HOW DID I SCORE THE NELSON - HARRIS DEBATE LAST NIGHT?

To be very blunt, I have to score it a draw.

First, I was unhappy with the choice of panelists. It seemed as though both candidates were getting softball questions and hardly followed up on many of the answers given by both candidates.

Ms. Harris did significantly better than I had predicted. Her getting away from the podium while giving her answers showed that she was comfortable with the format and that she was obviously prepped well in advance. If I were her, I would have avoided the brief attacks on her opponent scattered throughout the hour and focused on her agenda.

I felt that Senator Bill Nelson simply played it safe, which is the smart thing to do if you have a 25+ percentage point lead going into the last two weeks of the campaign.

Everything said, I just didn't feel that either candidate hit one out of the park, thus my grade of a draw.

And what happened to Ray Suarez of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer? He was scheduled to be the moderator for last night's debate, as well as tonight's gubernatorial debate.