Obama did disrespect McCain at the debate.

Politics: This was deliberate and highly obnoxious/disrespectful by Obama . This wasn't some bad habit he picked from Biden being around him for so long. Black Jesus ain't stupid. A lot of the little things people dismiss as a quirk or bad habit have a purpose if he does it.

A New Bad Habit [Amy Holmes] More than one person noticed that Obama repeatedly referred to McCain as "John." It seems that Obama has picked up this bad habit from his running mate. During the primaries the RNC did research and found that Hillary gained sympathy from listeners when her opponent called her by her first name instead of "Senator Clinton." They heard it a sign of disrespect. Biden regularly refers to McCain as "John" often following the words, "my friend." (With friends like these...) It's a small, but noticeable, tick and it sounds patronizing when Biden does it. "Folks" (to use another favorite politician's tick) noticed that Obama now does it, too.