John McCain needed to land a knockout tonight in the town hall ring in Nashville. Instead, he bobbed and weaved, ignored the time and babbled on more about his love of all things military. Barack Obama had poise and was not afraid to be firm on correcting more McCain untruths. Tom Brokaw, well, he was uber cranky about the time factor.
When McCain was asked who he’d choose for Secretary of the Treasury, he said someone well-known who the American public would trust. Someone like Meg Whitman. (Who?) Then he had to explain that she was the CEO of eBay. You know, the company that laid off globally 10 percent of its work force yesterday. Obama said he was considering Warren Buffett — he who helped save countless jobs at Goldman Sachs and GE when he invested billions in those two companies recently.
McCain prattled on spewing old chestnut phrases. Obama came across as someone with true empathy for the middle class and had a presidential demeanor.
There was one weird moment when McCain was talking about “gold-plated” health plans that covered things such as “hair transplants.” It was a not so subtle shot of meanness across the bow, aimed squarely at Biden’s brow.
I don’t know what the polls will show. McCain might have gained back some points tonight, he showed confidence and at least looked at Obama once in a while, but I don’t think it did much to rescue (not bail out) his cause.
