PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - MCCAIN KEEPS OBAMA ON DEFENSE FOR THE ,"WIN," BUT DEBATE WAS DULL AT BEST

The second Presidential Debate took place last night in Nashville in what was advertised as a ,"town hall meeting," but in actuality was a Brokaw controlled evening in a town hall setting. A true town hall meeting is an opportunity to face voter questions without a completely controlled environment that allows candidates to escape the talking points campaign and forces them to answer direct questions that concern the group of voters at the meeting.

What we saw was a debate which though in a town hall setting , was controlled by a news moderator since Brokaw chose the questions that he thought were pertinent to the election. While his selection of questions did not seem to show any particular bias, the fact that Brokaw chose the questions rather than a random choosing from attendees as is the intent in a town hall meeting, we were given a typical debate only without the podiums to stand behind.

If a winner could be chosen from the debate it would have to be John McCain and not because I am supporting him for President but because he did do one thing that any debater seeks to do during the course of a debate. McCain kept Obama on the defensive for the majority of the debate and even when Obama tried to take the offense, McCain managed to place him back in a defensive posture, defending his policies against McCain attacks.

In that sense McCain was the clear winner. Some pundits claim Obama the winner because McCain did not make a game changer during the debate. Was there a knock out blow or a memorable moment that creates a sound bite that can be used by either campaign ? No, but in the history of Presidential and Vice Presidential debates knock out blows are almost non-existent. As far back as the Kennedy-Nixon debate the winner was apparent only in the context of how one caught the debate coverage.

Those who listened on radio considered Nixon the winner because of content and those who watched it on television considered Kennedy the winner because he was better composed for the cameras. The last real knock out blow in a debate was when Ronald Reagan in the 1984 second Presidential debate said in reference to questions about age, "I will not exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Putting to rest the debate about Reagan's age and because of Mondale's laughing response and the fact that it threw him off for the rest of the night from that point on during the election Reagan never looked back and went on to win the largest landslide in American history.

Is there good news for McCain since everyone suggested that McCain needed an knock out blow to make the debate a game changer ? Absolutely. First the overwhelming majority of likely voters 83% - 58% according to a CBS News poll still see John McCain as being better prepared to be President. Also across the board the polls, for what they are worth are tightening.

Additionally with nearly a month left before the election this up and down election can change quickly as it has throughout the election cycle. As late as the end of October in 2004 President Bush was down in the polls by nearly 3 point and on election day some had him down by as much as 5. Bush won the election 52% to Kerry's 47%.

Also the CBS poll showing McCain comfortably ahead with likely voters when the question of being better prepared to be President on day one shows that when voters are in the booth by themselves and the security of this country whether economically or protecting this Nation from her enemies is considered by voters, experience counts far and above looking and talking a good game. And McCain wins the experience debate hands down.

Ken Taylor