The Final Debate

Looking at the polls, what pundits saw and the public heard are obviously two different things. Thank goodness. George Will's Ali rope-a-dope analogy was spot on...I think McCain wasted a lot of time throwing punches, but landing only a scant amount (his "I'm not Bush" retort was admittedly a strong one, but he needed more than a strong jab tonight), while Obama leaned back waiting for McCain to lose steam from all the huffing and puffing of being so angry. Did anyone else notice he mentioned "angry" quite a few times early on then went onto embody that anger himself? I thought he was going to pop a vein at certain points in the debate from frustration and anger.

Bob Schieffer was the best moderator of the bunch, keeping the questions and retorts within reasonable (and manageable) lengths between the two. I wish he had been given a long stick to slap the candidates hands the second they went over their allotted time.

The Ayers discussion diffused as quickly as McCain tried to force the issue.

I'm admittedly biased, but I appreciated Obama's abortion explanation. Especially considering Sarah Palin's daughter's situation and the whole morality police of the right wing-religious agenda.

Pundits were enjoying the Joe Plumber angle, but I genuinely don't think people necessarily care about the small businessman (for better or for worse); they wanted to hear about people like the majority of the population who work for someone else...not someone in the position to expand. That's just the truth of the matter, since in dire times, we're apt to look out for ourselves. And in this sense, this worked in Obama's favor in the same way an attack on America would most likely benefit McCain.

I found it puzzling McCain called for increasing taxes for no one, but went off about several large scale plans of reform that would obviously require additional funds (yes, it will take more money to research autism, even though Sarah Palin's child has Down's Syndrome, Senator).

The whole evening I wondered why McCain had not spent the minimal amount of effort to whiten his teeth just a couple shades back from toilet bowl stain yellow. Because if you're going to force a smile that often on camera, at least make it a radiant, tan-inducing affair like Romney's pearly whites. The camera was a bit cruel to McCain with the side by side format; he looked like a dried out marshmallow to Obama's smooth milk chocolatey goodness. The future and the past never looked so obvious.