Traci Hanamura

Jennifer Phillips is tired and overwhelmed. She has spent the last couple of days digging through the remains of her home.

Although the Republican campaign promised "the gloves are going to come off"  during the second round of presidential debates, there were no big "knockouts" or "knockdowns."

Sen. Barack Obama seemed to win the second round. A poll conducted by CBS News found 39 percent of undecided voters believed Obama to be the winner, 27 percent gave it to Sen. John McCain, and 35 percent said it was a draw.

John McCain must have seen how high the ratings continue to be on shows such as The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, because he tried to crack jokes during the debate.

Tom Brokow: Obviously the powers of the treasury secretary have been greatly expanded. The most powerful officer in the cabinet now. Who do you have in mind to appoint to that very important post?

John McCain: Not you, Tom.

The media's focus on the first presidential debate between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama was unique this year. Days, even hours, before the debate, the big question on everyone's mind was not about its substance; it was whether there would even be a debate. After McCain announced a campaign suspension, Obama replied that the debate should go on, because this is the best time for voters to hear each candidate's views and policies, especially regarding the economy.

As soon as the debate ended, both campaigns announced their candidate the clear winner.

"This was a clear victory for Barack Obama on John McCain's home turf. Sen. McCain offered nothing but more of the same failed Bush policies, and Barack Obama made a forceful case for change in our economy and our foreign policy." - David Plouffe, Obama-Biden campaign manager

"John McCain won this debate and controlled the dialogue throughout, whether it was the economy, taxes, spending, Iraq or Iran. There was a leadership gap, a judgment gap and a boldness gap on display tonight, a fact Barack Obama acknowledged when he said John McCain was right at least five times." - Jill Hazelbaker, McCain-Palin communications director

But media coverage post-debate was, for the most part, uneventful. No one went for the jugular. There was no clear winner in the media; most analysts and commentators declared the outcome of the debate to be a "tie" before (sometimes) announcing who they believed took the lead. Perhaps this was because, as the LA Times stated, the presidential debate was "largely polite."

Two new tools of verification have been placed in the hands of the (former) audience. Both web tools put the accountability of journalism to the test. With the advent of SpinSpotter, the democratization of "de-spinning" has apparently arrived. With the introduction of Newstrust, "Your Guide to Good Journalism" has supposedly been created.

"We have tremendous respect for great journalism, but, sadly, it's in short supply. When the majority of Americans think the press is one-sided, yet only 9% of journalists think declining credibility is a major concern, you know something is broken." - SpinSpotter

To "de-spin" means to "expose the slant and bias, separate the facts from the axe-grinding opinion." This is the foundation of SpinSpotter, to "re-inject ethics and objectivity" into the news media. And how would they go about this daunting task? By asking the (now, even more former) audience to participate in their lofty goal.