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+ 0 - 0 | § ¶First Debate: It's a Tie; Advantage Obama

Right now, McCain is behind. With the Palin pick being increasingly seen as a mistake and the “suspension” being seen largely as a political stunt, McCain needed a big win to change the momentum. He’s currently at risk of being seen as preferring “Maverickness” to stability.

For Obama, the big goal he had was to appear presidential and knowledgeable. The concerns about his inexperience and “otherness” are still strong, so he needed to show that he was intelligent, ready, serious, and presidential.

I thought both looked largely ready to be President. Even if Obama got under McCain’s skin a bit more, neither had a home run and neither had a major blunder. That plays much better for Obama - he needed just to show that he was in the same ballpark of competence on foreign policy as McCain, and he did it. McCain needed to show that he’s more competent and not erratic. He succeeded on the second, but not on the first.

Overall, though, we'll have to wait until tonight's SNL parody to see how this debate will be remembered...