As you go on your own Internet ride at work this morning, you'll see there are three-minute bursts of the interview here, and two minutes there ...

The thing was treated on most of these websites as if it were a boxing match. Who got the better of it? Who was sharper? Who blinked? Who stumbled?

Of course, how you scored the thing might depend on whether you have a dog in the fight.

If you are anti-Obama, Baier was wonderful. If you are pro-Obama, Baier was a rude little creep. If you are actually one of the few people left on earth who isn't completely flipped-out partisan, you got a rare treat. My gosh, you might have even learned something!

Don't get me wrong, I understand the subtext and high drama behind this historic sit-down.
Obama has mostly avoided Fox during his presidency, because he and his entourage pretty much figured that appearing on the network was like spitting into some hard, right-to-left wind.

Say what you want about Fox, and I've said plenty here that trends negative the past couple of months, but the president's decision to avoid the network was an incredibly short-sighted one.

I can understand why anybody with a brain in their head would duck the partisan tomfoolery of the Glenn Becks, Sean Hannitys, and The Likes that lurk about the place for the sake of the hard-right loonies, but mostly themselves.

But if you are a president with the gift of gab, and can make darn good and sure that you get an audience with one of the few at the station who might actually resemble something fair-and-balanced, why not take it -- and regularly?

Finally, there's the indisputable fact that Fox is positively drubbing what passes for its competition at CNN and MSNBC, so the president is almost assured a packed house when he clips on his microphone.

So I did my best to ignore the flashing neon teasers at all these websites, and went to Fox's palatial home on the Information Highway, poured another cup of coffee, and watched the interview in its entirety.

What I saw was a president trying his best to make a case for a crucial, landmark piece of legislation. It was clear he came into the interview loaded for Baier (I have no willpower to resist cheap wordplay), and fired away with one talking point after another. I thought he was overly scripted, but on top of his subject, and very interested in taking command.

I saw a reporter who, by and large, kept his composure and then very appropriately did his best to steer the president away from ramblings that were best suited for a campaign trail.

Frankly, I didn't think Baier was rude at all. He was doing his best to at least stay even with the most powerful person on earth.

Did he talk over the president at times? Yes, but if he hadn't, the network would have had a right to bill the Democratic Party for the president's 20-minute advertisement for health-care reform.

When it was over, Baier even politely apologized for interrupting so often, saying, " I tried to get the most for our buck here."

I'd say he got it, and it's high time he and his network did.

But more than that, no apologies were necessary.

(Got a tip, a gripe, or some kudos? Send 'em along.)