Rather than cite sources that will be dismissed as “liberal-left media,” I’ll use FoxNews’s focus group queried by GOP pollster Frank Luntz. The group of Nevada independents gave the debate edge to Barack Obama.

What I saw was a draw with two candidates holding their own on the issues. Here’s what else I saw:

  • Barack Obama spoke directly and respectfully to Sen. McCain and the American people in a knowledgeable, intelligent and charismatic way.
  • John McCain, who didn’t have the decency to even look at his opponent, came across as angry, gruff, and unpresidential.

For Senator McCain to promote himself as a “Maverick” that can “reach across the aisle,” to Democrats in a bipartisan way, it’s strange he couldn’t even look across the aisle last night in front of the whole country. Not looking an opponent in the eye is a sign of fear. Might John McCain be intimidated by Barack Obama?

We’ll see how their performances are reflected in the polls.

Speaking of polls, the House Republicans against the Bush administrations Wall Street bailout plan are largely playing election year politics. They are facing a wave of anti-Bush sentiment in their home district races and this gives them one last gasp at an issue they can play up to the home voters:

“We didn’t cave to Bush or Wall Street.”

That’s the game. Hopefully, enough voters will be sophisticated enough to see through the ruse and see these hypocrites who gave Bush everything he wanted for 8 years are now putting “Politics First” in an effort to save their careers. And they’re risking a collapse of our economy doing it.