The last presidential debate was indeed unlike the previous ones. It is as difficult to assess. I agree with the view that for the first 30 minutes McCain had the upper hand, which came as an all too big of a surprise to Obama. Yet my surprise at Obama’s weakness in the first 30 minutes was nothing to what happened with McCain for the rest of the debate. His face expressions of bizarre derision and difficult-to-restrain anger made this debate a gold mine for spin doctors analyzing the behavior of candidates in these elections. Yet that is the extent of its positive influence. Obama did not win because he was good, but because McCain played a risky game of ACORN/Bill Ayers accusations, which frankly, I don’t think interest many voters. Those who think he’s a terrorist will still think he is a terrorist, and these who don’t want to believe what the other side says won’t anyway. This debate was not Obama’s clear victory. As a viewer I could see his eloquence and intellect, but the fact that both candidates were sitting during the debate, oddly enough, I think made Obama even more professorial and accounted for a certain disadvantage. It is Obama “in motion” performance that serves him best.

A nice break from all the election conflict was undoubtedly the Al Smith Foundation’s charity in which both McCain and Obama had to come up with humorous speeches. They were both successful, McCain perhaps a little bit funnier than Obama, but both of them did a good job, well, as good as an adult man aspiring to the highest office on a long campaign drawing to its end can do. I recommend watching these, especially if you haven’t seen a lot of laughter from the candidates thus far. Yes, they can laugh pretty hard. Here is McCain’s speech and here is Obama’s.

There has been some speculation lately that Colin Powell, the “lion of the Republican establishment”, might announce his endorsement of Barack Obama, yes, the Democratic candidate. Apparently, we will know by this Sunday. The political ramifications of this can surely shake foundations of this election.  Being a centrist and still pretty popular individual (if compared to other Bush government officials), yet also a representative of the military “elite” under three presidents, he might just be Obama’s Trojan Horse in getting the votes of the moderates. Nevertheless, it might also do the exact opposite, and alienate moderates from Obama who don’t know much of Powell’s negative opinion about the more conservative elements of his party. His possible support of McCain can also help the Republican ticket but surely not to such a degree as in the former case.

So what do you think, tell me in the poll below.