Analysis: Sharp tone, no gaffes in town hall debate

NASHVILLE -- When John McCain was counted out for the Republican nomination last year, he used town-hall-style meetings — more than 100 in every corner of New Hampshire — to fuel his comeback in January's Granite State primary.

Now, his support flagging one month before November's election, the Arizona senator hoped the casual format in his second debate against Democrat Barack Obama on Tuesday would help him shake up another race that seemed to be sliding away.

But the evening was less freewheeling than most town halls — the campaigns negotiated rules that set time limits and discouraged follow-ups — and most of the back-and-forth echoed the candidates' stump speeches and TV ads.

Ninety minutes later, there had been no big flubs or knockout punches by either man, nothing that signaled the sort of "game changer" that McCain needed at a time Obama is rising in polls nationwide and in key states.

Their tone was generally civil but their exchanges were unyielding and the strain of the long campaign apparent. At their first debate, Obama repeatedly had noted when he agreed with McCain; that theme was absent this time. At one point, McCain disparagingly referred to Obama simply as "that one."

There was more movement, more flashes of personality and more interplay between the candidates than before.

McCain was clearly more relaxed, strolling around the stage, joking with moderator Tom Brokaw and even clapping one questioner on the back. Speaking in a low, earnest tone, he portrayed Obama as a politician with a "short career" and a "secret" plan to raise taxes. He unveiled a $300 billion Treasury plan to help homeowners renegotiate mortgages and stay in their homes.

"Times are tough," he said as the debate came to a close. "We need a steady hand at the tiller."

Obama stepped toward the questioners and called them by their first names, though he lacked McCain's easy warmth. He blamed the economic meltdown on "the failed economic policies of the past eight years, strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Sen. McCain." He questioned McCain's steadiness, noting he had jokingly sung about bombing Iran.

"Look, you're not interested in having politicians point fingers," Obama said, promising a change in national policies from the economy to foreign affairs.

McCain faced a quandary: In recent days, he has attacked Obama as inexperienced, insubstantial and less than trustworthy. Obama, in turn, has accused him of "smear tactics." The Republican campaign has raised Obama's association with '60s radical Bill Ayers while the Democrats have revived the Keating Five scandal against McCain — though neither Ayers nor Charles Keating was mentioned in the debate.

Negative attacks, though, risk turning off the less-partisan, independent-minded voters whose minds aren't made up as the long campaign enters its final stretch.

The contest has heated up in recent weeks, and McCain's reputation shows signs of erosion, according to a Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday. The Arizona senator was viewed favorably by 55%, unfavorably by 40% — a less positive perception than the 2-1 favorable rating he held a month earlier.

Obama's rating, at 62% favorable-34% unfavorable, was basically unchanged.

The survey spotlighted another problem for McCain. The issues that most favor him have been discounted by voters as they worry about cascading economic problems and watch the stock market plummet. Asked to name the most important problems facing the country, just 2% said terrorism and 1% taxes.

Seven in 10 cited the economy, an issue the poll showed that Obama is more trusted to handle. Nine of 10 said they were dissatisfied with the country's direction, bad news for the candidate whose party holds the White House. Nine percent said they were satisfied — the most downbeat national mood on record since Gallup began asking the question 30 years ago.

Little surprise, then, that the opening question from the audience, and the second, and the third, dealt with the deteriorating global economy. So did the fourth question, drawn from Internet submissions.

At least three times, McCain detailed his differences with Bush. He compared himself to Teddy Roosevelt and Obama to Herbert Hoover — the last president, he said, who raised taxes during an economic downturn.

For his part, Obama turned from policy to the personal at the end, recalling his mother's financial struggles and fatal illness and the "American dream" that allowed him to go to the nation's best schools and now compete for the nation's highest office.

There's not much time left for either candidate to make his case, with just 27 days remaining until the election and seven days until the third and final debate. The topic then: the economy.