McCain/Obama debate: You can't outpander Obama.

Politics: He just agreed with Obama on buying up bad loans and letting the whole Fannie/Freddie debacle slide. You can never outpander a liberal like Obama. Stop trying and act like a damn Conservative at least.

Debate is boring the hell out of me, too lifeless. For some fun watching Tom Joyner's live blog on Black America Web is hysterical to see what an Obama cheerleader is thinking about this debate.

8:46 p.m.: Obama should talk about how much he cares about the future because he'll be around to see what happens if we don't make changes. McCain won't. 8:47 p.m.: He should remind the audience that Palin said, “Drill, baby, drill!” 8:49 p.m.: That one? 8:49 p.m.: Did he just call Obama, “that one?” That's straight disrespect. 8:50 p.m.: The white people are asking Obama questions, and the black people area asking McCain questions. Coincidence?

Stephen Green:

7:44PM What is Congress going to do in two years to save the planet? The questioner looks to be about 23, and just as naive as you’d expect.

This girl was an idiot. Never trust anyone under 30. The world economy is under stress, believe me when I say that the last thing anyone will give a damn about is going green.

9:59 pm: I would give anything for this to be a Palin/Biden debate.

BTW, Obama talking about Health Care as a right is just one of many he would create as President. Health Care is expensive but I am not in the mood to paying for it described as a "right."

That was a waste of 90 mins and McCain on substance AND showmanship didn't hit Obama hard enough who just talked and said nothing all night.

This was not a gamechanger. All Obama had to do is walk out there and look like someone you could trust which he did in that respect. McCain had to go out and beat Obama like a drum, he didn't and lost the debate.

You are dealing with an American populace that wants mommy and daddy government to take care of them. Obama can pander to that element without hesitation.

Andy McCarthy from The Corner sums up the frustration with McCain by a lot of people since this campaign started.

Memo to McCain Campaign: Someone is either a terrorist sympathizer or he isn't; someone is either disqualified as a terrorist sympathizer or he's qualified for public office. You helped portray Obama as a clealy qualified presidential candidate who would fight terrorists. If that's what the public thinks, good luck trying to win this thing. With due respect, I think tonight was a disaster for our side. I'm dumbfounded that no one else seems to think so. Obama did everything he needed to do, McCain did nothing he needed to do. What am I missing?

Guardian:

John McCain is heading to near-certain defeat in the presidential election because American voters no longer trust Republicans on the economy, a strategist for the party warned yesterday. Steve Lombardo, who has worked on Republican campaigns since 1992 and advised McCain's opponent, Mitt Romney, in the primaries, said it would take a major external event, such as a terrorist attack or a crippling error by Barack Obama, for McCain to make a comeback. "Basically unless there is some external event the dynamics of this race are being driven almost entirely by the financial situation here in the United States and globally, and that works for Barack Obama," Lombardo told the Guardian. Lombardo laid out his misgivings in a memo obtained by the Guardian, in which he wrote that McCain's attempts to make the election about Obama's character were unlikely to work. The memo argues such attacks at this point seem "desperate"; the time to define the Democrats' character had been in August - before the presidential debates. "The economic situation has virtually ended John McCain's presidential aspirations and no amount of tactical manoeuvring in the final 29 days is likely to change that equation," the memo said. "There are more turns to come in this election and it is not over yet but it sure seems like it is." The memo said McCain lost the election on September 15 - two days after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy - when he told a rally in Florida: "The fundamentals of the economy are strong."

I disagree about the fundamentals quote but fully agree on the character question, these questions about Ayers/Wright and Obama himself should have started a couple of months ago and pounded on every day. You can't do much damage in one month especially with a MSM who is going to root for Obama.