Reply #3: Thanks for a very enlightening assessment of some of McCain's personality problems.

[bertman]

I, like most Americans, had no idea that he is a gambling addict, so this explains a lot.

During the debate I felt that Schieffer was fair and impartial. Maybe I'll go back and view it again to see if I notice the "softballs". Generally I am a rabidly aggressive parser of the moderator's questions, comments, and even his/her facial expressions so I thought I was rapt paying attention to the allegedly pro-McCain moderator, Bob Schieffer. I guess I was being naive and inattentive. Oddly enough, my wife also commented on how even-handed she felt Schieffer was throughout the debate.

You are absolutely right about the "real" John McCain that we saw last night at the dinner. It made me feel so good to see him say good things about Barack Obama, then warmly greet him and actually smile directly at him in what appeared to me to be a genuine manner--totally contrary to the other debate greetings when McCain looked like he was gritting his gnarly little yellow possum teeth the whole time.

BerryBush, it was a comedy sketch and it was hilarious. Lighten up. Both guys were funny as hell. Can't we turn off our usual unwaivering PC-checkers for a few minutes while the candidates throw funnies at each other? If not, I guess the religious right will be giving Obama HOLY HELL for saying he wasn't born in a manger (Did I see the Cardinal wince at that one), which I thought was funny as all gitout.

Now that the three-hour truce is over, it's back to our regularly-scheduled programming of opposition bashing and suspicion. Got to love this politics!