The talking heads tended to think John McCain won the presidential debate, but what do elitist Beltway observers and political scientists know about such matters? They might have sneered at Obama's epic "I have a bracelet, too!" line, but America thought it was kind of sweet. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll, 46 percent of debate-watchers thought Obama won, versus 34 percent for McCain. At CNN, it was 51 percent for Obama winning the debate vs. 38 percent for McCain. Similar results at CBS. In the election, Rasmussen said Obama led 50 vs. 44 percent in polls taken after the debate. The numbers give you a sense of how the debate might nudge the race, and Politico has more of them, but of course the election is many days and market meltdowns away, and really who knows if America will event exist by November, so try not to care too much.

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