Report sees debates key to election

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The Obama-McCain debates seen by some as 90-minute TV programs in which nothing happened actually may have decided the election, The Washington Post says.

It's still up to the voters, of course, but evidence from polls and focus groups suggests Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic contender, significantly improved his standing with a great many Americans since the first debate five weeks ago on Sept. 26, the Post said Friday.

Americans find Obama "more empathetic, stronger, better prepared to be president and just more sympathetic a figure" than before the debates, the report says.

Further, Obama moved ahead of Republican Sen. John McCain after the second debate, according to the Washington Post/ABC News poll, and stayed there.

On Thursday, the Post-ABC tracking poll had Obama ahead 52 percent to 44 percent. (The margin of error in all of these polls is plus or minus 3 points.)

"The debates had a big impact," says Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

According to Nielsen, the debates attracted a total audience of 242 million.