So quite a few of you were offended by Wednesday’s debate. I wasn’t as much “offended” as I was “amused.” I kept waiting for the next question to come out of George Stephanopoulos’ mouth, each one kookier than the last. I seriously thought he was going to ask Obama if he was, after all, a Muslim.

Sure, I was somewhat giddy that Obama was finally the target, as opposed to Hillary, who has consistently come under media sniper fire. But I thought the debate was a sham. It was also the most watched debate of this campaign. People realized this could be the final final.

Just like any TV show, even if it had gone bad a long time ago, people tune into the season finale because they want to see how it ends. Kind of like The Bachelor. I mean, last season turned out to be the most dramatic rose ceremony ever. Brad rejected both of them! Maybe that’s what we’ll do!

Amid ABC’s damage control, George has defended his role as moderator during the much-criticized debate — in particular, asking Obama about his relationship (no matter how flimsy) with former political radical William Ayers.

“We have been researching this for a while,” Stephanopoulos said in a phone interview. “Part of what we discovered is that Sen. Obama had never been asked directly about it, even though it’s being written about and talked about and Republicans are signaling that this is gonna be an issue in the general election.”

OK, so this might be lame, as DMWP pointed out yesterday, but whether or not George was pulling from the Republican handbook, he gave Obama a chance to respond to a rumor that has been circulating for months. I thought Obama was able to diffuse that with a strong response:

“This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who’s a professor of English in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He’s not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn’t make much sense, George.”

Guilt by association is a slippery slope indeed. I mean, my God, can you imagine if someday I run for president and I have to explain my relationships with all of YOU?!