TIME (Karen Tumulty): Obama seemed cool and collected, while McCain’s grimaces were painful to watch.
More reviews of the dead campaign walking:
Washington Post (E.J. Dionne)-McCain Deepens His Own Hole: The poll specifically asked voters if their opinion of McCain had changed for the better or for the worse in "the past couple of weeks." Only 7 percent said their view had changed in a positive direction; 21 percent said it had moved in a negative direction. Nearly a quarter of those who said their view of McCain had worsened cited his attacks on Obama as the reason for their change of heart; a fifth mentioned his selection of Palin. By contrast, 17 percent of voters said their view of Obama had improved; only 7 percent said it had worsened.
David Yepsen at the Des Moines Register (he's highly respected and a big deal):
Quote:
John McCain lost the final debate of the 2008 presidential campaign Wednesday night. As a result, he may well have lost the election, too....
McCain simply needed a breakout performance and he failed to provide one. He went into the forum trailing Obama in polls of the contest and he came out of in the same position. By doing so, McCain missed his biggest remaining opportunity to change the direction of the presidential contest....
Conservatives will love McCain’s dwelling on his pro-life, anti-abortion stance. Obama, who is pro-choice, tried to reach out to the anti-abortion community by calling for more adoption.
That exchange was telling: McCain seemed more focused on firing up his base of conservative supporters, while Obama was trying to reach beyond his. At this point in a general-election campaign, a candidate should have his or her “base” locked up and be going after undecided voters.
