Noah Counte

Today the world is, I think, a very different place than it was yesterday. Of course, we elected Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. People around the world already like us better, and people in the US sense optimism they haven’t felt in years.

I must say, Obama’s speech was great: he hit all the right notes, didn’t gloat, talked about working for a better future, and putting partisanship behind us (muzzles for Limbaugh and Hannity, maybe?). I knew his speech would be good. The speech that surprised me was McCain’s, which was remarkably upbeat, gracious and optimistic, after all the negativity and fear that the campaign had unleashed. Nicely done. I hope it augers well for the state of Washington over the next four, eight, and more years. President Bush had some pretty nice things to say too, after being mostly absentee for the last two months. I wonder if he is tired of being President?

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Tonight is the night for the third and final 2008 US Presidential debate. The first two went to Obama, according to focus groups run by the networks, CNN and FOX. McCain needs to hit one out of the park, and he told a group in Arlington, Virgina this this weekend that he's going to "whip his [Obama's]you-know-what in this debate," and then campaign 24/7 until the election.

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Meh.

No one really answereed questions. That's good for Obama, who seems to be ahead. Bad for McCain, who had to shake things up.

McCain, who so wants to be the agent of change, spent a lot of time talking about his hero, Ronald Reagan.

Overall, it was pretty much a pissing match. They both have wet shoes, but neither hit the electric fence, and neither made the other flinch.

Last Thursday's Vice Prsidential debate gave us a lot to think about. Like, is it really a debate if one of the debators doesn't answer the questions asked by the moderator? That's a whole other blog post (I'm really iirked by the fact that Gov. Palin said "I won't answer the questions," and was permitted to get away with making talking points that had nothing to do with the debate that was going on around her. I hope someone blogs about it, but I probably won't - I'm too danged angry!). One question that both participants answered had to do with what their roles as Vice President would be. Remember that some time back, Gov. Palin wondered aloud what the heck a vice president does.

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The McCain and Obama camps have agreed to a format for all three debates. Debates aren’t a given (though there has been at least one for every election since 1960), and do not happen at all, until the two candidates (three, when there is a “viable” third party candidate – viva Ross Perot!) agree on a format. Historically, the formats have been pretty formulaic, but it looks as though we are in for a bit of fun, this time around.

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