Debate!

Senator McCain: Managed to highlight his experience in handling foreign policy matters and shone a bright light on Sen. Obama's lack of same.

Senator Obama: Got to spend much of the debate speaking on economic issues and similar matters, where voters often mistrust longtime incumbents such as Sen. McCain.

Moderator Jim Lehrer: Asked real questions, let the candidates answer, stayed out of the story in the way that I learned in J-school that reporters were supposed to. Note to self: Send copy to Charles Gibson & Sean Hannity for reference.

The Clear Winner: Me, who spent the evening at a dinner honoring a colleague, stopped by a bookstore to hear another friend perform some music, watched not a single nanosecond of this and read about it afterwards from a variety of sources.