Round one to the sheriff

Putting on my objective hat, I think McCain won last night's debate by a nose. But maybe that's just because I found his performance so entertaining. I burst out laughing at his remark about Putin: "I looked into his eyes and saw three letters...K-G-B". What a great line! I thought Obama started out shakily, even looking a bit rattled at times, but he got stronger as the night wore on and came on strong at the end. I think Obama has a bit of a problem though trying to link McCain to Bush/the last 8 years/etc. because McCain truly isn't the typical Republican. He's right when he says he never won "Miss Congeniality" (shouldn't it be Mr.?) in the Senate. Remember a few short months ago the entire Republican political/media establishment was doing all it could to keep McCain from being the nominee. I suspect if McCain becomes President he'll tick off conservatives as often as he ticks off liberals.

One thing that drives me nuts is their ongoing debate over the Iraq war, because I think they're both partly right and partly wrong. McCain is absolutely right that the surge strategy of Gen. Petraeus is working, and to set a date certain for withdrawal of troops would risk losing the gains we've made. Yes, we must withdraw on our own terms with honor and victory -- "pyrrhic victory" though it may be. But Obama is right that the original decision to invade Iraq was a colossal blunder that distracted us from the front lines of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I won't rehearse all the reasons given back in 2002 to go into Iraq, but I believe history has shown and will continue to show they were false and misleading. Worst of all, we didn't count the cost. Bush, Rumsfeld, et al. thought it would be quick and easy -- a tragic miscalculation in my view.

So Obama correctly says we shouldn't have grabbed hold of this particular tiger's tail in the first place, and McCain rightly says that once you've grabbed it you better hold on for dear life until the tiger's dead.