These threads move too fast for me, but FWIW, here are my relatively insignificant contributions to this thread...
Who do I think won? Obama, but not by a landslide. I think that overall, he carried himself in a much more dignified and respectful manner, sitting down and listening to McCain speak, and not wandering around aimlessly in the background, or trying to distract the audience by trying to share the stage while Obama was speaking. My wife and I were sitting there almost yelling at the TV wishing he would just sit down and not wander like he was going completely senile. I think at one point, McCain's wife probably motioned to him to sit the F down, since it looked like he was responding to someone off-camera (where he then went back to his chair to sit). It showed a tremendous amount of disrespect, not that Obama didn't have his moments where he cut Brokaw off a few times to keep talking. Brokaw was a pushover and should have put his foot down. I hate seeing them ignored, especially when most of the points and counterpoints being made are just speaking points and spin we've been hearing for months now, and particularly in the last few weeks.
It was almost impossible to focus on what McCain was saying since he kept saying "My friends" over and over and over. I almost wish I were playing the debate drinking game. On the "My friends" alone, I would've been fit-shaced within the first half-hour. Obama's stuttering is annoying, but I think he knows it and tried to keep it more contained.
The big thing for me, though: Obama connected with most of the audience. McCain? It was like there was a brick wall there. Zero response. The handshake in the latter part of the debate? Completely contrived, and I'm glad Obama didn't walk up and shake that man's hand. That would've been an instant facepalm. McCain tried to make feeble jokes, which just resulted in the sound of crickets.
Although he kept his cool at the beginning, McCain got angrier and angrier, repeating himself over and over, to the point where I was almost completely tuning out. Not much better on the Obama side, since he pretty much stuck to his standard talking points, so in terms of any good zingers or new information, there wasn't much. I'm pretty sick of hearing the same things from both candidates, but I think Obama retreads this stuff more enthusiastically, successfully and with a passion that is lost in McCain's delivery. McCain tries, but it just comes off as a rehearsed stageshow. I couldn't stand when he'd go into podium stump mode at the end of a question, go completely off-topic, deliver his message as if he were standing in front of a Republican rally, and then flash that horrible grin.
What cemented it for Obama, though, was his closing piece. It was positive, connected, and left you with a real sense that he's the right choice for President.
