Presidential debate round two: an edge for McCain

Having come down with the plague, I did not go out to the Obama supporters' debate watch party tonight as I did for the prior two debates. True, while I am not an Obama supporter, I prefer the company of other Democrats and I do admit that I want to be able to change my mind. Unfortunately, Obama's performance tonight will not cause that to happen.

The format of tonight's debate was the town hall meeting, a format preferred by John McCain. As such, McCain was right in his element and it showed. Meanwhile, Obama seemed uncomfortable, not even cracking a joke right up until the very end. Furthermore, neither Obama nor McCain were doing much to differentiate their policy positions, which is pretty much guaranteed to keep the race in a statistical dead heat. For being in his element and carrying himself well, John McCain ekes out a small victory in round two. I doubt that this will sway decided voters either way. Meanwhile, undecided voters are likely more confused than ever, thinking, "the differences in their positions are all in nuance...and both are likeable...who to vote for?"

Honestly, the more I watch these two candidates in action, the more I believe that downticket races are where the most important policy-shaping will take place. Regardless of whether I decide to "come home" and vote for Obama or if I maintain my current position of voting in protest for McCain, all of my votes for every position down the ticket, from senators to congressmen to city council members to the dogcatcher will be for Democrats.