How do you decide the winner of a debate...

I watched the final presidential debate tonight. When it was over, I flipped through the news networks to see who they thought was the "winner" of the debate. To no one's surprise, it depended on who you were watching. On Fox News Channel, 86% of people texting to the show said McCain won the debate. If you watched CNN or MSNBC, 60-65% thought Obama won.

So how can we all watch the same debate and yet have such a drastic difference in who "won" the debate? I think the answer is simple. The majority of Americans have already decided who "won" the debate before it ever started. Obviously, it's natural to believe that the person who shares the same views/beliefs as you won the debate. But nobody "wins" a debate, in the same way nobody "wins" an ice skating or gymnastics competition. Why? Because the "winner" is decided by judges, which in this case is the American people. Imagine if the judges for those sporting competitions, and I use that term lightly, were as bias to one competitor as we are in our political views. There would be catfights after every vault, triple axel and floor exercise. Now that I think about it, maybe that would be........nevermind.

Actually, I think it would be great to have a panel of 10 judges from 10 different countries who don't have the knowledge of the candidates or the political parties they are associated with. Ask them at the end of the debate who won and whose policies serve the greater good of the people. That would be very interesting.

Bottom line, there is only 1 winner. And that's the candidate that has the most electoral college votes on November 4th. Unfortunately, the American people are not one of the candidates.