George Bush exaggerated; John Kerry overstated; Fox News just made stuff up.

Not a bad start to the presidential debate season, right?

Last Thursday night, for 90 minutes, there were no Swift Boat Veterans and no MoveOn.org commercials. With Americans finally freed from the tireless propaganda machines of both parties, polls show that a surprising majority thinks John Kerry handily won the first debate.

So what hurt Bush?

Part of it, no doubt, was his demeanor. Bush acted like the 2004 edition of Al Gore, frequently scowling and acting irritated. You have to work awfully hard to make a face that looks weirder than the one John Kerry was born with, but Bush repeatedly succeeded. Republicans tried to spin it as part of the president’s honesty, but more Americans seem to think it was just childish.

But it wasn’t just style that hurt Bush. His biggest problem was substance – several statements, if they don’t call into question the honesty that many people see in him, at least question his grasp of current events.

In one instance, he misquoted Kerry, claiming Kerry had promised to get our troops out of Iraq in six months. Kerry actually told NPR News that he would “significantly reduce” our troop levels in that time, not eliminate them.

Kerry, too, made several misstatements – for example, his misleading claim that the United States had once had Osama bin Laden surrounded in the mountains of Tora Bora and let him get away by using foreign troops. The military agrees that bin Laden was probably there, but saying he was surrounded may overstate things.

But Bush’s mistakes seemed more serious. His biggest gaffe came when asked about pre-emptive war. Referring to Iraq, Bush told the moderator, “The enemy attacked us, Jim.” In Kerry’s response, he rightly pointed out, “Saddam Hussein didn’t attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al-Qaeda attacked us.” Bush quickly corrected himself, snapping, “Of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that.”

Both candidates tinkered with numbers. Kerry said we’d allocated $200 billion for Iraq; the actual number (so far) is $120 billion. Bush claimed that 10 million were registered to vote in Afghanistan, but an independent report states that number is exaggerated because of “widespread multiple registration of voters.” Bush’s claim that he’d increased spending on curbing nuclear proliferation by about 35 percent was also untrue; his first budget actually proposed a cut of 13 percent, according to the Washington Post.

Even a news organization got into the spirit of deceit – the “fair and balanced” Fox News recently posted on its Web site a debate story that was fabricated by its chief political correspondent. It was derisive of John Kerry, falsely attributing several quotations to him. Although Fox News quickly retracted the article, calling it an inside joke that was “accidentally” posted, it sure didn’t make things easier on voters who trust news organizations to provide, well, the news.

One simple way to sort debate facts and fictions (beside avoiding Fox News) is to turn to politically independent sites on the Internet. There are several excellent, non-partisan fact-checking Web sites; www.factcheck.org is one of the best.

With another debate Friday, politicians and spinsters will be pressing hard for their own candidates. Sifting through the exaggerations and mistruths afterward is a vital, though difficult, part of understanding the facts – and the honesty of each candidate.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.