To my amazement...

Indeed, to my amazement, and despite a large glass of Irish whiskey, I did not fall asleep on tonight's debate.  I felt a good deal of empathy for Jim Lehrer.  It's a totally crappy job, but Jim had to do it.  From time to time, he looked really uncomfortable.

What I liked best was that it was pretty thoroughly wonky, and that they actually were allowed to address each other.  Most of America, I suspect, switched off to the entertainment networks early on.  Nevertheless, I stuck in there, looking for what actually counts — the emotional content.

Personally, I thought Romney looked kind of manic.  Those broad grins and wide, glittering eyes struck me as more than a little creepy.  Obama, mostly, looked old.  What's better or worse from the perspective of the American public — creepy or old?

I thought Obama passed up an excellent opportunity when he failed to assert that he based Obamacare on Romneycare because he thought it was conservative enough to attract some Republican support — given that it was a product of the Heritage Foundation.

What the hell.  The "undecideds," if such assholes actually exist, were watching "Storage Wars" or "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."  Indeed, I myself might have been watching "Bridezillas!"  (Well, actually not.)

Next up, Biden v. Ryan — which, I'm betting, will be the best debate of all, given that it is most likely to demonstrate that American politics is an exercise in idiocy.