John McCain was pretty casual about preparing for his debate with Barack Obama last week. He kept up a busy schedule; campaigning, travelling and even working with his colleagues in Washington on the Wall Street bailout. He still did pretty well against Obama. There was no indication he should have studied, slept or prepared any more than he had.

Sarah Palin campaigns in Ohio ahead of Thursday’s showdown.

McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is taking a more traditional route – putting herself into 'debate camp' with some close advisors and practicing hard.

She spent four days in a Philadelphia hotel and now has gone into a more secluded setting as a guest at McCain's Arizona ranch.

Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, is preparing for the vice presidential debate in his home state of Delaware.

In keeping with a familiar campaign practice, Biden has a 'stand-in' debating in Palin's place. The stand-in is the governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm. Her job is to mimic Palin successfully enough to give Biden a chance to practice what to say and how to say it.

Biden has already told reporters what he expects.

"She's going to try to make it as personal as she can," he said earlier this month. "She's going to take a lot of straight lefts and jabs at me, she's going to try to get me to respond, she's going to try to get me to respond in a personal way."

"That's not my style. I'm not going to do it."

The McCain campaign isn't saying who, if anyone is playing Biden right now.

But Palin has done her best to both increase the pressure on Biden and poke fun at him at the same time. She told one crowd this week "I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, the second grade."

Editor's Note: CNN's Jonathan Mann will be blogging during the Live Biden-Palin debate, so join the discussion! See the debate Live, Friday, October 3 at 0100 GMT | 0900 HK (Thu 9pm ET). CNN International viewers can also catch replays at 0900 GMT | 1700 HK and 1600 GMT | 0000 (Sat) HK.

BAJAUR AGENCY, Pakistan - He looked annoyed and carried an old AK-47 assault rifle. He walked up to me, looked me dead in the eyes and yelled: "Go! Just go!" This was my up-close look at what anti-American anger looks and feels like in Pakistan's lawless tribal region.

What military strategists in Washington should know is that the venom did not come from members of the Taliban or al Qaeda. It came from Pakistani tribesmen who had taken up arms and formed militias to fight against the Taliban, but equally willing to take on U.S. and NATO forces.

I saw hundreds of these militiamen during a rare trip for journalists to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Area, or FATA, along the Afghan border. FATA is widely believed to be home to the Taliban and al Qaeda.

It's slightly bigger than the state of New Jersey and it's the focal point in the U.S.-led war on terror. In recent months Washington has turned up the heat on Pakistan and accused it of not doing enough against the Taliban and al Qaeda. This trip was an effort by the Pakistan Army to refute criticism and show the world it's making progress.

Part of the progress, according to the Pakistan Army, has been the emergence of armed militias who've vowed to stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers to fight the Taliban. The Pakistan Army says its partnership with these civilian forces is crucial in the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

What jeopardizes the partnership, they say, are U.S. incursions onto Pakistani soil. In recent weeks suspected U.S. missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan's tribal region have increased, so has anti-American outrage, even among those who are enemies of the Taliban. I asked some of the tribesmen who they hated more, the Taliban or U.S. forces? "To us, they¹re equal," they said.

I saw the anti-American outrage in the eyes of the armed militiaman who got in my face and asked me to leave. I kept calm and reached out my hand. He shook it and eked out a smile. For a moment I felt his anger was gone. But in Pakistan's tribal region there is a lot more anti-American outrage that remains, and few analysts believe U.S. military strategy in the region will succeed without doing something about it.

Did you watch the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama? We're astonished at how many people were watching and blogging along with us. The TV viewing audience in the United States alone was 57 million people. That didn't set any records but it's still a serious number in a country of 300 million people.

We were astonished at how many people were watching and blogging along with us.

I'll bet dollars-to-doughnuts that the audience this week will be dramatically bigger. Sarah Palin and Joe Biden will debate on Thursday night in the United States, which will translate into an inconvenient hour on Friday morning in much of the world.

Palin has been like a rocket, blasting into the campaign with a bang and now heading back down to earth. Her poll numbers are dropping, her televised interviews have made for uncomfortable viewing, and she is increasingly becoming a pop culture figure-of-fun. Still, she has an awful lot of fans.

What do you think? And tell us where you are writing from ... (And whatever you think, join us if you can as we blog about the debate along with you!)

Editor's Note: CNN will have Live coverage of the Palin-Biden debate Friday, October 3 at 0100 GMT | 0900 HK.  Or catch the replays at 0900 GMT | 1700 HK and 1600 GMT | 0000 (Sat) HK.  CNN's Jonathan Mann will be blogging during the debate, so join the discussion!

It's over. How did you score it?

I thought, on a basic level, it seemed like a well-reasoned and passionate debate. I didn't hear a lot of news – many of the remarks and accusations had been made before. I didn't see any mistakes or bad moments.

So what about the smaller things that caught the eye? Both men were energetic from the very outset. Remember, that McCain in particular has been very busy this week. Oxford, Mississippi is his third city in three days. And at 72, he could be expected to show some signs of fatigue. But he was focused and effective.

Speaking of ‘eyes,' we didn't see a lot of eye-contact. We've received several comments about how little McCain even looked in Obama's direction. I agree. Obama seemed more interested in what McCain had to say, acknowledging McCain with more respect visually and verbally. He was frequently willing to agree. McCain's body language and his remarks actually seemed scornful by comparison.

What do you think? Keep sending your comments. You've been watching and weighing-in from all over the world. Your observations are fascinating.

We've gotten a comment from a professed Obama supporter who says McCain is doing surprisingly well. What do you think? And let me ask something more superficial but important for an event like this: How do they look? I am struck by how energetic both men have been from the very outset. Sure, it's a big, important evening and they are successful, professional politicians. But McCain in particular has been very busy and traveling too. Oxford, Mississippi is his third city in three days. And he's been focused and effective.

We're in the final minutes. One of the debate experts I spoke to pointed out that a lot of the worst mistakes tend to happen after the first hour, once the candidates start getting tired. They aren't looking tired yet. What do you think?

Finally – foreign policy! Remember this was supposed to be the foreign policy debate. After the first third of the debate, dominated by domestic economic concerns, they turn to the issue that defined the two candidates.Remember, Obama won the Democratic nomination in large part, because of his opposition to the war in Iraq. John McCain's candidacy was, at the outset, most closely associated with his support for the war.

In the nearly two years since the campaign really began, the issue has actually faded for most American voters. When I talk to people, unless they're from military families or communities, the economy is their main concern.

And I don't think anyone who really does care would have changed their minds on what they've heard.

So on the economy and foreign policy so far, I don't see any knock-out punches; no one's backed up against the ropes. Score it a tie so far.

And we've got a pronunciation question: Is it PACK-ih-stan, the way Obama pronounces it? or Pawk-ih-STAWN, the way McCain is saying it? Your choice. But obviously a clear difference between the candidates on stage tonight.

The economy: the focus of the debate was supposed to be and probably will be national security, but there was no way to avoid the economy. And it's dominated the evening so far.Still, neither man seemed eager to answer the first question of the night: where do they stand on the proposed 700-billion-dollar bailout of the U.S. financial system?

John McCain and Barack Obama greet each other at Friday's U.S. presidential debate.

Both seemed more eager to talk about the past and the future, than the problem they face in the present tense: the plan that Wall Street and world markets are waiting for.

Even pressed repeatedly by the moderator, Obama refused to say whether he would support the $700 billion plan. McCain said quickly, as if in passing, that he hoped to be able to vote for it.

Neither volunteered any hint of how they would find that $700 billion.

Since then, it's been back and forth with no real surprises. Both men are looking sharp and energetic. We'll see what's ahead....

If you're watching the U.S. presidential debate and online right now, join us and join in! We want to hear your thoughts.I'll be sharing mine but I'd love to hear from you. And tell us where you're from, if you can... and if you're watching in the middle of the night or the early morning.

With just minutes left before the presidential debate gets underway in Oxford, Mississippi, we're learning more about how and why McCain decided to get back in.It turns out that his own campaign strategists began getting nervous very soon after his announcement Wednesday that he wouldn't go.

By the very next day (Sept. 25), McCain had a podium set up in his apartment in Washington and last night, he did two hours of debate preparation.

He announced the about-face, of course, just a few hours ago.

CNN's Dana Bash says the campaign staff just realized "he had no choice, politically."

Even they came to believe McCain's only reason for suspending his campaign and urging a debate delay was disappearing. He told Americans he wanted to return to Washington to help Congressional leaders work out a Wall Street bailout. But they found he was hindering the negotiating process rather than helping it. The Congressional talks are not going well and a bailout deal is still days away.

Dana says the feeling was, "Get McCain out of this and get him out of town."

Jonathan Mann is blogging during the Live debate – so join the discussion!

So the debate is back on and John McCain will be part of it.

John McCain and wife Cindy board his campaign plane for the flight from Washington to the Mississippi debate.

Just days after saying he would stay away until there was a Wall Street rescue agreement in Washington, McCain acknowledged the obvious and agreed he could spare a few hours tonight.

There is no deal, but he'll debate anyway.

Why? Maybe because the decision to withdraw wasn't particularly well received.

A new Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll found that 60 percent of the public wanted the candidates to debate. Only 22 percent supported McCain and the rest had no particular opinion.

After all the drama and suspense, it will be even more interesting to see how he does; how the travel, activity and stress of the last few days translate into television.

And how many more Americans will be watching, because of the enormous build up.

Remember, the subjects were supposed to be related to national security and foreign policy. But I can't imagine that they'll ignore the events of the last few days.

Editor's Note: Watch the first U.S. presidential debate live on CNN International: Saturday, September 27 at 0100 GMT/0900 HK (9pm ET Friday). Debate repeated September 27 at 0900 GMT/1700 HK and 1900 GMT/0300 (Sunday) HK.

Jonathan Mann will be blogging before, during and after the debate – so join the discussion!