The Second Presidential Debate

For the second presidential debate, all eyes are on John McCain. Watch any political show today and the dialogue consists of some variation on this theme: “What will McCain say? Will be bring up William Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? How is the economy going to play? Can we ask about Ayers and the Rev. Wright again?”

Whether or not Ayers or Wright is brought up is a potential powder keg. Still, what remains most important is for Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) to chip away at Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) record — and his credibility — on the most important issue of the day: the economy. To be sure, McCain and Obama have very different ideas on what it will take to get the economy back on track. Obama wants to raise taxes and increase spending, while McCain supports tax policies that create jobs and expand the economy.

We often talk about a right track/wrong track on the economy and Americans’ views on the direction of the country. Tonight, it will be incumbent on McCain to demonstrate to those in attendance and those watching on TV that Obama’s policies would put us further down the wrong track. He must also demonstrate to that he “gets it” — that he understands the anxieties voters are feeling and how every day that the Dow faces another huge drop or we learn another major company is in turmoil, these anxieties are compounded.

One other thing to look for: the format. It’s not a secret that McCain is comfortable tin the “town hall” format — he had proposed holding 10 such events throughout the nation. The format remains — for both candidates — something of a calculated risk. With a moderator such as Gwen Ifill asking the questions, the topics and questions are much more likely to conform to expectations and be “inside the box”-type questions. With a town hall format, there is an increased possibility of one or both candidates becoming stumped over a wild-card question they did not prepare for. Remember the slavery-reparations question in the Democratic YouTube debate? That forced the candidates to get off their standard talking points — which is never a bad thing.

Should be fun tonight!