Cutting through the spin

For 83-year-old Dorothy Van Asdale, of Yuma, Ariz., the debates offered a firsthand look at a Democratic candidate she knew about mostly through the narrative of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh.

"I listen to Rush Limbaugh when I'm in my car," she said. "We can only get one radio station really clear around here. It's so negative. I never heard a good thing about Kerry."

But when she tuned in to the presidential debates, she "liked Kerry's presence. I liked the way he spoke."

A CBS News poll of 211 persuadable voters after the debates found many liked what they heard from the Democrat. Asked who won the debate, 39 percent of the persuadable voters said Kerry, 25 percent said Bush and 36 percent said they tied. The number of voters who thought Kerry has clear positions on the issues, doubled after the debate to six in 10. Women were more likely than men in the CBS News poll to give Kerry high marks. The CBS poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 7 percentage points.