Bush/Kerry Debate

Here at The Smoke Filled Room, we endeavor to bring you the story behind the story. Debate coverage thus far has centered around mundane predictions (i.e., "Bush will win on likability, but Kerry will win on points).

What about this?

"It turns out that Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry, two years apart in New Haven, shared
the same oratory teacher and debate coach, Rollin G. Osterweis."

"Ms. Hughes writes that she was once so frustrated that she asked Mr. Bush how a
speech should be written. He scrawled out for her, she recounts, that it should
have "an introduction, three major points, then a peroration - a call to arms,
tugs on the heartstrings," then a conclusion, which "is different from a
peroration." When Ms. Hughes asked how he knew all that, Mr. Bush replied, "The
History of American Oratory, at Yale."

Today's story in the New York Times is a gem. You can read it here (free registration required).