Barack Obama brought a pillow to a knife fight. He allowed himself to be bullied. He got jabs in. But he allowed McCain to set the terms of the debate.
When will Democrats learn that there is no defensive strategy in politics? It' is exactly like chess. When someone checks your king, you don't hide. You check their kind and force them to defend.
Obama has a problem in that if he comes off as angry or shrill, the media whores and racist leaning Americans will accuse him, like they've done his wife, of being "angry."
But there is a way to attack without coming off as angry or shrill.
John McCain went for blood. He lied, which may or may not cost him (to Olbermann viewers perhaps), and he attacked repeatedly. This allowed him to put Obama on the defensive on a night when John McCain should have been defending his life.
It was unbearable for me to see this con artist get away with pandering to veterans who he has failed repeatedly - Obama failed to mention McCain's opposition to the GI Bill.
To go on for 20 minutes on earmarks when he has done more to destroy the economy of the United States than anyone in the Senate. Obama failed to hold him accountable for his record on deregulating the financial sector.
I could go on and on...
I think it will take more than this debate to salvage McCain's ridiculous campaign. But if Obama doesn't learn how to draw blood in a debate, this will be a very close race. Closer than it needs to be.