And he passed the 'commander-in-chief' test as a consequence, the last hurdle before the final furlong to the finish.  This has been the one narrative holding him back since the beginning of the national contest.

The smirking and snarling little old man doesn't look presidential?

And the polling shows just how out of touch the pundits are.  Immediately after the debate, pundits were gravely talking about how often Obama agreed with McCain, as if Obama had made a fatal error in doing so.  Lots of bloggers were saying that as well.  

Of course, they couldn't carry that meme for very long, as every polling data showed that the American people picked Obama overwhelmingly as the winner.  

Then they started talking about how McCain never looked at Obama and a new meme was born.  

That must be why David Broder wrote a column today stating that McCain was "clearly the Alpha Male" in the debate.  For those of you who are not as old as I am, Broder used to be a fair, intelligent and insightful writer.  Now he is just embarrassing himself.  

David, please, please -- retire.

The thing is, while the pundits, and a lot of bloggers on both sides, take a partisan approach, and wanted to see points scored and attacks landed, the folks that really enjoy that stuff are already committed to their candidate.  The key group is the uncommitted, who are by and large moderate and independent.  They like both candidates because they are perceived as less partisan than typical politicians (and thus both candidates continue to score very high approval ratings - high 50s and low 60s).

In this debate, Obama, with his "you're right, John, but ..." points appeared post-partisan and his attacks were more effective since he clearly was willing to give credit where due, while McCain with his "you don't understand" when anyone watching the debate could see that he clearly understands, appeared partisan and petty.  Thus, Obama appealed directly to the moderates and independents who unsurprisingly dramatically preferred his approach.  

That's why the post debate polls showed a large preference for Obama, and that's why he's steadily increasing his lead in the polls.  The folks that will decide this want less partisan bickering in Washington, and Friday night Obama clearly showed that he's the right choice for them.

Have we found any bad news yet?

Obama looked more presidential when he grew in confidence once it was obvious McCain was too cautious. McCain was almost like Gore in the second debate of 2000, apparently worried about public reaction if he came across as too temperamental or disrespectful. Even when McCain repeatedly said Obama didn't understand, there was no emphasis or altered tone. It was a weak canned line.

Like I posted on debate night, McCain's performance was apropos of a seated debate, not a podium debate. In podium debates it's expected you will turn toward the opponent and engage forcefully. Obama had many stretches of that, particularly in the "war didn't start in 2007" beauty.

McCain played it safe and lost.