The first presidential debate just ended, and we at languageandgrammar.com want to join the ranks of millions of bloggers who are currently penning posts about who won the debate.

It’s our opinion that the difference between the two candidates is as stark as it’s been between any two candidates in the history of the United States. We’re not endorsing either candidate–that’s not the purpose of the blog (and technically, we already did with an earlier post), but it’s clear that the difference between the candidates extends to their debating style.

Senator Obama clearly used a cerebral style of debating while Senator McCain employed a much more aggressive, almost physical style. Obama’s cerebral style matched his personality–he’s always been one to think about issues, calmly make decisions, and explain them thoroughly and completely. McCain’s more aggressive debating style also matched with his personality–reactionary and rash with a more simplified approach to issues.

The most striking difference between these two styles, according to the crack staff at languageandgrammar.com, was the manner in which McCain was often dismissive of and condescending toward Obama–an aggressive tactic indeed. McCain insisted on a couple of occasions that Obama “didn’t understand” this or that and half-heartedly laughed at Obama’s comments while making his own.

The differences are clear. What type of president do Americans want?