The First Debate

After watching tonight's first Obama-McCain debate, I have to say I neither saw nor heard anything that surprised me.

In the early portion of the debate, which focused on the economic crisis even though the debate was supposed to be on foreign policy, McCain seemed uncomfortable. He's acknowledged a lack of familiarity with economic issues so it wasn't surprising when he stumbled a bit on those questions.

During that portion of the debate, Obama appeared to be more assertive, more in control of things.

It's a good thing for Obama that he came across as more reassuring on economic issues, because he appeared to revert to being shaky on foreign policy, while McCain gave the impression of someone who spoke from experience. It seemed to me that, in that portion of the debate, Obama appeared to be on the defensive. And that allowed McCain to seize the momentum.

But Obama will get the opportunity to reinforce a favorable image on economic issues when he debates McCain again in the next few weeks.

Neither candidate made a serious mistake. Both candidates remained on message. Voters who aren't familiar with one or both of the candidates got to see a lot of what each is about tonight.

I saw no clear advantage for either side.

Let's call it a draw.