WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- After weeks of rehearsals, President George Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry square off in Miami Thursday in the first presidential debate.
The first of three 90-minute debates will focus on foreign policy and homeland security on the University of Miami campus.
However, the New York Times says on foreign policy, the pair "differ only slightly, if at all."
The war in Iraq will figure prominently, with Bush repeating his campaign declaration it was central to combat terrorism, and the Massachusetts senator calling it a diversion. However, neither is calling for an immediate troop withdrawal, and both advocate accelerating the training of Iraqi forces.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, said many of the assertions each will make may have the ring of truth, but on close examination, many of their pronouncements turn out to be exaggerated, lacking in context or wrong.
By way of example, the Post noted on job statistics, Bush cites only the jobs created in the past year -- ignoring the overall job loss in his term -- while Kerry makes the job loss seem larger by focusing on just one segment of the economy.
