Very well. He started off slow but quickly was driving in the base hits left and right. The foreign policy portion was quite weak for Obama who came off as memorized and coached, like he was regurgitating lines from his 300 policy advisors. There is a Kerryesque element to Obama’s debate style - he’s kind of boring actually. McCain was quite dynamic. Obama looked downright foolish on the surge, on Iran, on talking without preconditions, at one point trying to spin Henry Kissinger’s words repeatedly to his own silliness.
I just watched the debate.
Statement most often said by McCain: “Senator Obama doesn’t understand.”
Statement most often said by Obama: “John is right about that.”
Obama did better than I expected and was clearly focused on not saying ‘ah, uh.’ I expected John to handle himself well because he has had years of speaking without a script. No doubt, McCain detailed knowledge of the various areas of the world and their leaders showed that he had a comfort level based on his experience. Obama spoke more vaguely, and could not speak with personal experience on international matters because he has almost none. Overall, Johnny demonstrated his superiority on the issue of foreign affairs.
Obama made the mistake of somehow suggesting he would be more concerned about veterans than John. Why go there? You could tell it was personal when John said he “loved” the veterans. You know he does.