My Friends, McCain's Tic Is Back

Just a brief note about last night: For anyone who didn't heed our warning and wound up playing the Sleuth's official debate watch game as a drinking game (which, again, we did not advocate), you are probably feeling like mildewed leftovers. Or maybe like Jell-O that's been nailed to a wall.

Because given the number of times GOP presidential nominee John McCain said "my friends" last night, you got wasted within the first 45 minutes of the 90-minute mostly predictable tit-for-tat fest.

McCain's "my friends" tic kicked in with a vengeance and he said it not three or four times but a total of 22 times. Several of those times he said "my friend," referring to a questioner in the audience. Moderator Tom Brokaw said "my friend" once, when he announced next week's moderator, CBS's Bob Schieffer. (Obama said "my friends" - not once.)

You can check the transcript yourself at C-SPAN's debate HUB.

Perhaps McCain's most poignant "my friend" came when he said, "By the way, my friends, I know you grow a little weary of this back-and-forth."

You got that right, my friend.

UPDATE, 11:33 am ET: We first counted 19 "my friend(s)" references, but now, after searching CNN's official transcript, we count 22. We have changed the posting to reflect the new count. Yes, my friends, McCain used the phrase 22 times within 90 minutes.