Watched last night's debate at a Woodland Hills sports bar. Although I couldn't hear any of the action, and saw the debate only intermittently between breaks in the playoff game, it did seem like Kerry was, once again, composed and reassuring. Bush looked like he had improved; I didn't spot a single rude gesture the whole night, and the "deer in the headlights" look that can seem so unsettling to even the most fervid Bush-basher was not in evidence. But who goes to a sports bar to watch a debate?

I wonder if the debate audience got larger as the night wore on, since the Yankees pulled away from the Twins about an hour in. Gallup, polling what it described as a GOP-leaning audience, gave Kerry a narrow victory, and that seems to be the consensus (see Andrew Sullivan and Mickey Kaus); even Baghdad Hugh doesn't seem to have his heart in spinning for our Great Maximum Leader's performance last night. No gaffes, with both men performing cautiously, so my guess is that the essential momentum of the race will continue to move in Kerry's favor.