I was not impressed by the first debate.  I was on the debate team in college, so I’ve been down the road many times.  I know what I wanted to see.  I was hoping for sharp answers from Barack Obama.  You know--the memorable lines you’re supposed to use in a political debate.  Political debates aren’t like real debates, of course.  In real debates you have to actually answer the claims of your opponents or you lose, no matter how glib you are.  In political debates we wait for memorable phrases but we also look for something else:  signs of leadership.  We didn’t have to wait for the debates, John McCain shrieked himself into the fringe much earlier in the week.  This wasn’t simple candidate misspeak—this was candidate freakout.

I don’t make too much of candidate misspeak.  Usually.  When John McCain said last week he wanted to fire the head of the FEC (Federal Election Commission), I was sure he actually meant SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).  However, when he confuses Shiites and Sunnis, when he confuses Iran as funding Al Quaeda, I do take it seriously.  He’s supposed to know better.  I like to think I’m a reasonable guy though, so maybe there’s an explanation.  For McCain supporters out there—exactly what was last week?

When Lehman Brothers collapsed and AIG stumbled, McCain first said the “fundamentals of the economy are strong.” It looks worse upon closer evaluation.  John McCain has made no secret of his admiration for former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and considers him an advisor.  Yet Greenspan said the economy faced a “once in a century” crisis at the same time McCain was saying things were fine.  Does John McCain not listen to his advisors?  Does he not believe them?  Within a day, as the markets went into freefall, McCain changed and said we were in an historic crisis.  By then, who was listening?

That’s apparently what the polls showed, which drove his next big play.  Internal polling showed that the public was much more inclined to believe Barack Obama’s take on the economy than McCain’s.  Perhaps this isn’t surprising since McCain had famously admitted that he didn’t know much about the economy and didn’t even know how many homes he owns (clearly, not a numbers guy..!).  But as Obama started to stretch out the distance, McCain grabbed the headlines back when he announced he was suspending his campaign.

It was a good move, especially since it didn’t actually happen.  McCain returning to Washington to work on the bailout bill is highly symbolic and must reassure those who believe in style over substance.  In fact, McCain hadn’t been present for a Senate vote since April and they certainly didn’t need him to work on issues not even within his committee assignments.  But saying that the financial crisis is more important than the campaign is a big statement, especially since a week before you thought the economy was sound.  Especially since he didn’t really cancel his campaign or—OR—work on the bailout!

Turns out he didn’t really stop campaigning.  That is, he still kept running political ads, his running mate made appearances and he found time to go on with Katie Couric after stiffing David Letterman.  Finally, when he got to Washington, rather than crunch numbers, he took part in a fancy dinner in a DC eatery.  So who the hell is John McCain, what where does he really stand?  Has he really gone so Rovian that saying it makes it so, even if all you actually do is say it?

Yes, I was disappointed that Barack Obama wasn’t sharper and more predatory with McCain on Friday night.  But we got to know him better. Barack Obama looked Presidential.  He looked considered and nuanced and America knows exactly what he wants from to happen from this government bailout.  The only thing John McCain succeeded in doing was diverting our attention from Sarah Palin.  On second thought, after seeing her, maybe that was his plan….