Presidential Debate

My initial impression of the 97-minute debate I just watched was that Obama's answers were slightly more coherent and reasonable than McCain's. McCain relied on emotional appeals -- pulling out a wristband given to him by the mother of a soldier, referring to veterans as if they were personal chums, referring to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan in contexts just barely related to the topic of the questions posed to him. He also distorted his opponent's record, but they both did that a little bit. Obama tried to commit himself to the middle class more firmly than McCain, and his answers revolved around that commitment. McCain set the topic of discussion around cutting government spending in the early going, but Obama did seize some ground back in the foreign policy arena. McCain tried to hammer home the "without preconditions" remark that Obama made in another debate regarding meeting with leaders of Iran, but I think Obama's explanations made sense and, to people who were really listening, made the case for engagement with Iran that needs to be made. The trouble is, who was listening, and what effect will it have? I think it's a toss-up. The media may scrutinize the debate for its effects, but both would-be leaders of the U.S. made strong cases for their candidacy.