Post debate syndrome

By GottaLaff

I've got post debate syndrome. I've been trying to digest last night's interchange, and crystallize some of my thoughts. Other than whether or not we agree with the substance of the candidates' responses, our visceral reactions to the two men play a role in who we prefer. What do our thought keep returning to? What's that wave of emotion we experience when we replay the debate in our heads?

After reading your comments, listening to endless discussions in the media, and processing my own feelings, it keeps coming down to these elements:

• Tom Brokaw thanked Gramm-pa McCain five times after he spoke. He didn't thank Obama once. If we're going to have debates and understand what our candidates represent, we need a moderator who at least has the appearance of being unbiased.
  
• Tom Brokaw allowed Gramm-pa to extend his answers past the time limit. He reprimanded Obama when he did the same thing. Again, it's not that difficult to maintain at least the demeanor of an impartiality. This has the potential to affect some viewers, and hey, 90 minutes isn't that long. Chill.
  
• In the first debate, Gramm-pa wouldn't so much as look at Obama. In this debate, he wouldn't so much as call him by name. They are both candidates for the president of the United States. They are both U.S. Senators. Yet, Gramm-pa's clear contempt for Obama was more than obvious. If this is how he treats a rival candidate in a debate format, how would he act in a much more hostile, tense situation toward a foreign leader who he disdained?
• Gramm-pa McCain is an angry, nasty man. He continues to make disturbingly odd gaffes. He shuffled around the debate floor like an awkwardly lost anachronism from a different, crankier era. His mental and physical health are in question. His judgment is iffy at best. He is not fit to hold the very strenuous office of the presidency.
• Obama's poise and control of the issues were impressive, but more than that, he comes off as a genuinely nice man. He somehow keeps his cool in the most infuriating, stressful arenas. This is someone who has gained my trust the more I get to know him, despite some differences we have.
  

Those are a only few of the thoughts that have recurred in my little pea brain. What are yours?