate. In the past, little was known about the Democratic candidate except that his name was not ‘Bush’ and he was a ‘flip-flop.’ Now some fears have been tossed aside, Kerry seems to be practical and insightful in his arguments, and his ideology speaks of a united world working together to defeat the menace of terrorism. The world now holds its breath and waits in hope for a better future for all.