What channel did you watch the debates on?

Theoretically, the channels carrying the presidential and vice-presidential debates are, for the duration of the debate, airing exactly the same thing, with the only differences being minor graphical details, such as what font to use for lower thirds. John McCain will come across just as curmudgeonly and Sarah Palin just as clueless. The lead-in and lead-out is of course different, and the networks would hope that after you watched the debate, you would stay tuned to the same channel. Of the over-the-air networks, my first choice is ABC, then NBC, CBS, PBS, and my last choice is FOX. My and CW didn't carry the debates, so they don't figure into this.

However, I didn't watch the debates on ABC, because Channel 7 (WXYZ), the local ABC affiliate here in Detroit has very strange digital reception. It took one kind of antenna (a multidirectional lay-flat) to get 7-1 (and 7-2, but do you really want to watch old shows look blurry on a new LCD screen?) to even show up in the channel scan and another antenna (rabbit ears I custom-mangled) to actually watch that channel. But for a week now, my specially mangled antenna can't even get 7-1 anymore. To watch an episode of Ugly Betty, applying pressure to the base of the antenna actually helped. But later it was useless, and I've grown tired of having to mangle the antenna. I shouldn't have to destroy something in order for it to work. I know the analog Channel 7-0 is still around, but it doesn't look good on a digital TV, and besides, who knows what shape I'd have to bend the antenna to get that one to come in halfway decent. Maybe no RCA antennas can work for me, so I decided to give Philips a chance. I bought a Philips rabbit ears, SCP020, which right on the box claims "Outstanding reception." Understandably, I was extremely skeptical, but I'm willing to give it a chance. I took it out the box, removed a bit of onion paper it had between components, plugged it in, and without any other adjustments, and without me having to put it upside down, it gets 4-1 and 4-2. Reception on 20-1, 20-2 and 62-1 remains the same. No 7-1. And still no 50-1.

So I watched the final presidential debate on CBS. I could have watched it on FOX, but I didn't care to hear their so-called conservative spin wrap-up. Kudos though to FOX for not censoring last Sunday's Family Guy episode in which Stewie's Nazi uniform has a McCain-Palin button on it.