Debate post-mortem: Kerry won, hands down, but Bush did much better than in his last bumbling outing. Got some zingers in, pulled off the heartfelt bit when discussing abortion, had that cocksure, mocking demeanor that a lot of people seem to go for (my dad says Bush unwittingly speaks to our reptilian brains). But the unscripted Bush persona these days is mighty peculiar. TalkLeft links to an AP report that sums up his presidential twitchings:

President Bush smirked and winked and chuckled to himself. He jumped from his stool, chopped at the air and interrupted the debate moderator. As he fought to keep his emotions in check during a combative debate with Sen. John Kerry, the president jokingly said, "That answer almost made me want to scowl."

Several answers brought Bush's emotions to the surface, for better or worse, as he sought to curb Kerry's momentum. The question that hung over the second of their three debates was whether Bush's aggressive, hyper style was an effective tool or a damaging habit - an extension of his disastrous first debate performance. Reviews were mixed.

Bush "seemed wound a bit too tight. He was a little like Nixon - sort of jumping out of his suit," said David Niven, political science professor at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. "He looked bad on the TV close-ups."

TalkLeft also lists some online polls you can still vote on (while they're likely a worthless measure, like most political opinion polls these days, they all indicate a Kerry win), and gives a run-down of reactions by bloggers.