[r9etb]

That gives him an advantage on "style," but that said I thought he came across as very pedantic for most of the debate, and argumentative on the few occasions when he tried to show fire.

I agree with you, FRiend -- pretty much with everything you said, but I part ways with you here. The question is not what you or I thought. It's the folks who aren't already decided: what will they have thought? IMO, they'll think Obama sounded better ... and that's it. His pedantry will be given a pass or -- even worse -- be mistaken for knowledge and substance.

I'd love to be wrong about that....

[over3Owithabrain]

You’re confusing me - on one hand you say YOU thought Obama did better, now you say you don’t think that but you assume the average voter will. Bottom line is we don’t know yet what the overall reaction will be. I think Mccan won and i think it will help him a bit in polling but not ‘til after the usual Dem-weekend.

[FredZarguna]

You might be right. I've said numerous times that this election is going to be decided by people with roughly the IQ of a sink drain; it's disheartening but true. Small things like vocal tenor or appearance will sway them.

DO keep in mind though, that many of those folks dozed off intermittently or watched baseball, and will be tuning in to the 11:00 news for "highlights". They will also be affected by the way debate material is recast in political ads. I think McCain actually has a few things he can use for ad material from this evening's festivities, and I'm not sure there was much grist for 0's mill.

I really felt Bush lost all three debates with Kerry on presentation alone. It didn't matter.

[Yaelle]

His pedantry will be given a pass or -- even worse -- be mistaken for knowledge and substance.

Bingo. We need to get McCain a rest, some free time, and an agenda for his next debate. The agenda needs to be DEFINE OBAMA.