Wow–this was a little surprising tonight. I feel like things were pretty damn fun this time out. The ninety minutes really seemed to fly by. I do think the first two debates set the bar pretty low, however. Neither were very exciting and zingers were very rare. The same goes for this one on the zingers front (in fact there were none), but because the moderator kept things moving this was a lot more lively.

I did prefer this format to the other two, also. The podiums of the first prezy debate were all “official” and whatever, but there’s an air of stiffness you get with them, as well. The “town hall” style debate we had last time was more loose and freeform, but it also gave McCain a chance to wander around like a lost Alzheimer’s patient and Obama a chance to sit like he was a sleezy lounge singer in between sets.

Tonight’s format was just about perfect. Both of the candidates had the opportunity to look relaxed when they wanted to and look like upright guys when they needed to. I think the format was also very conducive to having an actual debate, too.

And now to the winner.

One thing that was both the same and different from previous debates was Obama. He definitely won this one as he has the other two. However, before it was just on points. There were very few critical things that Obama did to make me, as an independent voter, feel more strongly about voting for him. In the previous debates I felt the same going out as I did going in–about both candidates. But I had already decided to vote against McCain and Senator John makes me dislike him every time he opens his mouth.

The bizarre thing about McCain is that I totally would have voted for him in 2000. He seemed to me to be a good man and a good leader. Then he became Bush’s lapdog and never came back. Nothing tonight made me go back to my old feelings about him, either.

Obama on the other hand (for the first time) really addressed a lot of the questions the McCain campaign had brought up and essentially shot down the potential damage those questions could bring. It was great to see the whole Ayers issue addressed with both of them right there. McCain could have continued to take issue, but he really couldn’t have. The same with ACORN and that stupid health insurance fine for small businesses McCain brought up again this time. I was glad he did because this time Obama did more than just blow him off like he did last time. It turns out small businesses will get a pass on the fine while big businesses (who can afford, it won’t).

All in all, Obama actually made me like him more. I still wish we had more options. I’m an independent and until I see three or more parties have a serious shot of having their candidates win, I won’t be happy.

Now, before anyone accuses me of being some sort of liberal hippie-type, here’s how I fall on all the big issues:

I’m an anti-gun-control, pro-choice, anti-abortion, anti-war, small government, pacifist who enjoys violent movies, and caring about people who need caring for. I also feel there have been enough white men running things. Is that independent enough for you?
Sure, you could go check out CNN.com’s coverage of the third and final Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign, but for some good -n- balanced coverage of the debates check out CSPAN.org and to see what us bloggers and other Internet types thought of the debates, check out C-SPAN’s debate hub here: debatehub.c-span.org

Or you could just keep your dial tuned to ThePete.Com for all of my coverage of the debates, which you can check out here: thepete.com/tag/debate08/

Oh yeah and watch FactCheck.org for a nice deconstruction of the debate that goes after each candidates failures to be accurate.

I decided to give myself even more time to digest the debate this time ’round. This was mainly because it really did seem like Obama did pretty well. When I feel like the guy I plan to vote for do well, I need to double-check that my bias isn’t playing a role in my judgment. Not that I’m terribly supportive of Obama. I have problems with this Clean Coal crap he spews like so many chimneys. But I digress…

With more than half a day’s perspective on the debate, I feel that Obama’s grace helps him come out on top every time. McCain is scrappy, ornery and attacky.

Obama, on the other hand is smooth, relaxed and confident. So, once again, I think Obama wins on points.

My impression was that Obama had more answers than McCain, though did obfuscate a-plenty. In fact, the one real zinger of the night (childish as it was) came when McCain reminded viewers that Obama failed to even address the issue of a fine for people taking part in Obama’s health care plan. When McCain challenged Obama by pointing out that he hadn’t mentioned the exact amount the fine would be, Obama just looked to the moderator and remained silent. Watch the clip for yourself here, compliments of C-SPAN.org’s Debate Hub:

Barry’s reaction (or lack there of) reminds me of what Know-It-All types I knew in high school would do when they were helped to learn that they didn’t quite know it all–they just pretended like they heard nothing and then look to the authority figure to move the discussion on.

Aside from that, Obama never seemed like he was scrambling to defend himself. Sure, he did defend himself but McCain sure seemed to be attacking a lot. In fact, I feel like McCain is starting to take lessons from Palin on how to debate. He kept forcing his responses away from the questions asked. While Palin was clearly steering things toward topics she’d been briefed on, Senator John turned many of his responses into attacks on Obama.

Sure, Barry "attacked" McCain, but his attacks felt more like him pointing things out about McCain where as Senator John seemed grouchy and almost bitter.

I kind of feel like McCain can’t quite "get" why he’s doing so poorly in the polls lately.

A great example of his bitterness (regardless of where it’s coming from) was a moment that is already going down in blogoshpere history as the "That One" moment.

Senator John was talking about an energy bill jammed with pork–well, here’s an excerpt from C-SPAN’s transcript: "There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies. And it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one."

Check out this moment for yourself, again compliments of C-SPAN’s debate hub:

The image at the top of this post is a screen grab taken at the exact moment McCain says "That one."

When I was a kid, my dad and step-mom had this nasty habit of referring to my mother as "whatsherface". It was because they couldn’t bear to say her name. When I hear McCain use similar phrasing like "that one" when referring to another human being, I can only assume that McCain so loathes his opponent that he was simply incapable of referring to him as "Senator Obama."

Allowing this kind of anger to impact how you speak is not professional, respectful or representing of someone I would be comfortable leading America. Just sayin’!

All in all, it was a creepy night for McCain. Obama may not have gotten any zingers in, but he comes out on top by staying cool and avoiding the potential for "angry black man" accusations.

McCain, on the other hand, needs to chill out. He’s coming across as clearly angry and defensive, snapping at Obama like a cornered animal. Which, of course, he is.

Like Al Gore, back in 2000, McCain isn’t adjusting his performance from one debate to the next. Al didn’t take advice from anyone about loosening up. McCain, if he’s changed at all since the first debate, seems to have gotten more mean. That’s not a good direction to go in. Sure, Obama hasn’t adjusted much from the first debate, but hey, he doesn’t need to.

I do wish Barry had elaborated on that health care fine McCain mentioned.

Final verdict: Obama wins (but not dramatically)
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ADDED: Instead of links above, I embedded the clips from C-SPAN’s Debate Hub. Also, if you missed the debate or want to watch the whole thing again (!?!?!) you can check it out here:

As always, the best place to watch the debates (or any coverage of politics, really) is C-SPAN. You can even watch online. For more on the debate, check out C-SPAN’s Debate Hub here: debatehub.c-span.org/

They’ve got a debate-related Twitterstream and a bunch of blogs linked, too (not to mention loads of embedable, streamable videos).

REMEMBER: There is one more Presidential debate yet to come. It will be on October 15 (a week from today!) and will be held in Hempstead, NY–that’s Long Island, if you’re curious.

Man–just 27 more days until we get to vote!!