The initial reviews are in and it’s not terribly good for McCain. Republicans are pulling out their yard signs and praying for the lives of their family and children.

Obama was THAT good.

Obama was poised, his answers substantive, and deflected McCain’s attacks with aplomb. But once again McCain dug deep into the history books for guidance, quoting Theodore Roosevelt’s famous line “Talk Softly and Carry a Big Stick” when discussing Pakistan. And this wasn’t the first time McCain has gone to that well. In the first debate he invoked Dwight Eisenhower to enforce a point on accountability, that was later to be found incorrect. While these are certainly important historical figures and we owe much to them, they have little or no impact on the modern voter.

For me the most memorable moment of the night is in the clip below when McCain referred to Obama as “That One” in a rather dismissive, perhaps even disrespectful tone, with regards to an energy bill that Obama voted for and McCain voted against.

I’m glad for Obama that McCain wasn’t actually carrying a stick.

After watching the Democratic Debate last week I thought it was Biden who made the most of what little time he was given. His foreign policy remarks were dead on, and considering today’s events in Pakistan, all the more relevant. Below are two clips from the debate regarding Pakistan, followed by the first few paragraphs from a BBC news report on today’s events in Pakistan… Scary.

“Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule and suspended the country’s constitution.

He defended his actions in a national address, saying he was curbing a rise in extremism in Pakistan.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops, who also entered state-run TV and radio stations.

The moves come as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf’s October election victory.”

More from the BBC…