by Michael Olson

Here's the instant take from NPR's live debate coverage on how the candidates fared.

Weekly Standard's Matt Continetti: "I was struck by a few moments in this debate, where McCain, in trying to make a case for himself made a case for Obama." McCain mentioned "his hero Ronald Reagan" multiple times. "But at the end of the debate Obama made the Reagan case" by asking, "Are you better off?"

More Continetti, on speaking softly and carrying a big stick: "The problem is" that McCain's "initial response to the financial crisis was erratic. One moment he was saying 'the fundamentals are strong,' the next he is saying it is a mess. ... It was Obama who had the steady response in the financial crisis."

Washington Post's EJ Dionne: I don't think that McCain shook the race up. ... There was a lot of speculation that in order to shake the race up McCain was going to get real personal." As VP nominee Sarah Palin has done on the trail recently. "You can't blame the Weather Underground for blowing up this economy. ... It is quite obvious that you can't turn a page on the finance crisis in this campaign."

NPR's Mara Liasson: "There wasn't any one moment that leapt out. ... Neither made big mistakes." McCain did "a pretty good job" of showing that he understood the economy.
The debate "didn't change the dynamic of this race."

More Liasson, on evasive answers by Obama and McCain: "There were a lot of moments where they launched into recycled chunks of stump speeches."