The media is saying it's a tie.

[Phoonzang]

I disagree. I think Obama came out ahead.

[flowomo]

1. felt tie-ish to me....

last words make a great difference.... Obama's finish was weaker than I would have liked. McCain really punched his way to the finish and Obama didn't respond very decisively.

[Raksha]

2. I think Obama won, but McCain made him work harder for it

than I would have expected. So I'm not surprised the corporate media is saying McCain "won." We all know they have a double standard, and if a Repuke isn't totally incoherent, he/she "wins."

[EarlG]

3. I'll take a tie

Personally I think Obama won but if they want to call it a tie that's fine. Obama is ahead, McCain needs to be winning these debates handily to regain lost ground. If the media calls it a tie, they acknowledge that Obama is on the same "level" as McCain. Immediately after the debate, David Gregory called it a "heavyweight fight". The implication to undecideds who don't know Obama is that he's a heavyweight.

[Curtland1015]

4. If a "tie" means we're still up by 5% tomorrow, then I'm fine with it!

[Curtland1015]

8. If a "tie" means we're still up by 5% tomorrow, then I'm fine with it!

[wildeyed]

33. Yeah, I liked that too.

Obama went toe to toe with the heavyweight and more than held his own. It makes it harder for those who want to say that Obama lacks substance to make their case.

[Joe the Revelator]

5. I listened and didn't watch.....I'll just say I'd be happy if it was a tie

Its hard to debate when one participant just makes shit up.

[Hamlette]

6. I'm with Earl, I'll take a tie on the foreign policy debate

Obama owned the part about the economy.

[texasleo]

7. McCain needed a home run, he did not hit one.

[TheDonkey]

9. I can live with a tie. Wish Obama could have KO'ed him

[Tektonik]

10. I was disappointed by the debate because I thought Obama would have knocked him around silly

but, if one looks only at this debate, Obama wins solely on the issues.

I can't wait for the economy debate.

[Schema Thing]

11. I agree.

with the extremely lowered expectations for McCain, he really equipped himself well. McCain is a decent debater for being such a douche.

[GhostofRichardRorty]

17. The Voters won tonight

The rush to declare a winner or loser and to try to convert this into votes is premature and misses the boat on why debates are important. Historically, movement after a single debate is about 1%, that is all. It takes the whole series to have anything approaching a significant effect of 3 or 4%.

The debates are not about winning or losing, they are about low information seekers who have not yet made up their mind LEARNING about the candidates. The most important folks watching these debates have now gone to bed or turned on something fun, they aren't watching pundits. They are not DUers or Freepers, they are folks often too busy or otherwise disinterested in following politics except for big events like this one.

Think of it like folks who only go to church on Easter and Christmas: Many voters only really start to pay attention now. They learn about policy positions they have not paid attention to before, and they learn about the candidates' personalities.

So, relax a bit. Think about what the low information seeking voters learned about McCain: That he is really old, disrepectful, and rude. He was NOT likeable. Strike One. Further, they learned that Obama can also provide zingers but is also calm, rationale, and whip smart. Strike Two.

Most importantly they learned a LOT about where the two candidates stand on key issues, both their similarities (Russia/Georgia) and their differences (Iraq).

Have a little faith in your candidate and his policies, and just a little in the American voter.

[yellowcanine]

12. It wasn't a tie. McCain came across as grumpy and redundant. Obama was way more likeable, had good

command of all the issues, and did a better job of actually answering the question that was asked.

[Phoonzang]

13. The point is that McCain didn't do what he needed to do.

We'll see how the voters respond to it, but I don't think it will affect the race very much.

[Lorien]

14. That's better than when they handed them ALL to Dubya

when * obviously could barely string a sentence together.

[willbbalin]

19. Obama..

Obama had ALOT of ammo he could have used, but didnt go there.. its ok I think O did very well but when Obama hears those keywords he should jump on them

[baldguy]

15. People who watched it know better.

[graywarrior]

16. To the average voter, it's a tie.

If I were still on the fence, I'd still be on the fence. We all know the lies McCain told tonight....they are not so intuned to them. Obama needs to hit it out of the park next debate.

[deadparrot]

18. Who cares? A tie isn't good enough for McCain. nt

[Sparkly]

20. Ridiculous.

[deadparrot]

21. Who cares? A tie isn't good enough for McCain. nt

[4_Legs_Good]

22. On Foreign Policy - Tie goes to OBAMA!!!!

[FVZA_Colonel]

23. A tie is better then a loss for Obama.

Especially given foreign policy was supposed to be McCain's strong point.

[rucky]

24. No real blows landed that'll stick.

Tie

[Symarip]

25. Basically a tie is a win for us.

McCain needed a game changer. He needed to drop something on the table that was going to change the conversation and make him look more favorable. He didn't get any new traction on the straight talk depressed so a tie is a win for us. I'll take it.

[President Decider]

27. You are correct. McCain was expected to win .... and didn't

This was supposed to be his strong suit (i.e., foreign affairs) .... that being said, he failed to make the case that he's any better ... or worse, than Obama on the issue.

[goodgd_yall]

26. They'll only say Obama won

when the polling shows unequivocally that he's ahead. They're too chickenshit to commit themselves.

[Raine]

28. Tie ...

which is the best it's going to be unless the other guy falls flat on his face. I'll take it cause I think when a debate doesn't harm you it's all good.

[Avalux]

29. Of course they're saying it's a tie. They're paid to say that.

Only question to ask -

which one was presidential?

[bunkerbuster1]

30. McCain needed a win.

Obama needed, however, not to look TOO much like he was playing for a tie. I think he deliberately held back a bit. We'll see how it plays; I think this might leave things where they are (which is ok.)

[4_Legs_Good]

31. Keep in mind: on foreign policy: A TIE GOES TO OBAMA

No question. This was supposed to be McCain's strong suit. A tie is definitely a win for Obama.

Granted, McSame didn't explode, so I guess that's a big victory for him.

David

[wildflower]

32. That is what George Will said

The tie goes to Obama because the debate on foreign policy, which was perceived as his weakness.

[rockymountaindem]

34. I agree with that assessment

I personally thought that the disarray that has infected the McCain campaign would negatively influence his performance tonight, but that didn't happen. He came out and gave a performance commensurate with his level of experience. Obama came out and gave a performance commensurate with the level of his intellect. In that sense, I feel like it was a tie. Obama certainly did not obliterate McCain the way I would have liked. But, I can't complain too much, because McCain didn't win either.

[1corona4u]

35. Ditto!!!

[crickets]

36. The media always wants a horse race. -nt