A CIVIL DISCOURSE

Masterfully conducted, we finally got what the American people (at least the undecideds) needed, a true debate. Not some cheesy town hall meeting, a real back and forth conversation about the issues at hand, however somewhat myopic in its emphasis on foreign affairs. The candidates were respectful, AND THEY BOTH SHOWED UP.

For someone who tried to weasel out of it, I thought McCain held his own. He bobbed and weaved with a deft touch. He managed to avoid getting cornered on some of his miss-statements, especially when leveling a charge upon Obama, when he accurately stated that Obama is the ranking member of a sub-committee overseeing NATO, a sub-committee that has not convened at all.

Trouble is, the truth is the full committee (chaired by Joe Biden) has held numerous sessions in regards to Afghanistan, which is where the real legwork is done. The real trouble is, John McCain is the ranking member of a committee that oversees most of military operations, for which he never shown up since announcing his candidacy for the Presidency.

Minor point? Maybe, but that is the game he is playing. A quasi mix of truth, half-truths and subterfuge meant to deceive the uneducated amongst the voting ranks.

SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES: I will graciously give it a tie. All depends which philosophy you happen to prescribe to.

STYLE POINTS / APPEARING PRESIDENTIAL: Slam dunk for Obama From not interrupting while his opponent spoke, to walking the entire length of the stage to shake hands with Mrs. McCain, to being the least flustered, to having all of the facts at his fingertips, Obama was a work of art. He appeared to be the most knowledgeable, and most confident. He graciously pointed out a few times when he thought McCain was correct (8 times according to Guiliani), while McCain desperately tried to create the illusion that Obama was somehow less intelligent, or did not understand entire concepts, which obviously was not true, given the ease with which Obama tackled each subject with McCain.

SPECIAL "WILLING TO ANSWER EACH QUESTION" AWARD: Obama, who answered the questions at face value, instead of doing a 180 and answering a question that was unasked like Senator McCain seemed to do with regularity. Clearly, for any question asked, to paraphrase Joe Biden, McCain said three things...a noun, a verb, and General Patreius.

Round one (of four) goes to Obama,

which is an upset considering McCain professes to have foreign affairs as his sole strong suit.