...or are TV debates just as boring as hell?

I'm stumped! I couldn't tell you who won the debate last night and I have a dog in the fight. It would be swell to write multiple paragraphs that proudly proclaimed Barak Obama the winner, having trounced the geezer McCain. Alas, it is not to be! Both men acquitted themselves admirably. Like the first round of a heavyweight fight, the contestants danced around for ninety minutes looking for openings. Nothing developed. The overriding objective appeared to be not to make a mistake. Given McCain's record as a public speaker, it was nothing short of amazing that he didn't fall over the ropes at least once. There were no watch-checking, rape-baiting moments. McCain is no Ronald Reagan but Obama is no Fritz Mondale.

Senator McCain did learn at least one lesson from the stylings of the Great Communicator. Much as Mr. Reagan loved to repeat phrases such as "Well..." and "there you go again",McCain continued to extol, "what Senator Obama fails to understand is..." I guess that's effective although what Senator McCain fails to understand is the phrase needs to be followed by some fact or even a coherent thought. Continually regurgitating your stump speech talking points doesn't make you look like a leader. It looks like you are phoning it in. That stuff is OK for Sarah, because she is an empty dress, but McCain needs to be more expansive. After all, the race is close but he's still behind. If the debates against Obama result in a draw, McCain loses. At least no bones were broken.

I'm not exactly sure what the American people expect to see at these debates. NASCAR fans are looking for a car wreck. People with medical bills and no healthcare are looking for some indication that their issues will be addressed (point to Obama). The rest of us are just rooting for our guy and hoping that the opposition gets a pie in the kisser. If we feel the need to take something away from the debate (aside from the sadness of missing the usual smorgasbord of network reality shows), consider that Barak Obama has acquitted himself as polished, professional, sincere, knowledgeable and he has a way better smile. Face it, McCain really is more of the same. Maybe there was a winner after all.