Obama fends off McCain's spirited onslaught

After the third US presidential debate held at Hofstra University on October 15, the Democrats are heaving a sigh of relief that Senator John McCain did not score the knockout punch he needed in order to wipe out his rival Senator Barack Obama’s lead in the US presidential race.

John McCainJohn McCain started on the right foot by attacking Obama over taxes, alleged lack of backbone in standing up to the Democratic leadership and over his campaign’s portrayal of McCain as the reincarnation of George BushGeorge Bush. Joe the plumber was a particularly ingenious stroke, with relevance to millions of voters who are afraid of higher taxes. As luck would have it, at a crucial moment when McCain seemed to coming to grips with some of the real issues, he lost his cool and started to attack Obama angrily over his alleged ties to Ayers. Looking at it dispassionately, this was a tactical mistake with strategic consequences.

Independent observers have remarked that Senator John McCain's performance in the third debate was far superior to his earlier encounters. He succeeded in landing a number of punches on his opponent on different issues. But he failed to strike the telling blow.

As cited by the BBC in its neat summing up, Marc Ambinder of the Atlantic said that “John McCain might have won - on points. Solid policy answers, tough policy attacks, solid command of the facts. The first and last 30 minutes were among McCain's best.”

On the other hand, Senator McCain undercut his own performance by appearing less cool and hence less presidential than his opponent, who appeared to be unfazed by John McCain's attacks. According to Adam Nagourney of the NYT, “John McCain had Barack ObamaBarack Obama on the defensive at times, but the Democrat won the bigger points. Mr Obama was "at ease and smiling", Mr McCain "coiled and annoyed". John McCain won on points but lost the debate. The Republican's "angry energy" was all too apparent and his attempts to find Mr Obama's vulnerabilities made him appear less presidential.”

As stated by Ezra Klein of American Prospect, "The Obama campaign clearly made a decision: don't attack. Leave McCain to throw punches on his own. Look like a president, not a candidate." At this stage in the campaign, the undecided voters are weighing each candidate's personality and deciding whom looks more presidential. It is not only who scores more points in the debate but also how the individual responds under pressure. Senator Obama performed quite well on this score although some critics felt that he was being too clinical and detached at times.

Michelle Malkin termed it a big win for John McCain: "McCain challenges Obama's big government policies and mistakenly calls Obama 'Senator Government.' Yeah, that works." On abortion: "He's finally making up for all those missed opportunities. McCain nails Obama for his extreme, pro-abortion votes...Very eloquent. Good job, McCain."

According to Kos of the Daily Kos, "Obama is on another level altogether. Perhaps if Romney or Giuliani was the nominee these would be fairer contests, but it's not even close. McCain needed to radically transform the shape of the race. That means a home-run performance coupled with an Obama collapse. Neither happened... This race is pretty much over."

John McCain's biggest handicap is the worsening state of the economy, which has come at the worst possible time for him. It appears that the massive federal bailout is not having an immediate impact. Stocks on Wall Street plunged by 7 percent on October 15, the biggest single day drop since the crash of 1987, wiping out the gains made on the 13th and triggering an 11 percent drop on Tokyo’s Nikkei. This is bad news for the Republicans coming two weeks before the election. Not only is it appearing increasingly likely that they will lose the White House, but they also like to suffer heavy losses in the congressional districts. The balance of power in Washington may be about to shift in favor of the Democrats after eight years of Republican domination.