He dismissed polls showing that Kerry won the debate, saying, "Well, the voters will decide." He added, "There's only one opinion that matters, and that's the opinion of the American people on November the 2nd."
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was traveling with Bush to Las Vegas, said, "On substance, the president won, and that's what the people think about when they go into the ballot booth."
According to several snap polls after the debate, Kerry won handily, giving him a clean sweep of the three debates. A CBS News poll of undecided voters showed Kerry winning the debate by 39 percent to 25 percent, but 36 percent believed it was a tie. A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll gave it to Kerry by 52 percent to 39 percent. Kerry also came out ahead in a Democracy Corps poll, 41 percent to 36 percent.
The day's campaign appearances came amid efforts by both sides to spin the results of last night's debate in Tempe, Ariz., and knock down the opponent's statements.
On morning news programs, Democrats defended Kerry from a complaint by Lynne Cheney, the wife of Vice President Cheney, that Kerry had taken a cheap political shot by invoking the Cheneys' lesbian daughter in comments about gay rights.
Republicans were put on the defensive by Bush's erroneous claim in the debate that he had never said he was not worried about Osama bin Laden.
Kerry and Bush had been asked at the debate by moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News whether they believed homosexuality was "a choice." Bush answered, "I just don't know." Kerry responded, "We're all God's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was, she's being who she was born as. I think if you talk to anybody, it's not choice." He was referring to Mary Cheney, an aide in her father's campaign who has been open about being a lesbian.
Lynne Cheney said last night in Pennsylvania that Kerry "is not a good man." Saying she was speaking as "a pretty indignant mom," she said without elaborating, "what a cheap and tawdry political trick."
A Kerry spokeswoman, Debra DeShong, said on CNN this morning that Vice President Cheney himself had talked about his daughter's sexual orientation on the campaign trail and that Kerry last night was merely "telling the American people that gay Americans are part of our lives, part of our families and they should be respected."
In a brief statement issued later by his campaign, Kerry said, "I love my daughters. They love their daughter. I was trying to say something positive about the way strong families deal with this issue."
In an interview with ABC Radio, Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, said Lynne Cheney had "overreacted" to Kerry's debate remarks and "treated it as if it's shameful to have this discussion."
Elizabeth Edwards added: "I think that it indicates a certain degree of shame with respect to her daughter's sexual preferences. . . . It makes me really sad that that's Lynne's response."
At a rally today in Fort Myers, Fla., Vice President Cheney stepped into the fray, calling himself an "angry father" and citizen as he launched a post-debate push toward Nov. 2 with a fierce attack on Kerry's character, Washington Post staff writer Michael Laris reported.
Following the lead of his wife, Cheney delivered a sharp rebuke over Kerry's reference to his daughter. "You saw a man who will say and do anything to get elected. And I'm not speaking just as a father here, though I am a pretty angry father, but as a citizen," Cheney said.
