With the momentum in the race for the White House turning against him, Republican John McCain needs to "turn the page" from the economy, as one aide described it recently.
But Tuesday night's town hall-style televised debate did not give McCain much room to shift the topic of discussion. After all, two thirds of the 90-minute encounter with Democrat Barack Obama dealt with Americans' economic struggles.
McCain made the best of it, with a new proposal to have the Treasury buy up bad mortgages and renegotiate them to more favorable terms based on diminished home values.
"Is it expensive? Yes," McCain said. "But we all know, my friends, until we stabilize home values in America, we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy, and we've got to get some trust and confidence back to America."
The Arizona senator even made a stab at Clintonian empathy, saying he understands that "Americans are angry, they're upset and they're a little fearful."
Friendlier, with barely concealed disdain
In their previous debate, McCain wouldn't even look at Obama. This time, he was friendlier, but also at times seemed to convey barely concealed disdain for his younger rival. "Did we hear the size of the fine?" he said, needling Obama for not answering the question of how much he would fine businesses and individuals for not having health insurance under his reform plan. "Nailing down Senator Obama's tax proposals is like nailing jello to a wall," he said, at another point.
Obama scored points tying the economic crisis to deregulation, which McCain has pushed throughout his career, and he took every opportunity to connect his opponent to the unpopular President Bush.
The Illinois senator also was firm on foreign policy questions, considered McCain's strength. "We will kill Bin Laden, we will crush Al-Qaida," Obama said. "This has to be our urgent national priority."
The Obama campaign has sought to exploit concerns over McCain's temper, using the word "erratic" to describe him in TV ads and speeches, dismissing McCain's attack speech in Albuquerque on Monday as an "angry tirade."
At one point Tuesday night, Obama disputed the idea that he is "green behind the ears," while McCain is somber and sober. "Thanks!" McCain said. But Obama went on to remind the audience that McCain once jokingly sang "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" and called for the annihilation of North Korea. "That is not an example of speaking softly" like McCain's hero, Theodore Roosevelt, Obama said.
One more chance to reach national audience
The debate represented one of the last remaining chances for McCain to change the narrative before a national audience. Obama has widened his lead in national polls and has edged ahead of McCain in crucial states that President Bush won in 2004, including Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Nevada.
Tuesday night's encounter seemed unlikely to cause a dramatic shift in the race, with neither McCain nor Obama scoring any proverbial knockout blows -- or making any harmful gaffes.
Analysts say that Obama would have enough electoral votes to win the presidency, or very close to it, if the election were held today. He has been lifted by the Wall Street meltdown and economic anxieties over the past several weeks, with many polls showing voters trust Obama (and Democrats generally) more to right the economy.
McCain has said in the past that he doesn't know much about economics, and he clearly is more comfortable with national security and foreign affairs. As Wall Street banks were collapsing, McCain first said "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" and then switched hours later to say that he was going to suspend his campaign and rush back to Washington to help push for a bailout package.
The good news for McCain is that the town hall format is a strong suit. He loves the informality of it, and comes across as self-deprecating and engaging -- in contrast to his usual stiff performances in most big speech settings. McCain won the New Hampshire primary, which propelled him to the Republican nomination, largely on the strength of hundreds of town-hall meetings. He showed that comfort Tuesday night.
