No Game Changer

McCain needed a knock out punch during the debate tonight just to get back in the game and he didn't get it. According to a CNN focus group who watched the debate live, while McCain won the first 30 minutes, he lost the last hour as he got testier and testier (his temperament has long been a stumbling block for him). There in lies one of McCain's fundamental problems--he's just not likable. A CNN post-debate telephone poll with viewers who watch the debate rated McCain's likability as only 22%. And this is big trouble for McCain who trails in the polls in a number of key states. Not only isn't he likable, the average voter just isn't connecting with him.

The average voter just can't connect with a man who has 7+ houses (actually doesn't know how many he has) and at least as many cars. McCain hasn't spent a day in his life wondering how to pay his many mortgages; worrying about how he's going to pay a hospital bill if he get's sick (he's been covered by Federal health insurance for most of his adult life--first in the Navy and later as a 20 year veteran of Congress); wondering if he should pay the electric bill, water bill or phone bill this month; or how he's going to pay for his childrens' education.

McCain's biggest problem is he's out of touch and he did nothing tonight to portray himself otherwise. We've got 19 days until the election and a lot can happen in that time. But, for the moment, I'm cautiously optimistic.