Reply #14: Thanks, Orrex. I am trying to be reasonable and thoughtful.

[bertman]

Before the last debate I would have agreed with your last paragraph, but after watching a large chunk of the debate on CNN with the graph lines, I was amazed to see how often any response that was even the slightest bit argumentative earned a downward turn.

Also, it seemed that the men (undecideds supposedly) were much more receptive to McCain's angry, confrontational style, but gave Obama's more professorial and calm answers a lower rating.

The women definitely favored the calm, rational approach to the angry McCainiacal style.

I don't know if it's because Barack's team has schooled him up really well on presentation or if it's because he has an instinct for when to let the minor shit slide, but Barack seems to have the right judgment about what to say and when. He is rarely off target. So, when he chooses not to follow up and get the last word in, I assume it's because he has deemed it to be to his advantage. He is a master at that.