Overall, a much more interesting discussion than I had expected. I think it is fair to say that this discussion earned the title "debate", to my surprise. I'll give Lehrer credit for running a tight (but not too tight) ship --- while standing by my (and Hewitt's) dismay at the Kerry-slanted nature of the questions.

In the end, though, I don't think it will be enough to help Kerry. Viewed objectively, this looks like a draw to me. Both candidates did solid jobs, but neither "broke through"; at the same time neither had any serious gaffes. Each side's pundits will spin the debate as a win, and the overall CW (driven by Kerry-leaning Big Media) will be that Kerry was the winner (just because he didn't self-destruct). But I'm betting that the polls over the next week will show perhaps a slight tightening in the race: but nothing more.

PS: Great, Jeff Greenfield (on CNN) just quoted "a conservative blog" as a source of concern that Bush wasn't doing great. Curses, foiled again!

PPS: So which network is going to include a "tour of the blogs" in their post-debate nattering? Anybody who sees such a beast, shout it out in the comments!