Manner

I realize that I had a hope in my heart that Obama would totally level McCain last night - zingers, embarrassing him, forcing him into awkward, inconsistent positions, pointing out his failures in stark terms. When that didn't happen, my instinct was that somehow Obama hadn't performed properly.

Now I realize that Obama would have "lost" the debate if he had done that - if he had won, he would have lost. The effectiveness of a presidential debate is all about manner.

So, it appears that he's polling quite well out of something that seemed oddly bland to me.


Still. I think that having established a respectful tone upfront, he'll have more freedom to get fierce.