No knockout blow tonight. Maybe next time.

Oh, there was a knock out alright.

I can beat you all!

I am related to Andrew Jackson!

Now too bad I hate the bastard's guts...

I'm basing my opinion on what pundits stated (and Yoda) - he needed a knockout blow. With less than a month to go, he needed a homer and definitely could have used a grandslam. He got neither. AP had called it a few weeks ago - and said he was at a political dead-end. With early voting starting, a huge voter drive that tends to favor Dems and this sagging economy and Wall St. woes, this debate had to stop the bleeding. He didn't. He's got a chest wound and thought a pinkie Band-Aid to it.

The biggest thing? McCain was very favored in this kind of debate - the town hall format - but Obama own3d him. Don't believe just me - look at the polls.

The McCain campaign is totally losing its marbles. Between changing the topic from the economy to personal smears, McCain calling Obama "that one" and using Palin as nothing more than a parrot/attack dog...

They've totally lost it and if they don't get back on track soon, they're done for. I bet McCain now wishes he had chosen someone who knows about the economy for VP.

But humanitarian interventions will never hurt our reputation, and defending our interests abroad helps us in the long run as long as we are doing it intelligently.  (i.e. the initial invasion of Afghanistan.) 

So what exactly do you think we need to be non-interventionist about?  The stupid wars?  In that case I completely agree. 

As I have earlier stated, it is not solely about our reputation. We also have no business intervening when it is not a national defense issue. You could make the argument that OEF-A was a defensive operation, so I can see why that war made sense. I think non-interventionism should be at the center of our foreign policy. Not solely in regards to our military actions, but also in regards to our intelligence agencies. The CIA has continually inserted itself into the affairs of sovereign nations. The consequences of these actions have come back to haunt us. Whether it is US funding of terrorist organizations such as Jundallah or other such activities, these intrusions must end. 

That depends on what you mean by beat. I'm a direct descendant of Charlemagne.

I'm a retired Army Officer. My father and three uncles are retired military officers and they all served in Vietnam and one in Korea. One uncle dead in Vietnam. Grandfather a retired Army Officer who was on Ike's staff during the North African Campaign. Two uncles dead in WWII. Great-Grandfather a retired Army Officer who served in WWI. Great-Great-Grandfather fought in the battle of Massass and the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded. Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather fought in the War of Independence.

I have five relatives interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

As far as the election goes, I don't think any of US were qualified to be President of the United States based on our military service.

We agree on that. But, on the other hand, things like our actions in Kosovo have, I would argue, actually strengthened our global stature. People are more willing to deal with a country they respect.  So once again I think it comes down to smart intervention versus stupid intervention.

Kosovo was not a case of "smart intervention." Why the US felt the need to interject itself into a civil war is beyond me.