Obama did well again all things considered but...

Wasn't last night, pretty much the same debate as last time, only without podiums? Despite the fact that Obama bested McCain again, the bottom-line again is what an overwrought waste these debates are...that virtually all Presidential Debates are, whether they are in the primaries or general election. And like many viewers of car races, it's all about waiting for the fiery crash. But if fiery crashes are all you want to know about, read McCain's navy flight records.

As usual, it was 90-minutes of non-excitement, where the only clear loser was the moderator:

The biggest wet blanket on the debate stage, however, was moderator Tom Brokaw, who also played a kind of military role: Commander of the Clock. Time and again, the NBC newsman inflicted frivolous rules on the candidates that only served to frustrate true debate and the kind of give-and-take that a "town hall" format supposedly encourages. At least twice, Obama started to answer one of Brokaw's questions only to have Brokaw call instead on McCain, which was rude and embarrassing.

Exactly what the rules were remained unclear, even though Brokaw explained them at the start of the debate. He called for "discussion" periods that seemed only a minute long; what kind of a "discussion" is that? If a discussion really did threaten to break out, Brokaw got grumpy and called it off.

Well, at least he was not Charles Gibson.

Can you believe McCain wanted 10 of these? That in and of itself -- disqualifies him as a serious candidate.