I agree it seemed managed, especially because Obama looked taken aback when told to direct his reply to McCain, but he went along. McCain then got snippy.

McCain didn't manage to look bored. When Obama wasn't looking at McCain when he was speaking he was writing notes, whether for real or not he looked "involved". McCain was either glaring, looking annoyed or giving a pissy, dismissive smirk. Only people that already liked him would be okay with that.

I do think the ananlogy to Gore's sighs were accurate. I agreed with Gore at the time, what Bush was saying was ridiculous. Trouble is, it looked theatrical and petty to the undecideds. McCain may have crossed into that territory here.

As for what I expect, I don't expect much. We're already in wars, this "bailout" is a hail mary that only hopes to delay the inevitable and will tie the financial hands of McCain or Obama.

I just feel that we are in a deep hole and I fear that McCain-Palin would just double down on our problems.

I bet if you went over to the independent Wall Street Journal you could find an unbiased article from John Fund on how Obama crashed and burned last night and that McCain was the most brilliant man ever to hit the stage.

Later on you can find an article touting that Palin is uniquely qualified to fill in for McCain.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/why-obama-won-b.html

It's titled "Why Obama won Big".

Here's a snippet:

The CBS poll of undecideds has more confirmatory detail. Obama went from a +18 on "understanding your needs and problems" before the debate to a +56 (!) afterward. And he went from a -9 on "prepared to be president" to a +21.

The more it sinks in, the more I think Obama actually knocked it out of the park last night. He is, in some ways, the inverse McCain. McCain is all drama and explosions but then ... the air smells like damp, finished fireworks smoke. Obama seems calm and cautious but then ... you realize he cleaned your clock.

A few more morning after thoughts: the body language matters. McCain couldn't look at Obama as if he is offended by even having to share a stage with him. But Obama engaged him directly several times. Check the photo below. Even when shaking hands, McCain looks away. This is, in fact, a sign of insecurity.

As was pointed out earlier, the Dems all think Obama won (with some handwringing, it's their nature), the Repubs all think McCain one (with bravado, it's their nature) and the debate was really targeted at the undecided.

Well, it looks like they are making up their minds and it's not going the McCain team way.

I am one of the people that wanted Obama to attack, to fight back and was kind of disappointed that Obama held back.

Looking at the polls though, I see Obama did better than I thought.

The Repubs thought McCain won, over 90%.

The Dems thought Obama won, over 90%

No big suprise there, but the suprise for me was...

The Independents thought Obama won, 60% to 28%

To top it off, I talked to a neighbor walking his dog after the debate and he asked me what I thought. He told me that he didn't like McCain's attitude. It bothered him. This guy voted for Bush 2 times, but without enthusiasm,

Obama playing it cool might reassure many voters, it's professional, even if I want him to be more passionate.

I wonder how long McCain will be "for" the bailout, until he is noncommittal again.

I imagine the Repubs will now come over and defend that veiwpoint and that McCain is showing real leadership with this view.

(ruining my point to you, walter)

Exactly.

This guy will suddenly realize what a fiscal conservative he is after he gets his money back.

red, I read Mish regularly and sometimes even post. My husband is also a huge fan of his blog and a regular over there. BTW, we're both liberal Dems.

I know you're a Repub, do you really know how McCain will vote? I wouldn't bet money on it, either way.

****

walter_map, just because people don't always respond to you, doesn't mean they aren't reading your posts and links, but sometimes it feels silly to just say "yeah, what he said...".

Sometimes no reply just means concurrence.

Subprime is the main source of defaults.

So far. The pay option ARM's timebomb has only started.

Lot's of white folks are going to get burned on this one, it was sold as a great investment.

The Lou Dobbs crowd, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter will still know who to blame....

Huffington Post has a decent article up with some stats on the whole minority loan thing...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-ridley/conservatives-race-bait-t_b_129653.html

p.s. slightly off topic, I remember reading the OC Register just a couple of weeks ago and the argument was that there were very few foreclosures, percentage wise, and the economy was fine.

I read Lasner on the real estate blog over there fairly regularly, though I don't post into the food fights.