In a debate as dull as last night’s, the best part was the e-mail stream pouring in from the campaigns. From the Rudy camp, we got word that the New York Times had endorsed McCain. Score one for the McCain rivals arguing that he’s too friendly with the liberal media and not conservative enough. Then we got this homage to the Kerry windsurfing ad from the McCain camp. Next came the oppo from two camps indicating that, despite his denial, McCain really had said that he knows less about economics than foreign policy and that he still needs “to be educated.” Does any of this matter? The McCain ad is cute and may get some play, and the NYT endorsement will provide fodder for Romney. However, in a debate this inconsequential, the chatter about the debate certainly won’t make many headlines. The most interesting incident last night may have been McCain’s closing praise of Rudy, a gentle way of suggesting to the voters McCain is trying to scoop up that you can admire Rudy and still not vote for him. If he can pull more of the voters away from Rudy, his competitor for moderate and national security voters, McCain will have gone a long way toward securing a win.