Obama won the evening, according to a CNN poll.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – A majority of debate watchers think Sen. Barack Obama won the third and final presidential debate, according to a national poll conducted right afterward.

Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll said Democratic candidate Obama did the best job in the debate, with 31 percent saying Republican Sen. John McCain performed best.

The poll also suggests that debate watchers' favorable opinion of Obama rose slightly during the debate, from 63 percent at the start to 66 percent at the end. The poll indicates that McCain's favorables dropped slightly, from 51 percent to 49 percent.

The economy was the dominant issue of the debate, and 59 percent of debate watchers polled said Obama would do a better job handling the economy, 24 points ahead of McCain.

During the debate, McCain attacked Obama's stance on taxes, accusing Obama of seeking tax increases that would "spread the wealth around." But by 15 points, 56 percent to 41 percent, debate watchers polled said Obama would do a better job on taxes. By a 2-1 margin, 62 percent to 31 percent, debate watchers said Obama would do a better job on health care.

Sixty-six percent of debate watchers said Obama more clearly expressed his views, with 25 percent saying McCain was more clear about his views.

By 23 points, those polled said Obama was the stronger leader during the debate. By 48 points, they said Obama was more likeable.

Watch the entire debate: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

McCain won in two categories. Eighty percent of debate watchers polled said McCain spent more time attacking his opponent, with seven percent saying Obama was more on the attack. Fifty-four percent said McCain seemed more like a typical politician during the debate, with 35 percent saying Obama acted more like a typical politician.

Full story

The third presidential debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain was contentious at times.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – John McCain came out of the gate strong, but Barack Obama gained strength as the night progressed Wednesday in the final presidential debate where each candidate tried to convince voters that he is better equipped to steer the nation through these troubled times.

For McCain, the final result of the debate is not great news. When the sun rises Thursday morning, very little will have changed in the race for the White House.

Obama is leading in national polls as well as in key battleground states. McCain faces a financial deficit in these closing days where expensive television advertising will play a key role in helping the candidates deliver their closing arguments.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll of debate watchers surveyed after the 90-minute match-up thought Obama did a better job than McCain by a wide margin, 58 percent to 31 percent.

While McCain was more assertive and clearer in stating his policies in this debate than in the two previous head-to-head meetings, the Republican nominee did not deliver a "game changer" needed to turn momentum back towards his direction.

Full story

(CNN) – During Wednesday night’s presidential debate, Barack Obama ducked a question on whether or not he thought Sarah Palin is qualified to be president.

“That's going to be up to the American people,” Obama said. “I think that obviously she's capable politician. She has, I think, excited the base in the Republican Party and I think it's very commendable, the work she's done on behalf of special needs.”

Watch: McCain, Obama critique VPs

John McCain said he thinks Joe Biden, Obama’s running mate, is qualified to lead the country, but that he has been “wrong” on a variety of foreign policy issues. McCain said Biden voted against the first Gulf War and that he wanted to divide Iraq into three separate countries.

“There are several issues in which frankly Joe Biden and I openly and honestly disagree on national security policy,” McCain said. “And he's been wrong on the major ones.”

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - A majority of debate watchers thought that Barack Obama won the third and final presidential debate, according to a national poll conducted at the end of the debate.

Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers questioned in the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said Obama did the best job in the debate, with 31 percent saying John McCain performed best.

The poll also suggested that debate watchers' favorable opinion of Obama rose during the debate, from 63 percent at the start of the debate to 66 percent at the end of the debate. The poll indicates that McCain's favorables dropped, from 51 percent to 49 percent.

The poll was conducted by telephone with 620 adult Americans who watched the debate. The audience for this debate appears to be just a little bit more Democratic than the U.S. population as a whole. Forty percent of debate-watchers in this poll were Democrats and 30 percent Republicans. The
survey's sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.

John McCain had a very strong start in the first 30 minutes or so, and I thought that he was heading toward a debate victory - his first. But he veered off course in the middle as the conversation turned toward the negative quality of the campaign - and he became more and more the angry, older candidate, bringing back memories of the performance by Bob Dole back in 1996 that helped to doom his campaign. He also seemed to grow more tired over the course of the debate.

Barack Obama had a good first answer about his economic plan then seemed flat for the rest of the first half hour. But then things picked up for him. During the assaults by McCain, he kept his cool - he never took the bait (rumors were heavy before the debate that McCain would try to goad him into losing his steadiness). Coming out of that second half hour, Obama became much stronger in the last third of the debate, scoring extremely well on health care, education, abortion, and the Supreme Court.

McCain likely helped himself with his base tonight, but I doubt that he helped himself much with undecided voters.

Overall, I would score Obama at an A minus for the night, and McCain at a B plus.

It appears that Obama will come out of these debates with a general public perception that he has won three in a row.

PS: A hearty salute to tonight's moderator, Bob Schieffer, he deserves an A plus.

(CNN) – McCain aides expressed relief Wednesday night that the Arizona senator “finally” used a line that took on one of Obama’s central campaign themes.

Watch: I'm not Bush, McCain says

“Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush,” he said. “If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run four years ago. I will take this country in a new direction."

McCain advisors – who said they had been pushing him to stress that distinction more explicitly than he had in the past - immediately uploaded the quote to YouTube, and circulated it to reporters.

Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama join their husbands on stage as the final presidential debate comes to a close at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.(CNN PHOTO)

The Statement
Sen. Barack Obama said at the Oct. 15 debate at Hofstra University that Republican opponent John McCain's plan to stem the mortgage meltdown "could be a giveaway to banks if we're buying full price for mortgages that now are worth a lot less. And we don't want to waste taxpayer money."

Watch: McCain, Obama discuss taxes

Get the facts!

The Facts
McCain, speaking about his plan at the debate in Hempstead, New York, said the government should take $300 billion of the money set aside for financial recovery "and go in and buy those home loan mortgages and negotiate with those people in their homes, 11 million homes or more, so that they can afford to pay the mortgage, stay in their home."

On his Web site, McCain calls it "an American Homeownership Resurgence Plan." Under his plan, the government would buy up some troubled mortgages at their full value - meaning the lenders would not take a loss. The government would then renegotiate those mortgages, so that eligible homeowners would be paying rates based on their homes' current, reduced value.

Obama's assertion follows an ad released by the Obama campaign on Oct. 9 that said McCain's plan "would shift the burden from lenders to taxpayers, guaranteeing a loss of taxpayer money."

Obama, in the ad, highlights this quote from a CNNMoney.com story: "Much of the burden of paying to keep troubled borrowers in their homes will shift to taxpayers." The McCain campaign acknowledged that point, both on a conference call with economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin on Oct. 8 and in a follow-up interview with CNN's Les Christie, writer of the CNNMoney.com story.

The McCain campaign says the plan would cost about $300 billion. "Funds provided by Congress in (the) recent financial market stabilization bill can be used for this purpose; indeed by stabilizing mortgages it will likely be possible to avoid some purposes previously assumed needed in that bill," the
campaign Web site says.

The Verdict: True. The McCain campaign acknowledges the plan would shift the burden to taxpayers.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – John McCain refused Wednesday to commit to nominating only judges who opposed abortion, saying he would "never impose a litmus test" on court nominees.

Watch: McCain and Obama on abortion

But he qualified the statement a moment later, saying he would base his nominations on "qualifications" - and that he did not believe a judge who supported Roe v. Wade, the case that legalized abortion, "would be part of those qualifications."

McCain hammered his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, on abortion, accusing him of "aligning himself with the extreme aspect of the pro-abortion movement in America."

Obama rejected the charge out of hand, saying: "Nobody is pro-abortion."

He advocated sex education as a way of reducing the number of unintended pregnancies that result in abortions.

"We should try to prevent unintended pregnancies by providing appropriate education to our youth, communicating that sexuality is sacred and they should not be engaged in cavalier activity," he said.

Did Obama vote to raise taxes?.

The Statement
Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, speaking at the Wednesday, Oct. 15, debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, repeated a charge that his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, voted to raise taxes. "He voted twice for a budget resolution that increases the taxes on individuals making $42,000 a year," McCain said.

Get the facts!

The Facts
McCain is referring to a June 5, 2008, vote on a resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 70) meant to outline the Senate's budget priorities through 2013, but the measure had no practical effect. Obama and running mate Sen. Joe Biden voted "yes" on the resolution. McCain did not vote.

According to a CNN review of the resolution, it assumes that most of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts pushed by President Bush will expire in that time. That's what McCain calls a tax increase. However, the Democrats offered their own cuts in the 48-page resolution, which called for several tax cuts and breaks, including rolling back the alternative-minimum tax and the so-called "marriage penalty."

According to an analysis by the independent Tax Policy Center, the tax plan Obama has proposed during the campaign would increase taxes in 2009 on the wealthiest 20 percent of households, while offering tax cuts for the other 80 percent.

Verdict: Misleading

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – Both Obama and McCain are free traders, but McCain's problem is that he is a more full-throated ideological free trader and that doesn't play well in economic times of trouble.

The public is very suspicious of free trade.

Crowley: Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama finally begin to engage each other.(AP PHOTO)

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - This is by far the most interesting debate of the three. They are engaging each other. They both brought their game.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - John McCain Wednesday praised his running mate, Sarah Palin as a "role model to women and reformers all over America" when challenged to defend her qualifications to be president.

"It's time that we had that breath of fresh air coming into our nation's capital and sweep out the old-boy network and cronyism that's been so much a part of it," the Arizona senator said of his running mate, the first-term governor of Alaska.

McCain was speaking at his third and final debate with Democrat Barack Obama before the November 4 presidential election.

Obama offered measured praise for Palin, whose qualifications have been widely scorned by Democrats.

"I think that obviously she's a capable politician," Obama said, adding that she had "excited the base in the Republican party."

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - Took him longer than expected, but McCain did go the William Ayers route, but then segued into one of Obama's campaign trail lines. People don't care about William Ayers, they care about the economy.

Obama campaigns in Holland Ohio

(CNN) – Joe the Plumber was the star of the final presidential debate on Wednesday night. But who is he?

Watch: Obama meets 'Joe the plumber'

Last weekend, while Barack Obama was canvassing for support in the small town of Holland, Ohio, the Democratic nominee ran into a tall, bald man, since dubbed Joe the plumber. He asked Obama if he believed in the American Dream — he said he was about to buy a company that makes more than $250,000 a year and was concerned that the Democratic nominee would tax him more because of it.

Obama explained his tax plan in depth, saying it’s better to lower taxes for Americans who make less money, so that they could afford to buy from his business. John McCain attacked Obama for this exchange, saying the Illinois senator is trying to “spread the wealth around.”

“We're going to take Joe's money, give it to Senator Obama, and let him spread the wealth around. I want Joe the plumber to spread the wealth around,” McCain said. He added, “Why would you want to increase anybody's taxes right now? Why would you want to do that to anyone, anyone in America, when we have such a tough time?”

Joe the plumber was mentioned 11 times at the beginning of the debate, nine times by McCain and twice by Obama.

Watch: Voters sour on 'Joe the plumber' story

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - Barack Obama distanced himself Wednesday from William Ayers, an education professor with a radical past to whom the Republicans have been aggressively linking him in recent weeks.

Watch: Obama on Ayers, ACORN

Obama said Ayers had committed "despicable acts" 40 years ago as a member of the Weather Underground, which took credit for a series of domestic bombings - but pointed out that he himself had been eight years old at the time.

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has accused Obama of "palling around with terrorists" on the campaign trail.

The presidential contest has degenerated into an overlong season of American Idol. Obama is the finalist with the charm and charisma - the fan favorite. McCain can still win but, unlike Obama whom the media has put on the fast track to victory, his pathway forward is indeed a tough row to hoe. He has to overcome voter fatigue, anxiety about the economy and America's habit of tossing a party out of power after eight years.

Despite the gloomy outlook, McCain has been in tough spots before; and we know how that turned out. It's a wise political observer who never bets against him. The race, according to at least a few polls, is closing - not by much - and it will continue to tighten.

For McCain, tonight's debate will not be won by defining complex policy issues or a new grand idea. It doesn't work. His focus must be on the two C's: character and crises.

Character matters to McCain as an election issue and a defining issue of his life. He's yet to make the strong character argument, which outlines how he put his country first and Obama took a pass.

Secondly, he must convince undecided voters why he's best prepared to navigate this country through a crisis-filled environment, now and in the future.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - McCain is falling into the weeds by taking the bait and talking about the campaign ad squabbling.

Obama is making an effort to come across as Joe Cool, McCain is noticeably addled.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - Obama is trying to rise above the squabbling. The moderator invited it in asking them to address the attacks, but Obama would be wise not to be baited.

By keeping his eye on the ball and addressing the economy he looks more presidential.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – John McCain accused Barack Obama of spending "more money on negative ads than any campaign in history" as the two men met for their final debate before the November 4 presidential election.

Watch: McCain, Obama debate negative campaigning

Obama responded that McCain's campaign had been running exclusively negative ads, and that the public found McCain to be running a more negative campaign than Obama.

The McCain campaign put out a press release moments after the exchange saying the Obama campaign had spent more than $42 million on negative ads in the past month, while their own campaign had spent only $27 million on them. The release cited CMAG, a media analysis group which does work for CNN among others.

The Obama campaign shot back with an article from the liberal blog Talking Points Memo, citing CMAG's Evan Tracey as saying "virtually 100 percent" of McCain's ads were negative, while only about half of Obama's ads were.

McCain challenged Obama to repudiate comments by his supporter, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, that compared the atmosphere at some Republican rallies to that of the segregationist George Wallace in the 1960s.

Obama said he had rejected the remark.

Crowley: McCain missed an opportunity to talk about Ayers.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (NY) - John McCain just passed up the chance to pick up on the mention of William Ayers.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) – Barack Obama promised Wednesday "to go through the federal budget page by page, line by line, and cut programs that don't work" as president, echoing a vow his rival John McCain has made repeatedly.

Watch: McCain and Obama debate their tax policies

McCain in turn promised an "across the board spending freeze" at the third and final debate between the two men.

He said he would balance the federal budget in four years, and went on to name specific programs including subsidies for ethanol when moderate Bob Schieffer pressed both candidates to identify specific budget cuts they would make.

He said he would fight for a line-item veto that would enable him to fight his bete noir, legislators' "earmarks" for spending on their pet projects.

Obama shot back - as he has done before - that earmarks, while undesirable, amounted to only a tiny percentage of the total federal budget.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - The only way the the budget can be balanced - the only way it has ever been balanced - is with an economic boom.

It has never been balanced through spending cuts.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - Obama is once again not answering the question about which programs he will cut.

He says that he will go through the budget line by line and eliminate the programs that don't work...but he won't specifically name any.

McCain is also avoiding specifics on this issue. Why can't they just acknowledge that if the economy is in a slump they will have to delay rolling out new projects and spending, and then they'll try and get them done when the economy picks up again?

Hempstead, New York (CNN) - Obama's answers during this first line of questioning appear crisp and clear, while McCain's sound disconnected and rambling.

This whole discussion is about taxes, but what voters want to hear about is jobs. What are these two candidates going to do on jobs?

Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama shake hands before their final presidential debate Wednesday night at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.(AP PHOTO)

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) - John McCain accused his rival Barack Obama of being a "class warrior" as they locked horns over the economy Wednesday at their third and final presidential debate.

McCain, the Arizona Republican, asked why Obama would raise taxes on anybody during an economic crisis.

Obama countered that both he and McCain want to cut taxes, but that his plan would cut taxes for "95 percent of American families," more than McCain's plan.

McCain insisted that the government needed to help keep people in their homes, "putting a floor" under falling home ownership in the face of the mortgage crisis.

Obama, an Illinois Democrat, countered that McCain's plan could end up being a giveaway to "the banks" rather than to homeowners.

Reporters are watching the debate in a filing center a short walk from the debate hall. (Photo Credit: Mark Preston/CNN)

Martin: Obama is setting up McCain for a knockout blow.

(CNN) - Muhammad Ali was not only a great boxer, but an awesome tactician.

Remember the fight against George Foreman in Zaire? My man damn near went to sleep on the ropes as Foreman flailed away, using his energy to pound away at Ali. And at the right time, the Greatest of All Time started blasting away, eventually knocking Foreman out.

That's exactly what Sen. Barack Obama is doing to Sen. John McCain.

At no time during the Democratic primary has Obama tried to pick a fight. So when he told ABC last week that when it came to bringing up 1960s radical Bill Ayers on the campaign trail, McCain "wasn't willing to say it to my face," I instantly saw it as Obama throwing down the gauntlet.

Knowing full well that the senior senator from Arizona has a hot temper, he couldn't resist the bait.

"He has probably ensured that it will come up this time," McCain told a Missouri radio station.

And by doing so tonight, Obama will be ready to pounce.

I debated conservative Michael Steele last night at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C., and he said McCain should stay focused on the issues. I concur.

By bringing up an issue voters don't care about, McCain will alienate independents, and make it easier for Obama to appeal to them.

If it happens, just watch Obama pound away at McCain, just like Ali did to Foreman.

McCain hopes to win over undecided voters tonight.

The CNN poll released today showed a dramatic decrease in undecided voters. In fact in the key battleground states of Florida, Colorado and Virginia, John McCain could get every undecided voter left and still not have enough to win the campaign.

This is the key turning point in the campaign.

It is much harder to change people's minds than to convince them to move from the undecided block.

That is what makes John McCain's task so difficult tonight. He has to use the issues that have brought people to the Obama camp – namely the economy – and convince them that the decision they have made about who helps them more in these troubled times, is the wrong decision.

All the talk about McCain "taking it to Obama" on Bill Ayers or his past associations, it seems pretty irrelevant to the real challenge at hand. Can John McCain convince people that they are wrong in their judgements?

What are his choices tonight?

-Personal character attacks?
-Social issues like abortion and same sex marriage – the so-called values retread?
-Create fear of a Democratic controlled Washington within Congress and the White House?
-Yet another economic plan?

Lots of choices, none of them sure winners particulalry when Barack Obama has shown a steady hand on all of these issues.

Watch Wednesday's episode of CNN=Politics Daily, The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) – With less than a month until Election Day, all eyes were on Tuesday night’s town-hall style debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, White House Correspondent Ed Henry reports on the highlights of the Obama-McCain town hall tussle, and fellow White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has reaction from Republicans — along with the inside story about what the Obama camp is planning in the last month of the race.

Plus: American Morning’s John Roberts has the results of a survey measuring the immediate reaction by debate watchers. Find out who viewers thought won the critical face-off.

Roberts also speaks with Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, about the foreign policy issues that came up Tuesday night, and what both candidates had to say about the global financial crisis.

While McCain and Obama were squaring off, die-hard Democrats and Republicans gathered together at debate parties across the country. Jason Carroll reports on what loyalists from both political parties thought about the rivals second face-off.

Finally, check out Jeanne Moos’ unique take on the second presidential debate.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

Polls suggests Obama has won tonight’s debate.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - A national poll of debate watchers suggests that Barack Obama won the second presidential debate.

Fifty-four percent of those questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey conducted after the debate ended said that Obama did the best job in the debate, with 30 percent saying John McCain performed better.

Watch: Debate analysis

A majority, 54 percent, said Obama seemed to be the stronger leader during the debate, to 43 percent for McCain. By a greater than two to one margin - 65 percent to 28 percent - viewers thought Obama was more likeable during the debate.

"Obama had made some gains on the leadership issue even before the debate," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "McCain's advantage on leadership shrunk from 19 points in September to just five points this weekend. If Obama can use this debate to convince Americans that he is a stronger leader than McCain, he may be difficult to defeat."

Watch: Reading the candidates' faces

A majority of debate watchers polled thought Obama was more intelligent, by a 57 percent to 25 percent margin over McCain. Twice as many debate watchers also thought Obama more clearly expressed than McCain, with 60 percent giving the nod to the Democratic nominee and 30 percent to his GOP opponent.

Hands down, debate watchers questioned thought McCain rather than Obama spent more time attacking his opponent: 63 percent said McCain went more negative, as opposed to 17 percent who pointed to Obama.

Half of those polled say Obama answered questions more directly, 13 points ahead of McCain, and by a 14 point advantage debate watchers thought Obama seemed to care more about the probelms of audience members who asked questions.

McCain did come out on top in one category that neither candidate wants to win: By a 16 point margin, debate watchers thought McCain seemed more like a typical politician during the debate.

According to the poll, 64 percent had a favorable opinion of Obama after the debate, up four points from the pre-debate result. McCain’s favorability rating remained unchanged: both before and after the debate percent of those polled had a favorable opinion of the Republican nominee both before and after the debate.

"For McCain, the key finding may be that his favorable rating did not change at all," Holland said. "It's unclear whether Obama will gain any momentum from Tuesday night's debate, but it looks like McCain will not do so, and for a candidate who has consistently been a few points behind in national polls, that's not a good sign."

The poll suggests that independent voters thought Obama won the debate. Fifty-four percent of those identifying themselves as independent say Obama performed best, with 28 percent saying that McCain did the better job.

Among Democrats, 85 percent say Obama won, with just 5 percent saying McCain was the winner. Among Republicans, 64 percent say McCain won, with 16 percent saying Obama won the night.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted by telephone with 675 adult Americans who watched the debate. All interviews were taken after the end of the debate. The audience for this debate was 38 percent Democratic and 31 percent Republican - very close to the partisan breakdown among all Americans nationwide. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

(Updated with additional poll results)

McCain’s comment drew an immediate reaction from Obama’s campaign.

(CNN) – Barack Obama's campaign immediately highlighted a singular moment in Tuesday's presidential debate when John McCain sought to criticize Barack Obama for supporting the 2007 Bush-Cheney energy bill:

"It was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate, loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney," McCain said. "You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one. You know who voted against it? Me."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton immediately emailed reporters noting McCain's seemingly peculiar reference to the Illinois senator.

"Did John McCain just refer to Obama as 'that one?' Burton asked.

CNN Contributor David Gergen gives McCain a ‘B’ and Obama a ‘B+’

(CNN)–A few hits, some runs and no major errors - that was the way this second debate struck me. The format was far too confining so that neither candidate could answer in depth and viewers were left with a sense of disappointment that they hadn't heard enough about specifics. Too often, we heard the same arguments we heard in the last debate.

Watch: McCain, Obama explain why voters should trust them

John McCain was more effective on domestic issues than he was on the second debate but flatter on national security. Periodically, he made an excellent argument and he was more composed than earlier. Interestingly, he never went as negative as feared (e.g., he never talked - as Sarah Palin has on the stump - about the past associations of his opponent).

Barack Obama showed once again that he is more articulate and a better debater, able to weave together arguments and themes with great skill. Once again he was also steady. But he was hardly on fire and he didn't give us much more insight - or new ideas - about the economic crisis now gripping the country.

So, my scores tonight are lower than last week:
McCain B
Obama B plus

Politically, this debate strikes me as good news for Obama and bad news for McCain. With two straight victories under his belt, Obama has established in the minds of many voters that he is as qualified to be President as McCain –and given the economy, that means he should have strengthened his position.

CNN analysts and contributors weigh in.

(CNN) - The final tally is in. During the debate, six CNN analysts and contributors scored in real time the performances by both presidential candidates.

Watch: Candidate differ on diplomacy

The number next to the pluses suggests the candidate made a “good point” while the figures next to the minuses indicate “missed opportunities.” For example, in the end, Republican strategist Alex Castellanos gave the debate to Obama with 32 pluses and 4 negatives as opposed to McCain’s 28 pluses and 13 negatives.

Watch: 'Talk softly, carry a big stick,' McCain says

The other five contributors and analysts included Democratic strategist Paul Begala, Sr. Political Analysts Gloria Borger and David Gergen, Chief National Correspondent John King, and Senior Analyst Jeff Toobin.

Neither candidate mentioned their running mates.

(CNN)– During the first debate, Barack Obama mentioned President Bush ten times. Many of the references tied him to John McCain - who never mentioned the name of the current commander-in-chief.

Tonight, the Republican nominee pointed to Bush three times – but only to highlight the policies where he parted ways with the president. Obama brought up President Bush twice as often.

Not mentioned? Either man’s running mate.

(CNN) – Does John McCain recommend a spending freeze to help stabilize the economy, or want the government to purchase bad mortgages from struggling homeowners? Well, according to his answers during Tuesday night’s debate, both.

Early in the debate, McCain recommended that the federal government buy up bad mortgages from landowners and replace them with lower cost, fixed-rate mortgages, which he said would help keep Americans in their homes.

“I would order the Secretary of the Treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of the homes at the diminished value of the homes and let people make those, make the payments and stay in their homes,” McCain said. “Is it expensive? Yes.”

But later in the debate, when asked what sacrifices the American people would need to make to help revive the economy, McCain recommended a “spending freeze.” The Republican nominee said the government should cut wasteful programs and eliminate earmarks.

“We're going to have to tell the American people that spending is going to have to be cut in America,” McCain said. “And I recommend a spending freeze that except for defense, veterans affairs and some other vital programs, we'll just have to have an across the board freeze.”

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - This does not strike me as much of a town hall. It's more like last week's debate, only the backdrop is voters. Brokaw just seems to have to officially given up on enforcing the rules...

Watch: McCain, Obama outline priorities

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - I'm not sure that McCain's presenting of Iraq as a model for Afganistan will be resonate with voters.

(CNN)–America's energy security is contingent on global energy security. If we reduce our energy consumption the way Senator Obama suggested in the debate, it will merely provide more oil for China, India and other developing economies to buy.

Holmes: When would a President Obama order military action?

(CNN)–We didn't hear an answer, but it is an interesting question. He said that we have a moral responsibility to use force to save innocents. How does that apply to Iraq? Saddam Hussein was a mass murderer and gassed his own people. Obama opposed military intervention. Obama also opposed the surge and advocated withdrawal despite the warnings that it would lead to a bloodbath and possible genocide. And now that the surge is helping to quell violence and save lives, Obama says that he would still opposes that action. What does that mean? What about our moral responsibility to the Iraqis? Obama says he's against the Holocaust. Well, for goodness sakes, who isn't? The question is: When would a President Obama order military action? Do we know? Does he know?

Watch: McCain, Obama tell voters when they would send military into action

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - That's a very interesting answer from McCain on Pakistan.

The crux of it was that while Obama's policy may be right...it's foolish to announce it to the Pakistanis; You probably should do what Obama suggests, but you shouldn't talk about it.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) – "We will kill Bin Laden, we will crush al-Qaeda," Barack Obama said Tuesday as he faced John McCain in their second head-to-head presidential debate.

McCain responded in equally strong terms: "I'll get him. I know how to get him. But I am not going to telegraph my punches as Sen Obama did."

Obama: I don't understand why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

Obama just said "Senator McCain is right, I don't understand, I don't understand why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. And we are still there ignoring the real problems elsewhere and spending money we don’t have.” BINGO.

Obama is owning this foreign policy discussion.

Obama and McCain went head to head Tuesday night.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - Obama was waiting for McCain to say - as he did many times in the last debate - that Obama "didn't understand" an issue, or needed "on the job training." McCain obliged on the first foreign policy question - and this time Obama was ready, saying that McCain is right; he doesn't understand why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) – John McCain said Tuesday the "challenge" facing a president considering using military force "is to know when to go in and when not."

McCain and his rival Barack Obama seemed to agree that there were situations when the United States should be willing to use force to stop a humanitarian crisis, even when America was not directly threatened.

Obama suggested the United States could help impose a no-fly zone to stop suffering in Darfur, and both implied Washington could have done more to stop the Holocaust.

McCain has 30 minutes to have stronger performance. He needs to look more angered at the Washington system and emphasize that he's the person to clean up the mess.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - Obama just said that Health care should be a right. How do we get there? Obama's answers are far to abstract.

Obama and McCain lay out fundamental dispute on health care.

NASHVILLE (CNN) – Barack Obama said Tuesday health care was a "right," while John McCain said it was a "responsibility" as they met in their second head-to-head match.

Obama said it was a "moral imperative" to provide health care.

Obama said under his plan, people with health insurance would be able to keep it, while those who did not would be able to join a plan similar to the one for federal employees that he and McCain participate in.

Obama and McCain both proposed computerizing medical records to reduce costs and limit errors.

McCain argued that Obama's plan included fines for small businesses that did not insure their employees, while his was based on "choice" rather than "mandates."

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) - That's a pretty fundamental question...should there be for profit health care?

Obama's answer...he's not answering the question.

Once again they're giving campaign speeches but not really answering the voters questions. Their answers sound like policy position papers.