Thoughts after the debate

Well, the final debate that's not really a debate is over. I must say, I thought it was quite intense, and I think both candidates did what they needed to do. I try to look at these debates without taking sides first, but in the end, I think Obama did what he needed to do better than McCain.
McCain needed to bring out all the negatives of Obama, but he also needed to assure the American people that his policies would work. Problem was, he spent way too much time on the first, and nearly failed at the second. Second problem, all of the negatives he brought up, were easily countered and explained by Obama. Whether it was Ayers, ACORN, or any of Obama's policies, Obama had the answers that McCain said people deserved to know. (BTW-if McCain was so concerned about ACORN...why'd he support it himself?) In the end, "Senator McCain hasn’t learned how to disagree without being disagreeable. He was sarcastic, angry and condescending for the entire evening."
I thought Obama needed to reach out to more conservative voters and respond to the personal allegations regarding his character AND explain his health care plan which the GOP has twisted over and over again (it's not even close to social health care). I think he succeeded in all three. He explained very forthrightly his health care plan, he responded wonderfully to the character attacks, and finally, he wooed fence-sitting voters. I personally thought that his abortion response was good and should help appeal to those independents and dissatisfied conservatives.
I really enjoyed the question about the candidates' running mates being better than the other running mates if they had to step up to the plate to be president. Both candidates avoided the temptation of attacking directly the credentials (I think it would be difficult in Obama's situation moreso than McCain's), but Obama made it clear: the American people will decide. Okay, so John Cleese isn't American, but he makes some good points!