that was great. good questions. included question about the campaigns, about the VP picks. very good.
so I agree with what ABC just said at close of debate: third time is the charm. got a good format: sitting at table angled toward each other. was spirited, had some flow.

so when McCain says Obama has run most negative campaign in history, it's bcs he means the Obama ads "attacking" his health care plan, his immigration policy.
and McCain is hurt by Congressman John Lewis's comparison of his campaign to George Wallace, and kept saying that Obama had not repudiated it. which he had - his campaign issued a statement saying the comparison was inappropriate - and Obama said it again tonite. continues to seem bizarre to me how McCain thinks he is the one being attacked when it is his campaign strategy to negatively characterize Obama.
-ABC fact check: Obama said McCain's ads been 100% negative. not true, in that he has run positive ads. but, there have been a few weeks, including last week where he did run exclusively negative ads
...........asllvn Live-Blogging Hofstra: 10.18 pm. At no point have we seen a grace note from McCain. When dealing with the negativism of the campaign, it would not have killed him to seem genuinely horrified at calls for violence yes rather than offended that anyone dare criticize him or some of his supporters. Or to wish Obama well. It's this lack of generosity of spirit that he lacks and that people want in a president. Obama still manages to say when he agrees with or admires McCain. In this whole dynamic, Obama seems more secure, more self-controlled, more mature. He is the Alpha Male on this stage, and McCain the bristling teen yes - aged 72. No wonder women seem to be so disproportionately pro-Obama. ..........

Obama certainly continued to seem to me the one with class, on the higher road, saying people do not want to hear about our hurt feelings, want to hear about what we are going to do them.

McCain seemed pretty awful still to me, though not as appalling as he did in first debate when he would not address or look at Obama. he did address him tonight. but he still seemed uncomfortable, angry, that ugly laugh.

Gibson: over all for first time a really good debate btw candidates. yes.

ABC is saying McCain had a good line: if you wanted to run against Pres Bush, you should have run four years ago. that this drew line in sand in response to Obama portraying him as more of the same, sth he had not done before, but Palin had in telling Biden 'there you go again, looking back, we want to look forward.'

wonder if McCain will get rise in polls by his attempts to portray Obama as big-spending, high-taxing.
Romney just said on NBC that McCain showed Obama as extreme member of his party, spreading wealth around. boy, Romney sounds as talking point heavy and substance-wrong to me as Giuliani. for counterpoint they go to Hilary Clinton who says Obama showed he was the leader we need, which okay I guess would not sound esp convincing to anyone who didn't think that. but Hilary seems alright, I suppose she might be a good appointee to the Supreme Court. "I think Sen Obama has demonstrated very resolute leadership, he's been calm, cool in this crisis." ok yes that was more specifically convincing.

CBS got Joe the plumber on the phone, but it was coming up on 10pm so had to cut him off, Couric said would continue on web. he kept private who he was voting for, started to say how tht McCain had done fine tonight...