We're only being half-cheeky when we say Peter Meade, the moderator, won the debate. He looked ready to rodeo Alan Khazei, the son of a doctor, apparently, for continuously going over the time limits.

But we'll leave the actual analysis to political minds brighter than ours.

That includes our former poli sci prof's: UMass-Boston's Paul Watanabe was in the audience and we grabbed him after the debate.

He looked at it from two levels: the debate and the race.

In the debate, "They all did well," he said. That was particularly good for Khazei and Steve Pagliuca, he added. "They helped answer the question of why they are running and can one imagine them standing in the Senate."

But then there's the question of does it greatly change the dynamics of the race: "In that regard, I don't think it's going to have a significant impact."

Martha Coakley is still the favorite, and all of them doing well helps her, he said.

Also, be on the lookout for this from Michael Capuano supporters: How many times the other candidates, including Pagliuca, agreed with Capuano. "He had the most agreement," said Boston City Council President Michael Ross, counting five different occasions.