TalkingPointsMemo

Barack Obama clearly won the town hall debate because he came across as “reassuring,” just as he did during the first debate. writes Josh Marshall. John McCain, meanwhile, didn’t take any of the “shenanigans” about character from the campaign trail into the debate, notes Marshall, who wonders if McCain is unwilling to say the personal attacks to Obama’s face. Obama scored when he turned McCain’s attacks about being a hothead and not understanding foreign policy back onto McCain, writes Marshall. In those instances, Obama painted McCain as the one who was irresponsible, noting his “Bomb Iran” song, and he said that the foreign policy he didn’t understand was the one put forward by President Bush.