Debate II: Can it get any more boring?

Bingo

For those playing John McCain bingo last night, the term "my friends" drew big dividends as the Arizona senator uttered the two words 19 times. That tops Sarah Palin's use of the word "maverick" last week -- despite all the attention, she only said it seven times.

For Obama bingo players, the words "health care" was a cash-cow as he uttered the words 18 times.

And the winner is

Who won the debate? Following such a contest it is tradition for the two campaign teams to send out "In case you missed it" emails which show favorable reviews .

From Nick Shapiro at Obama headquarters:

TIME: I'm very distracted by McCain standing behind Obama and looking really, really mad.

MSNBC (Fineman): "Another good moment for Obama was when Obama basically took control of the foreign policy debate toward the end there."

FOX News (Luntz): “We seem to be getting winners out of this. Obama did better overall."

From the press office at the McCain headquarters:

The New York Times' Katharine Q. Seelye: "Mr. McCain is developing a chatty rapport with Mr. Brokaw about the candidates exceeding their time limits. He seems relaxed, as if he knows he is making a connection on a personal level. He roams the stage. Mr. Obama, who once stood in front of classes as a college professor, stands still while delivering his answers, and this one on health care sounds more like a lecture."

CNN's David Gergen: "I thought John McCain was more effective than he was last time on domestic policy. I thought his answers in general were more organized and he made his points more effectively."

NBC's Chuck Todd: "[M]cCain did get stronger, I think, as the night went on. When it turned to foreign policy, you can see his comfort zone and you could see him getting more comfortable "

Consensus

The one thing that everyone appeared to agree on is that it was bo-o-oring.

Favorite quotes from around the Internet include:

"That debate was more boring than, uh… more boring than a Nordic opera singer being interviewed on Charlie Rose!" courtesy of The Wonkette.

"Both John McCain and Barack Obama departed the plush, red-carpeted stage at Belmont University having sleepwalked through one of the most boring, least informative, most poorly moderated debates in recent memory. It turns out the most spirited thing that happened all night was the handshake," from Tom Bevan at Real Clear Politics.

"Well, there's an hour and a half of my life I'm never getting back," laments Jim Geraghty at National Review.

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