The first debate is in the books. Thought Barack Obama opened sort of weak but by the end completely owned John McCain. In a nutshell, Obama was big, McCain was small. I watched on CNN and kept an eye on the green Independent voter reaction line. Most of the debate, it was pretty flat for both candidates, but by the last half-hour, the line indicated that independents were enamored with Obama; it rose steadily every time he talked. Conversely, it began dropping every time McCain spoke. So I had backup for my belief that Obama won the debate.
All the talking heads, though, seemed like they'd been watching a different debate -- they acted like it was a draw, with McCain having a strong performance.
Then the instant polls started coming out and both CBS and CNN showed a big win for Obama. So I wasn't crazy after all.
As a preview to the next big debate, I give you Sarah Palin on the bailout during her Katie Couric interview. It's scarier than anything going on in the world economy.
For more horror: