Advantage Obama in Second Debate

By a slim margin, I would give tonight's debate to Barack Obama.

I thought he was more in command of economic issues than John McCain. And I don't think there's any question that economic issues will be crucial in determining who is elected.

But being in command of a debate is not the same thing as winning an election. As I recall, John Kerry was acknowledged to be the winner of all three of his debates with George W. Bush in 2004 — but Bush won the election by 3 million votes.

Obama also seemed to do a better job of connecting with the audience than McCain did.

And I thought his answer to the last question — what do you not know and how will you learn it? — was more thoughtful than McCain's. (To be fair, I thought McCain's response to the same question was more realistic than Obama's.)

But the margins in these categories were narrow. I can understand how some observers would reach the conclusion that the debate was a tie. I can even understand how others would conclude that McCain won the debate.

The dynamics of the "town hall" format make it trickier to interpret than standard debates.

We will get the chance to hear the candidates discuss only domestic issues when they hold the final debate next Wednesday night.