I’m going to write something of a backwards post on the debate, offering my conclusions first and then more of a question-by-question analysis so you can read as much as you like.

In looking at the substance issues, I have called it pretty much a tie with a 7-7 vote so pretty much it comes down to another tie. Indeed, in many cases, I gave points to one candidate or the other because he had the luck to be first and therefore the ability to set the tone for the question. So really, you could score substance to either candidate.

One thing I was struck by is the fact that this once again seemed to be a ‘me too debate’. Certainly both men tried to work in the lines about how their view was the right one and the other candidate wanted to eat puppies instead of solving the problem. But when it came down to actually expressing their opinions on the issues there seemed to be a great deal of agreement.

I have a friend in England who often raises this issue when discussing US elections, the fact that from his point of view the two parties in the US are largely the same and he does have something of a point. While there are some differences in how they would implement their policies, McCain and Obama are surprisingly close on many points both domestic and foreign.

In fact this issue may be well worth exploring in greater detail in a future posting, but for now back to the debate.

Both men seemed at ease on the stage, trying to connect with the questioners as well as the audience. McCain seemed a little better at addressing the people directly but Obama was a bit more on-target when it came to personalizing the questions to the average voter. Once again pretty much a tie but, if you had to score things, I’d give a slight edge to McCain because he seemed more at ease with the people on stage.

Putting the style and substance issues together gives us basically a dead heat between the two, if I had to pick one or the other to have the final edge I’d lean VERY slightly to McCain simply because style and image tends to last a little more than substance. But I’d rather not give either side an edge because I really see it as a tie.

However, just as with debate one, winning the debate is merely a matter of winning the tactical victory, the score of the moment. The broader issue is to look at the strategic win, who got the momentum for the campaign, whether or not it was a game changer or a status quo outcome.

On that point the strategic win clearly goes to Senator Obama. Even more than during the last debate he has the momentum and the lead in the polls. All he needed to do was to avoid a major meltdown or a significant blunder. He accomplished that in spades.

Senator McCain on the other hand needed to score a big win, to change the direction of the debate. He did not do that.

We’ve got one more debate left and, at this point, all Obama needs to do is avoid drooling on the stage. Given the outcome of the last two debates, I suspect this review will apply equally to the next one.

For those who want to see more of a point-by-point analysis, I’ve posted that over on my blog