That last debate was almost painful...

So, this last debate should have been an epic conflict: it was supposed to be in a town hall format, which would give McCain the upper hand, as he has a great deal more familiarity with the town hall setting than Obama. Obama's campaign manager even stated that they would be going in as underdogs. But, Obama would have a small advantage in this debate as well because, unlike McCain's other town hall debates, this would be moderated. So, even though this debate should have been at least somewhat interesting, what happened?

One of the most boring discussions in televised history.

Let us start with the moderator, Tom Brokaw. A McCain advisor claimed after the debate that "The audience and the American people should feel robbed — that the one opportunity they had to ask questions of the presidential candidates was taken from them by Tom Brokaw.” And in a way, it's true. Brokaw did a less than exceptional job as moderator, and it seemed that he twisted every question that the audience asked, until it became his own inquiry.

Then there McCain. Poor, sad, old, on the path to senility McCain. Personally, my favorite moment was when he referred to Obama's plans as "stapling Jello to a wall". Who thinks of that kind of stuff? Also, in the last debate McCain couldn't look at Obama. In this debate, he couldn;t even say his name. In one priceless moment, when McCain was discussing the energy bill, he asked the question "do you know who voted for it?", and which he answered by pointing across the aisle at Obama and declaring "that one."

One of McCains advisors had this to say: “I don’t think he was trying to be pejorative. I wish he hadn’t done that, but it’s just how it came out. I think he was trying to be funny.”

So, McCains stance in this debate was apparently that he was an old guy who was fond of Jello, and who wanted to be funny.

But thats not even the best part. McCain has started to be viewed as 'hostile' by many Obama supporters, and there was one moment in this debated that firmly secured that belief into the mindsets of many. At the end of the debate, when Obama reached out to shake hands with McCain, McCain nudged his wife forward so Obama ended up shaking hands with Cindy McCain.

This is an intersting fact, but it should be noted that Obama and McCain did shake hands and have a ice little hug at the end of the debate. But it still raises questions of why McCain would avoid shaking hands? Many Obama supporters are claiming that it is because McCain is not comfortable around Obama anymore, and is now intimidated by him. Then again, with the way the polls are going, its not like McCain has the election in a bag.