Quick analysis of the first debate tonight:

I thought Bush was mediocre, solid in most spots but never spectacular. I thought Kerry did a good job of getting his message across, which is more than he's done for most of this campaign. However, I think Bush did what he had to do, which is not make any glaring errors or big mistakes. While I think Kerry held an edge in this debate, I don't think he did enough to transform the dynamics of this race. With Bush holding a 5 or 6 point lead, as long as he does not flop big time over the next month, he should be able to hold steady and win. Kerry did what he had to do tonight, but it may simply be a case of too little, too late. He still has two more debates though, and with one focused on domestic issues, he still has an opportunity to strike hard at the president. If Bush could not defeat Kerry in a debate on foreign policy, it raises questions about his ability to perform on that topic. Will it be enough? I don't think so, but only time will tell.

With all that being said, in terms of substance, I think Bish still holds an edge over Kerry. I just don't think he did a great job tonight of getting his substance across to the American people and the undecided voters. All in all, I thought it was a solid debate that actually had a good degree of substance and delineated the differences between the candidates. For my final grades, I give Bush a C+ and Kerry a B+. I'm gonna hit you up with my revised election projection on October 2nd, but if anyone watched the debate, I'm very interested to hear your opinions. Holla.