McCain wins debate Handily!

Well the first debate is in the can.

I thought McCain decisively won the debate.

Obama was the one interrupting like a kindergartner, looking frustrated, literally pleading with his eyes at times for Jim Lehrer to make that 'meanie' stop talking about him - I thought he was very clearly on the defensive all night.

I thought McCain got off to a slow and shaky start and I was about to bail on the debate but he pulled himself together and I thought he very effectively painted Obama as a neophyte also-ran - his closing remarks were a 50 megaton nuke and were the last word.

I've been involved, as I mentioned to you before, in virtually every major national security challenge we've faced in the last 20-some years. There are some advantages to experience, and knowledge, and judgment.

And I -- and I honestly don't believe that Senator Obama has the knowledge or experience and has made the wrong judgments in a number of areas, including his initial reaction to Russian invasion -- aggression in Georgia, to his -- you know, we've seen this stubbornness before in this administration to cling to a belief that somehow the surge has not succeeded and failing to acknowledge that he was wrong about the surge is -- shows to me that we -- that -- that we need more flexibility in a president of the United States than that.

As far as our other issues that he brought up are concerned, I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I'll take care of them. And I've been proud of their support and their ecognition of my service to the veterans.

And I love them. And I'll take care of them. And they know that I'll take care of them. And that's going to be my job.

But, also, I have the ability, and the knowledge, and the background to make the right judgments, to keep this country safe and secure.

Reform, prosperity, and peace, these are major challenges to the United States of America. I don't think I need any on-the-job training. I'm ready to go at it right now.

Jim, when I came home from prison, I saw our veterans being very badly treated, and it made me sad. And I embarked on an effort to resolve the POW-MIA issue, which we did in a bipartisan fashion, and then I worked on normalization of relations between our two countries so that our veterans could come all the way home.

I guarantee you, as president of the United States, I know how to heal the wounds of war, I know how to deal with our adversaries, and I know how to deal with our friends.

It was Obama who had the constantly furrowed brow, it was Obama who looked aggravated, it was Obama who agreed with McCain 8 or 9 times and as predicted, without a teleprompter he struggled to make cogent points when knocked off his rehearsed lines by McCain or Lehrer.

And this was after 3 days of debate prep.

Rather than spend three days in seclusion preparaing for the debate with a group of handlers like Obama, McCain had been busy working.

I would like to give credit for one excellent answer Obama gave when challenged by McCain about voting 'against funding for the troops'. He explained he voted against the funding bill with no timetable which has been his signature position (he is absolutely wrong IMO but he has been consistent), where McCain I think voted against a bill WITH a timetable. That was a good answer - clearly rehearsed but a good answer.

I was not looking forward to Lehrer as moderator but was very pleasantly surprised - the questions I thought were good and he did a resonable job of making both candidates at least approach the point.

Telling for me was when pressed on what adjustments need to be made to a budget given the potential cost of the Wall Street bail out, Obama proposed MORE spending, only McCain answered that a spending freeze on all but the true basics.

I think the pre-debate expectations were lowered for Obama to the point that shy of breaking down in tears and running off stage that he stood the most to gain. I thought McCain answered the economic questions very well and with strong Conservative principals other than the populist blamestorming and I think it shows the challenge, as it always is for people of my belief system, is to do a better job of explaining why tax cuts for the risk-takers and the businesses work.

Reagan was effective at it, and W actually did a reasonable job, McCain has to get this down to a quick, easy to understand answer and I think the other part is McCain needs to hammer Obama's tax 'cut' for 95% of America as nonsense as Marxist redistribution of wealth at the point of a gun. He needs to point out the costs in terms of jobs and wages for everyone, with the higher payroll taxes, higher capital gains taxes, and higher income taxes on the small business owners who are the engine of job creation in the US that Obama has announced.

I think this will be dishonestly but effectively spun as a near tie by Obama and his allies in the mainstream media and like I said above, anything other than total failure will be represented as a win for the boy who would be King.