CNN has a transcript of the debate but it wasn’t complete yet. However, this one by NPR seems to be complete. NPR Transcript of Presidential Debate
One of the questions asked of W was What criteria would you use to determine when to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq? His answer is interesting because it sets out specific goals that need to be met before we can pull troops out. What I find even more interesting is whether the same measure of success and completion applies in Afghanistan.
If I were Sen. Kerry I would have responded with “It’s good to hear that the President has goals, but I don’t believe he has a plan to achieve them, at least he hasn’t shown one. But, I find myself wondering what was different about Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden was; we left that country before the job was done.”