What I saw tonight...

...Was McCain laying the smackdown on Obama. And it surprised me, to be quite honest. Anyone who knows me can verify that I'm really turned off by both presidential hopefuls in a lot of ways. I really thought Obama would hold up better in a debate. Not that he was terrible, it's just that he's so acclaimed for his eloquence and execution of arguments.

I think a lot of the topics that came up favored McCain and his experience (Obama can't touch him on foreign policy), but even when talking about the financial crisis, I thought Obama was weak. I'm convinced he's going to spend more than McCain will at this point, and all my fact-checking shows me that when you compare the two records, McCain comes out on top. Cutting spending scares some people because important social initiatives will lose funding, but I'm sorry, in my humble opinion, faced with the quandary we're in, now is not the time to talk national health care.

Moreover, while I am hesitant to fully support McCain's plans for Iraq, I am not convinced Obama has a better solution. I really liked how McCain talked about focusing not on how and why we got into Iraq, but on what to do now that we're there. Sure, some people could have made better decisions in the beginning, but our position right now is good and yanking the magic carpet prematurely is NOT going to help our global standing. I mean, honestly... does Obama really think he can improve America's global standing? Last time I checked (like, when I was in a Muslim country of North Africa this summer) they aren't too keen on Obama either. They hate us for more than just our current President... It's not just about our leader. I saw first hand how much it is about our values and our love of freedom - it's about what America is BASED on. Newsflash: They hated us before Bush.

I'm not saying diplomacy is dead. But I think Obama showed tonight that he's not really sure what he would do and what talks he wants to have. That's how it came across to me. And I can say that this is the first election (of the 3 I've been able to vote in - CRAZY) that I've viewed both sides with an open mind.

Anyway, score at the closing of tonight's debate - McCain: 1 Obama: 0

We'll see how it goes from here on out. At this point, it's still anybody's game. I only wish one of the players was Ron Paul!


ps: This doesn't make me feel too good about ol' Barry...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o