I mean, Spain?! I tried watching the first presidential debate through the eyes of someone who did not make up their mind yet. Obviously, in the end that turned out to be impossible. But I tried watching it objectively. During the debate I kept feeling that Obama was taking too much hits. As always, he was very gracious and friendly, but that approach didn't always work for him in the debates with Hilary. He did get some good jabs in last night, the most memorable for me:

And, John, I -- you're absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say. But, you know, coming from you, who, you know, in the past has threatened extinction for North Korea and, you know, sung songs about bombing Iran, I don't know, you know, how credible that is. I think this is the right strategy.

He even said the other day that he would not meet potentially with the prime minister of Spain, because he -- you know, he wasn't sure whether they were aligned with us. I mean, Spain?! Spain is a NATO ally.

But I was pretty sure media were going to announce McCain the winner. And most did. But the interesting part is that first CNN poll that came out (very quickly after the debate) showed that most viewers gave Obama the victory 51%-38%.

But perhaps as important: Obama won 62%-32% on the question "who is more in touch with the needs and problems of people like you".

CBS also shows Obama as the winner.

So I feel better about his performance now than I did shortly after it. I didn't think he did bad, but I do still believe he had more opportunities to "hurt" McCain. People remember the negatives more than positives. On the other hand, Obama could play it safe, he just had to make sure he could convince the doubters he knows what he's talking about when it comes to foreign policy.

McCain was very aggresive and at times angry and grumpy. Not once did he look Obama in the eyes, as if he was refusing to acknowledge that he shared a stage with him. It may have hurt him more than it helped him. I don't remember one answer that did not mention his opponent. In fact, he may have spend more time attacking Obama than explaining his own position.

From a Dutch perspective

This is not how debates are done in The Netherlands. Debates in the United States seem almost like a boxing match: whoever gets the most punches in wins. Political debates in The Netherlands are (usually) more like a game of chess. The debaters are allowed to take their time, and there's no 2 minute blocks or timers running in the background (I know, maybe the chess analogy wasn't the best, forget the timers ;). The winner is generally the most knowledgable person (or the person who comes off as most knowledgeable). The debates in the United States here are more entertaining to watch but it has more to do with marketing than actually gaining any knowledge. You don't usually learn of new stances or ideas.

That said, I look forward to the vice presidential debate. This should make for some great entertainment! The only trap for Biden is that the bar for Palin is now pretty much on the floor. The only thing she has to do to exceed expectations is show up and make English words come out of her mouth (forget comprehension, people already know that's out of her league) .

We shall see.  ¶ 9/27/2008 11:29:00 AM