The Debate

Last night's Presidential Debate in Nashville is being hotly discussed.

Before other people's opinions swayed mine, I wanted to get down what I thought of the debate - and who 'won.'

Both candidates were their normal, professional selves. Obama, of course, came across better. He's tall, with good posture and a clear voice. McCain, with his hunched shoulders and mumbled voice, looked like a comedian about to deliver a zinger of a punchline.

That being said, the substance of what McCain was saying outweighed his lack of style. for example, when he suggested renegotiating all the bad mortgages the treasury has bought, adjusting them to the new house values (and removing negative equity) I thought he'd landed an election winner.

Interpreting the facts through all the rhetoric is difficult. Obama's version of the events leading up the demise of Freddie Mac and Frannie Mae was fictitious. Similarly, McCain was wildly misleading with his promise of tax-cuts across the board (they'd be negligible unless you were very rich.)

In the end, though, McCain delivered the message he needed to and avoided the jabs Obama sent his way. But while the Republican candidate did well, I don't think it'll be enough to sway the vote in his favour.