So, impressions and opinions on last night's debate? Okay, I'll go first. It's clear by now that these candidates need to swap meds: Obama should be taking McCain's juiced Geritoland McCain should channel the Human Valium across the desk from him. I didn't think either man was particularly on his game, but Obama is ahead, and was playing four-corners to some degree. Big difference is that Obama's cucumber cool has been working, and he stuck with it. McCain's splatter-shot attacks have not been working, and he stuck with it. Why? Weird. Maybe there are no other arrows in the quiver.And speaking of weird, I think Joe the Plumber needs to get a TRO on McCain.I'd never heard of Joe Wurzelbacher until last night, but the WaPo has the video that made him famous here. Joe is set to buy a company with more than $250,000 in income, but he has no idea what's coming down the pike now, as the media tries to figure out who Joe is. Has Joe the Plumber joined Joe Sixpack and Joltin' Joe and Marlboro Joe and Joe Komonchak as an American icon?Enough of that. Anything of substance? An oddly inchoate Roe v. Wade exchange, but probably smart politics. Oh, and Bob Shieffer wins the moderator award, in my book! He sounded as fed up with the yammering as I was, and he kept it moving. Good for him.

David Gibson is the director of Fordham’s Center on Religion & Culture.

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