And the winner is....

...Tim Russert! I would like to congratulate Mr. Russert for his tenacity and his command of the facts.

First segment...

I'd say that the first segment goes to Obama by default, but only by virtue of no knock out blows. On points alone, Hillary in a split decision. While she wasn't doing herself any favors by whining about the order of questions or insisting on 3rd and 4th rebuttals, she didn't strike an altogether terrible balance between attacking Obama and maintaining some degree of courtesy.

I think Obama's performance was a little more aggressive than I expected. He parried well during the healthcare skirmish and stood out even more on his NAFTA responses. I didn't like how he would fold his hands across his face (thus obstructing it). I'm sure someone on his debate prep team is pretty pissed right now. He also seems less confident tonight than during some of his past performances. Where is his swagger?

Second segment...
A lot more hot-seat-Meet-the-Press type questions during this segment. Hard to say if either candidate is doing a better job fighting off Tim the Russert. The questions seem to be more pointed coming to Obama. I wonder how much of this is to make a good show for those whining that Obama is getting a free ride in the media. Less tit for tat between the candidates. Hillary is jabbing less than before, and mostly with implied attacks. I enjoyed the exchange about Farakhan. Obama's line on not being able to prevent people from saying he's a nice guy was sweet on multiple levels. He's starting to get a little swagger again. Hillary is still having a hard time letting everyone move on to the next subject.

Last segment...
BORING!!! I love you, you love me, we're a blah blah blah. Still no knockouts or game changers. What a rip-off.

Overall...
Obama wins by default. He played it close to the vest later on after a more aggressive start. Hillary landed some jabs and missed on most others. There was no clunker ala the Xerox comment from the last debate, but Obama was better prepared for her attacks than he was much of the Russert material. Now that the debate is over, the spin can begin. In the abence of any big moments from the candidates, the debate will have to be won or lost by the campaign hacks. Maybe next time we should blog the post-debate bullshit instead.