MORNING READ

At Tuesday’s presidential debate, John McCain didn’t do nearly enough to change the race, despondent conservative bloggers declare. Barack Obama clearly won by appearing presidential while McCain appeared erratic, according to liberal bloggers. The debate, however, bored bloggers, who blame the format and moderator Tom Brokaw.

The debate was a disaster for McCain, declares The Corner’s Andy McCarthy, because Barack Obama appeared conventional and because McCain helped portray Obama as a possible president by appearing as a center-right politician. McCain was good but only scored jabs that Obama could absorb, writes The Corner’s Rich Lowry. McCain’s supposed “game-changer” — his plan to have the government use $300 billion to buy up mortgages — cut against his attacks on Obama for excessive spending, notes Michelle Malkin. Maybe McCain just isn’t capable of giving the debate performance that he needs, writes Townhall’s Matt Lewis, who wanted McCain to attack Obama for ties to Weather Underground radical Bill Ayers.

In terms of “substance, clarity, empathy, style and authority,” it was a wipeout in favor of Obama, writes Andrew Sullivan. Obama spoke directly to the questioners and the voters in the hall, while McCain was “erratic” and failed to connect, writes MyDD’s Todd Beeton. Just like he did in the first debate, Obama came across as reassuring, writes TalkingPointsMemo’s Josh Marshall. McCain, meanwhile, displayed how he personally feels about Obama by referring to him as “that one,” a “slightly dehumanizing” phrase, writes The Huffington Post’s Seth Colter Walls. Obama not only won over liberal pundits, he won insta-polls of uncommitted by CBS and CNN and focus groups conducted by three networks, writes Political Animal’s Steve Benen.

Obama, the frontrunner, benefited from the lack of any headline moments at the boring debate, writes Daily Kos’s georgia10. There was no need to have Brokaw on the stage because he failed to ask any real follow-ups and merely asked submitted questions that resulted in the candidates reverting to their stump speeches, writes Townhall’s Amanda Carpenter.

FROM THE BLOGS:
We Have a Disaster Here – Andy McCarthy, The Corner
Obviously Wasn’t Enough – Rich Lowry, The Corner
McCain Wants to Expand The Bailout – Michelle Malkin
Yes, But Can He Debate? – Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
Debate Polls – Steve Benen, Political Animal
A Clear Win For Obama – Todd Beeton, MyDD
A Substantial Win for Obama – Josh Marshall, TalkingPointsMemo
Possibly Electorally Fatal Debate – Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish
‘That One,’ McCain Calls Obama – Seth Colter Walls, HuffPo
Dangerously Boring – georgia10, Daily Kos
Why The Debate Was Boring – Amanda Carpenter, Townhall.com
Terrible Performance By Brokaw – G. Mitchell, Huffington Post

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:
Economic Crisis Dominates Debate – Washington Post
Downturn in Decibels, Too – New York Times
Debate Tactics Reflect Shift in Contest’s Dynamics – WSJ
Economy Dominates Second Debate – The Hill