I received my absentee ballot from Madera County, California last week and promptly filled it out and returned it. For the first time in my life (I'm a registered Libertarian), I voted for a Democrat for President - Senator Barack Obama.
As tonight's debate started, I wondered if perhaps I had been premature. Should I have held my ballot until the last debate was over? Perhaps Senator Obama would implode. Or perhaps Senator McCain would finally come to a debate conscious and coherent and make the case FOR himself, rather than just slamming Senator Obama.
Tonight's debate, which is in its closing moments as I write this, confirmed my vote for Senator Obama. He was eloquent, earnest, and - most importantly - honest.
Senator McCain sounded like nothing so much as a grumpy old man (with all due respect to the great movie and lesser sequel of the same name). Granted, he was a bit more coherent than previous debates (low bar to surpass there). However, he was still trying to be Bush without using Bush's name.
John McCain sounded like nothing so much as a snake-oil salesman trying to convince a potential mark to buy a dead mule for transportation would be a great way to save money, because it doesn't require care, maintenance, or food.
McCain was rude, crude, offensive, boorish, and frequently a liar.
Obama was calm, patient, not easily ruffled, and polite.
Verdict: Obama wins. If this was a boxing match, he scored a TKO.