Debate isn't all talk; there's 'a little dance'

"In the first debate, he seemed like he paused and stuttered more," Wood said. "When [moderator Tom] Brokaw would ask a question, he would almost jump out of his chair and walk powerfully and quickly toward Brokaw and answer quickly, with no pause. That showed he was more confident and sure of himself, and I am sure he was coached to answer as quickly as possible."

But Glass, who thought the debate was a draw, said Obama seemed unnatural at times. "Somebody coached him and did not do him a favor," she said. "When he talks about an issue he's passionate about, his gestures are fluid and real, but other times, he took his index finger and clasped it to his thumb, and it's phony, it's not real."

She also thought his inflection might be a turn-off to some voters. "He'd say, 'Pahk-ee-stahn,' or 'Tolly-bahn.' You need to say Pakistan and Taliban like everyone else."

Karen Bradley, a University of Maryland dance professor and expert on body movement, saw the event, perhaps not surprisingly, as "a little dance."

"Sen. McCain's way is to dig in his heels and be very solid and very direct. He did that a lot, but then he also wandered around a bit. When he did that, he toddled and he looked a little old and unsteady on his feet, which is in direct contrast to how he comes across to his supporters. He did better when he stood his ground and spoke directly," she said.

Obama, said Bradley, "had a tendency to wander around and be comprehensive. He had a lot of ideas coming out of him, and tonight he seemed to be unsure, a little hesitant." She thought Obama hit his mark in an answer to a question about Israel. "He looked the guy right in the eye and the guy nodded. That was a strong answer."

She also thought that their facial expressions gave them away. "Sen. Obama seems to go a little blank, his face opens up and then when he gets clear about an idea, his face gets very focused."

Wood, who said that a debate is won in the first 15 minutes and lost in the last two, thought Obama closed on a higher note than McCain.

"McCain was very strong at the beginning, but the fact that it lasted an hour and a half worked against him," she said. "You could tell he lost energy. If people watched until the end, Obama ended really strong."

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robin.abcarian@latimes.com