At a Midtown hotel, a staff member who is a Palestinian Muslim made the mistake of gloating about Senator Kerry’s debate performance to a co-worker who happens to be a Vietnam-era veteran. He was told in no uncertain terms by the ex-Marine, “There are too many men like me who remember Kerry as a traitor. He may have won the debate but he’ll lose the election.”

I received several invitations to watch the debate at bars, from political social clubs, both Republican and Democratic. I can’t recall anything like this happening in New York City before. Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Rangers – those I could understand, but a political debate? Amazing!

Instead of watching the debate, however, I logged onto Lucianne.com, where bloggers, or Ldotters as they are known here, would post their blow-by-blow reactions to whatever was happening on the TV screen. Since most of the posters are conservative, many expressed extreme anxiety about how President Bush would perform. Mr. Kerry has a reputation as a champion debater while Mr. Bush is known as a mush-mouth.

Soon after the debate, I received an e-mail from an executive at a broadcasting conglomerate. This gentleman has described himself as an unabashed “bleeding heart liberal,” and we enjoy a running debate of our own about current events. He wrote that “my Guy” had been creamed by the Democrat. He also wrote, “It will amaze me till my passing that smart people like yourself can’t see what a complete moron Bush is.”

Actually, it will amaze me till my passing how smart people, like my good friend, can’t recognize when they’ve been bamboozled by the liberal elite in the press and broadcasting. I can understand why this negative characterization of the president is so ingrained in some people’s minds if their only sources of news are the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and the alphabet networks. Their myopia prevents them from understanding why Fox News is enjoying ever increasing ratings and why Air America is flopping. It is not because there are more conservatives patronizing Fox News and talk radio. It’s because there is no longer any balance in the traditional news sources. There is a huge disconnect between mainstream America and mainstream news outlets, which many regard as adjuncts of the DNC.

Here in New York City, conservative Mr. X has come out of his closet on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and suddenly more X’s and Y’s are seeking to do the same. I get their e-mail, too, and their version of the debate is very different. They do not judge on style over substance, and anyone who examines the transcript of the debate closely knows that not only did Mr. Kerry lie, he exposed how very unfit for command he is.

When Jim Lehrer alleged that Mr. Kerry had said that the president had lied to the American public, the senator answered: “Well, I’ve never, ever used the harshest word, as you did just then. And I try not to.” Perhaps this is one of Kerry’s nuanced responses, because within minutes the Republican National Committee and the Drudge Report pulled up quotes from the Democratic primary campaign in which Mr. Kerry did indeed accuse the president of “lying.”

Any undecided voter looking for a Kerry solution to the situation in Iraq came away confused. Aside from convening a summit and passing the “global test” before taking any military action, Mr. Kerry’s Iraq plan is nonexistent.

Why do so many “anybody but Bush” New Yorkers express so much concern about world opinion? I suggest they read John Gibson’s “Hating America” and learn that we haven’t had many friends in the world since we became the sole superpower.

I admit that John Kerry was a smoother debater. George Bush would probably have appeared less frazzled if he had spent the day as Mr. Kerry did, getting a manicure instead of visiting and consoling the Florida hurricane victims.

Perhaps then he might have reminded Mr. Kerry that France and Germany have already stated that they would not help us even if Mr. Kerry won the election. So what phantom world leaders would Mr. Kerry convene to his summit? Fidel Castro? Kim Jong II? Considering how poorly Mr. Kerry regards the sacrifices of the 33 countries that now make up the coalition, which other countries are likely to join the fray? And my friend calls George Bush a moron?

Making up theories on imaginary evidence is certainly not what makes a good president. John Kerry may look the part, but with his tan, high-priced haircut and polished nails, he’s a better candidate to replace Dan Rather.