John McCain did not have the debate he needed on Tuesday night.

McCain's style was aggressive, disciplined and occasionally punchy. He heaped criticism on Barack Obama, blasting his record on taxes, health care and earmarks, and at one point derisively called the Democratic nominee "That One." McCain made over 14 references to the candidates' "records," pleading with voters to put aside Obama's words and inspect his history.

McCain's policy rhetoric was populist, reformist and sometimes contrarian. He floated the name of Obama backer Warren Buffet as a potential Treasury Secretary, and pledged that his administration would swiftly "buy up" all "the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes." (Obama's rapid response team immediately noted that the bailout bill already includes "authority" for the Treasury to buy residential and commercial mortgages.) After all the audience questions and Brokaw quips piled up, however, McCain still failed to upend the narrative. It's a major setback in a race that is trending towards Obama and running out of time.

While McCain attacked most of the night -- in spite of the intimate, town hall setting -- Obama stuck to a crisper, measured tone. He still returned fire when necessary, counter-punching a financial attack by noting that "McCain's campaign chairman's firm was a lobbyist on behalf of Fannie Mae." Obama swiftly pivoted, however, to addressing the economy from a regular voter's perspective. "But, look, you're not interested in hearing politicians pointing fingers. What you're interested in is trying to figure out, how is this going to impact you?" Then he touted his plans to "strengthen" home buyers and advance regulation instead of the free market fundamentalism that ruled over the past "eight years."

I think Obama's best moment came when he reprised McCain's attack from the last debate. "Sen. McCain, in the last debate and today, again, suggested that I don't understand. It's true. There are some things I don't understand," he said firmly. "I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us. That was Sen. McCain's judgment and it was the wrong judgment. When Sen. McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators," he explained, concluding, "That was the wrong judgment, and it's been costly to us."

Before the debate had even ended, the Republican National Committee was already spinning a disappointing night for McCain. In the 10pm hour, an RNC spokesperson sent reporters a post by Politico's Ben Smith, "Not really a town hall," complaining about the format.

Comments (32)

1. The uncommitted brain: "I was uncommitted until tonight. Now it's 100% clear, I'm going to vote for... what were we talking about?"

   Posted by winyahn at 10/07/2008 @ 10:43pm

2. the people will decide the winner tomorrow in polls...

   Posted by dexter666 at 10/07/2008 @ 10:49pm

3. I found the session fundamentally exasperating, as neither candidate answered many questions directly. Had I been a questioner, I'd have felt annoyed, to say the least. McBush sure does like to pat himself on the back, though...

   Posted by mimsky at 10/07/2008 @ 10:52pm

4. msnbc's little analysis gives the debate to obama 60/40

   obama STRONG with independents...

   whine and bitch and weep and gnash teeth all you want my hard core lefty comrades...

   obama is trying to win this election and doing it well...

   Posted by dexter666 at 10/07/2008 @ 10:56pm

5. McCain winks and licks his lips too. Some kind of nervous twitch?

   My freshman son, having left home last month without ever expressing much political interest just called me to tell me he watched the debate and thought Obama "seemed much more sincere."

   Are you listening, Barack?

   Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/07/2008 @ 11:01pm

6. Hillary would have chewed either one up then spit him out.

   NADER/GONZALES '08

   Posted by bleedingheart at 10/07/2008 @ 11:07pm

7. Nader's debate response:

   http://www.votenader.org/live/

   Posted by LPendzich at 10/07/2008 @ 11:10pm

8. Posted by bleedingheart at 10/07/2008 @ 11:07pm

   And Shirley Chisholm or Bella Abzug would have done the same to you ho ho

   Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/07/2008 @ 11:11pm

9. McCain winks and licks his lips too. Some kind of nervous twitch?

   Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/07/2008 @ 11:01pm

   I actually addressed the lip licking on another post. He doesn't lick his lips he juts his tongue without touching his lips. And FBI interrogator wrote a book about poker tells and what they mean. The tongue jutting is usually a sign of someone who is lying and thinks they are getting away with it.

   The book referred to is called Read Em' and Reap. I would recommend reading it but yes it's a sign generally of someone who is lying through their teeth but thinks no one is catching on.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:13pm

10. Obama is trying to win this election and doing it well...

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/07/2008 @ 10:56pm

    Succinct!

    Subject change: Should've sold my Berkshire Friday. But I got out today. At near the bottom! Ounch.

    OK, back on topic a bit. Obama's counterpunch, when McPain tried to make a funny, "he likes to say I'm green behind the ears", and Obama ended up saying 'that's not speaking softly'... undercutting the grand steady hand, grounded in history / Teddy Roosevelt bs.

    But I most enjoyed the 26 of 30 year comment. That was hilarious and also helped undermine the somber look at our records, man of the world crap.

    AND most interesting, getting little coverage, was the total Gore-like change from weird, no eye contact for 90 frikken minutes last time, the hand-shake where McDisdain looked at Obama's shirt -- to the character mCain't played tonight. He is scary, really. And the choice of Palin reflects this, brings this home in a big way.

    Posted by winyahn at 10/07/2008 @ 11:14pm

11. Look, it's all well and good that McCain just got pummeled for another round --by his own fists. But let's not lose sight of the larger frame here.

    Obama is going to win this election --probably by a rather large margin if not an all out landslide (do I hear 350 electoral votes?)-- and we have an economic meltdown to attend to ASAP.

    I sincerely hope readers here who may be relying on stock market investments for retirement income have already pulled out of most of their stocks. If not I'd advise that they get out now.

    And I hope that Paul Krugman's advice is taken by the incoming Obama team that they need to get some plans together for November 5th.

    The excrement is impacting the oscillating device as we speak.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:14pm

12. * McCain came across as a hybrid of Methuselah and Used Car Salesman; at once ancient and dusty, yet with a vague hint of snake oil about him.

    ~Zero

    Damn, you nailed my own take on that point!

    Well done.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:17pm

13. Posted by winyahn at 10/07/2008 @ 11:14pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    polls already out - obama wins big.

    YAY!!!!

    Posted by dexter666 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:20pm

14. Zero -

    Of course, state laws in Delaware govern the operations of banks and other corporations in that state, not federal laws.

    Thus, I fail to see how Obama stepped in it re: Biden.

    Posted by Hman23 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:37pm

15. If there's an answer to America's economic and foreign policy woes, you didn't hear it tonight from either one of these insects. We're in an enormous economic crisis, one that's just about to throw the every day operation of American business into absolute choas and the two system candidates talk about new health care plans and giving General Betrayus what he needs in Afghanistan! News: The money to pay for the gas to get either one of these jackasses to their campaign headquarters next week just might have to be printed.

    Ask yourself, do you really think these idiots have answers for the genuinely serious questions facing us today? If they did they'd be telling you to end the war and our costly base entaglements overseas right now, today; to repeal the insane bailout that doesn't deal with the source of our current economic crisis which is distressed mortgage holders themselves; and to focus immediately on the reindustrialization of the United States at all costs. Education, schmeducation, health care, schmelthcare, Russia, Schmussia, these aren't what's wrong! What's wrong are these imitations of leaders our political system keeps showcasing and shoving down our throats. If we had it right, people like McCain and Obama would be at the defense table at a show trial facing someone like Andrei Vishinsky.

    Posted by john lowell at 10/07/2008 @ 11:41pm

16. Anyone notice McCain constantly scribbling, while Obama took NO notes at all?

    That shows me that Obama can assimilate and respond without a crutch. Clearly, he is the more thoughtful, intelligent, and capable candidate.

    Posted by Balrog at 10/07/2008 @ 11:41pm

17. Senator Obama won the debate "hands down"! McCain's verbal rhetoric was the same..........basically saying the same thing (as Palin did), he said nothing that was factual or had any substance to it. It is truly insane that anyone would want to vote for him or Palin.

    As far as standing by Israel if Iran attacked them, I would say we would need backing by the UN before we should take any action.......remember we bypassed (intentionally) the UN to go into Iraq and look where that got us.

    Posted by rayven at 10/07/2008 @ 11:44pm

18. If there's an answer to America's economic and foreign policy woes, you didn't hear it tonight from either one of these insects.

    ~Lowell

    Leave it to Lowell to bring on the "insect" references.

    Uh........Well done.

    Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:54pm

19. Posted by b_kool_66 at 10/07/2008 @ 11:54pm

    Tonight insects, tomorrow bacteria, either way entirely deserving, b_kool_66. Deserving of much of the oafal that supports these paramecia here too, the DNC types that look for some narrow political advantage for Stephin Fetchit. Did you notice the vapid, expressionless questions asked by the tools in the audience tonight? No bite to them, nothing particularly challenging. One might even have thought that the questioners had consulted Maskedcaca or fruitsiezoomer here beforehand. Someone needed to embarrass Stephin Fetchit on his FISA vote or his AIPAC speech and McCain on the fact that the essence of the surge was buy off the insurgents, to bribe them, and that the violence of ethnic cleansing had already come to an end by the time the surge had been embarked upon. This is victory? No, this is sleight of hand that'll evaporate as soon as the payments end. And the people - supposedly spontaneous with their questions - sat there like douche nozzles scripted right into this farce. And they're expecting a positive outcome from a public this clueless. Oy!

    Posted by john lowell at 10/08/2008 @ 01:15am

20. Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/07/2008

    Momentarily off-topic but that's a great user name. Would also be a great band/album/song name!

    Posted by jmusolino at 10/08/2008 @ 02:00am

21. The title is good: McCain failed, and he was offensive.

    Posted by TM303 at 10/08/2008 @ 04:27am

22. Hey johnlowell: So it's his proper name for the white guy, but Stephin Fetchit for the black guy...oh yeah, you're really worth paying attention to...crawl back in your hole with the rest of your kkk friends...

    Posted by lucslawyer at 10/08/2008 @ 04:49am

23. That was not a debate and it was not a town hall meeting. I have been to John McCain's town hall meetings, and they are give and take with the audience, follow up and fresh questions. It is the chance for the people to meet and get to know him. This "debate" was ridiculous. I can't believe the McCain campaign agreed to this joke of a debate format.

    Posted by mrstuom at 10/08/2008 @ 06:23am

24. Eh I'm kinda glad I skipped this one. All of the commentary I've read said it was pretty boring. Nothing new that they said causes much concern to me.

    In other news, the RealClearPolitics electoral count puts Obama at 364.

    Posted by mluo2010 at 10/08/2008 @ 06:43am

25. Well, this thread is done....

    Various forms of Naderites...from the typical (Zero)....the GOP poser (bleeding)...to the insane (Looney Lowell)!

    move on...

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/08/2008 @ 09:38am

26. Funny how america works, The Nation what this web site and paper is named. We have in front of us is a maned named Obama who runs for president, is obviously put together with other peoples money, where else can you have that name and say your muslim and then turn around and have to let your friends go to run for president because their either corrupt business men, a terroist or even your own preacher who damns america, and then try to spin out of it, i mean mccain maybe old and angry, but at least he gave his ife for this country, ow many of you can even say that sitting behind your pc with a suit on, where were you when he was being held as a pow and the others that were there, yep probably drinking coffee and shopping with your wives. its funny how everyone blames bush, yeah he jumped the gun on the war, but he wasnt there when you signed that house loan car loan or ran up your credit card...its called responsibilty and you bought you pay for it, like they say in court ignorance of the law is no defense, well neither is not reading your loan agreement before you sign it. I look on these blogs and see why people would vote for obama and its only because he uses the word change and thats because americans like that word cause their so far in debt by their own fault and want someone to bail them out. All I have to say solve your own problems and with putting politics aside why would you put him in office anywy i mean really what has he done??? Look at his record, he didnt even show up 46% of the time to vote on issues, man i wih i made 6 figures and didnt have to show up only have the time. Is that change??? Never thought Id see the day we would turn our heads on a veteran. Yeah both their policies have flaws but its politics but at the end where does there heart lie?

    Posted by politicsdoneit at 10/08/2008 @ 10:26am

27. Posted by politicsdoneit at 10/08/2008 @ 10:26am

    M.T.O.T.D.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/08/2008 @ 11:14am

28. To Lowell, Hmm...Stepin Fetchit?...Douche nozzel? You disgrace yourself by spouting this trash. Are insults and anger all you've got? Maybe this type of incivility (a hallmark of our current administration) is the precise reason why Barack's ahead. I'm more than ready to have this type of 'I'm better than anyone' attitude out of the White House and relegated merely to message boards.

    However, since we're plying the insults, here's yours. I have often observed that to vote for McCain you'd have to be rich, stupid or racist. You qualify for at least two of those categories.

    Posted by Tobin Davis at 10/08/2008 @ 2:42pm

29. I'm surprised that no one's mentioning a significant McCain blunder: In response to the question from Oliver Thomas (about 10 minutes into the debate), McCain blames the economic meltdown on Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, which (in his words) were "the ones that went out and made risky loans." But everyone knows that Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac don't make loans; they only buy mortgages from the banks which have made the loans.

    McCain, once again, distorts reality to suit his purposes, i.e., to focus the blame, not on the commercial banks in the private sector, but two public institutions. It is also an attempt to make himself look good, with his claim of trying to rein them in.

    Posted by karoled at 10/08/2008 @ 3:18pm

30. This is the first year I've ever been interested enough to actually watch candidate debates. Perhaps this is why a few things about this debate irritated me. Did anyone else notice that the word of the day (for all 3 debates) is "fundamental"? Does either candidate have a thesaurus? And words cannot express how thoroughly nauseating McCain's "my friends" refrain became! I wish I had counted the number of times he said that and the phrase "look at the record". But I have to admit that what I noticed more than anything was how different the end of the VP debate was from the first presidential candidate debate. Palin and Biden stood around with their families talking and socializing. It looked like a big social gathering. That's a stark contrast to the first presidential debate to be sure. And how about last night's debate? The Obamas stayed long after the debate talking to and taking pictures with the members of the audience....long after the McCains beat a hasty retreat. It really looks as though McCain has a barely concealed contempt and dislike for and of Obama. I hate to make it racial but everything about him says he's one of those people that isn't comfortable around blacks and doesn't want to congregate with them unnecessarily. I hope I'm wrong but I'm just interpreting what I see. I really wanted to like McCain even though I didn't agree w/his policies but the more I've learned about him, including that bit about burying info on POWs/MIAs, the more he creeps me out. Gosh, it really scares me to think that we could end up w/this guy as president. Like another poster said, he's got this snake oil thing going. And I'm afraid I don't trust Palin any more than I trust him.

    Posted by tekiebelu at 10/08/2008 @ 3:42pm

31. Posted by Tobin Davis at 10/08/2008 @ 2:42pm

    To Davis, Hmm...stupid, racist? Are insults and anger all you've got? However, since we're plying the insults, here's yours. I have often observed that constipated, system supporting douche nozzles like you frequently benefit from the use of suppositories. Fashion your comment above into one, bend over and stick it where you smile. :-)

    Posted by john lowell at 10/08/2008 @ 3:54pm

32. LEAKED! Questions that got banned from the town hall "debate"...

    "Senator McCain, regarding our hostages in Guantanamo, in your opinion does their experience being tortured by us for the last five years qualify them to be presidents of their respective countries?"

    More banned questions at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuQDTjx-ygM

    Posted by ApyNation at 10/09/2008 @ 12:11pm