Round Two between the heads of the tickets, and Obama wins on points.  (Ghu help me, another sports metaphor.)  You all saw the action, so I'm not going to go into the details.  What I want to look at is how things were said.

First off, if I hear McCain say "My Friends..." one more time I'm going to loose it all over this keyboard.  Why do I get a feeling when he says that similar to the one I got at a car dealership a few weeks ago when this sleazy salesman leaned in close to me and said "Listen, Friend".   It rang hollow with that dealer, and it rings hollow with McCain.  He's given up on his honor and turned into a sleazy salesman ready to say anything to sell me a bill of goods.

The quality of the voices said a lot.  To use the terminology of Michael Grinder, Obama was "credible".  His posture, his cadence, his speech, all said "I am being honest with you, and you can trust me."  In the first debate there were a lot of "Umms..." and "Ahhss..." and other place holders in his speech.  This time he paused before speaking, got his thoughts together, and gave a solid response with very few pauses.  He was the doctor telling you that things are bad, but we can treat the illness.

Listening to McCain, on the other hand, was sitting next to a guy at a bar who leans over and says in a snarky kind of voice, whiny and and conspiratorial, "you know he's going to fine you if you don't get health coverage".  It was the voice of someone who wants to be your buddy, wants to sound like he's your friend, but ultimately, is just someone who's trying to ingratiate himself with you.  It was as if he had some secret inner truth that he was revealing to you.  Not facts, not plans, mainly un-supported attacks.

At the end of the debate I felt Obama came out of it standing tall, looking you in the eye.  McCain lost more of his standing.  When you add the muck that Palin is spewing, the McCain/Palin ticket is sinking lower every day.