If you watched the debate last night, perhaps you, like me, feel frustrated with the canned language of the candidates. We’ve heard the talking points before and at least my expectation is that the debate is a chance to elaborate and show some of their thinking, but I’d also like to know that they are speaking factually. Free Press conducted a survey on reactions that I find interesting:

The panel thought that Brokaw’s decision not to fact-check the candidates or challenge their spin was a problem: 83% of Obama supporters and 75% of McCain supporters wanted to see more challenging follow-up questions from the moderator. Read the press release>>

Following on the heels of that report, I received today another disconcerting tip of spin at work:

Evil Twin Booking, a West Philly-based talent agency, has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls related to its representation of former Weather Underground radical Bill Ayers. Gov. Sarah Palin has recently ramped up criticism of Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to Ayers, who, along with his wife, Bernardine Dohrn, and other members of the radical group bombed various government buildings in the ’70s. Read the entire post>>

My commentary: If we ever need a media literate nation, it is now.