From Big Bird to binders to bayonets

Our guy thrashed their guy, again.  Romney returned to his strategy from the first debate, morphing into "moderate Mitt", a persona utterly at odds with his record -- but this time Obama called him on it, and overall the Republican was clearly out of his depth.  In snap polls, CNN/ORC gave Obama the victory by 48%-to-40%, PPP by 53%-to-42% (in swing states), CBS by a crushing 53%-to-23%.

It's too bad the debate focused so much on the Middle East, a region of which most Americans know little and would probably prefer to know even less.  How many caught this geographical howler:

I mean, does he really not know that Iran includes the whole north side of the Persian (!) Gulf?

Russia, China, Europe, and Latin America got little mention.  It would have been interesting to see Romney flounder through a discussion of the EU, many of whose economies are being devastated by the same kind of austerity policies the Republicans advocate for our own country.

Andrew Sullivan live-blogged the debate and has a round-up of pundit reactions.  See blogger commentary from Liberal Values, Juan Cole, Booman Tribune, The Reaction, Politicus USA, Bob Cesca, and Taegan Goddard (for right-wing views, see Hot Air, David Frum, and Race42012).  And, yes, horses and bayonets is the top zinger of the debate.