One side effect of McCain's debate gambit is, I'm told, that everyone at Ole Miss now hates him. It will make for a very hostile audience tonight among those students and faculty attending. He might have to apologize for creating the uncertainty or make some explanation up front, which is never ideal.

But I totally understand that he doesn't come across well to most people.  His campaign has been really very smart about things -- so they have to know this.  I'd be surprised if they hadn't been working on it for quite some time.  

I thought he did come across well in his press conference in responce to McCain's gambit.  He is capable of reducing the "uhs".  

Barack Obama should spend the first ten minutes proving to the American People that he, Obama, is for them.

I agree with BTD that Obama should focus on what he wants to accomplish for the country, and ignore McCain as much as possible. Especially in this first debate. However, every lie from McCain should be remarked upon in real time, not in a memo after the debate.

After Saddleback, everyone was expecting McCain to win the debates by a lot, but because of the last 2-3 weeks, everything is changing.

CNN had some kind of poll where 58% or so thought Obama would win the debate and only 40% thought McCain.

That is very worrying since if it is presumably along party lines, then most independents think Obama will win.

The expectations are too high I think, sure if he matches them, he can walk away with a 10 point poll lead, but I'm less than certain of that.

I think Obama can benefit from the economic crisis by presenting an idea that puts the electorate first and protects the average American, a solution that bails out homeowners but that doesn't automatically bail out investors or the people who've already made money off the junk investments (CEOs, managers, etc.)  A solution that solves the crisis at the bottom will help the people at the top, but the reverse is not true.  We could put a Trillion bucks into the problem and still face economic failure.  That's a reality, and it's being played by the right wing to their advantage.  The Dems are pushing for a solution that conceptually matches the Repub plan, a top down fix, except they'll add costly, possibly ineffective oversight.  Right wing communications are already presenting the crisis as a Dem failure and convincing some voters that McCain's maverickness is what's needed to solve the problem.  He's not Bush, dontcha know?  Obama needs to be seen as against big-government, wasteful policies if he wants to capture that segment's votes.  

As part of the debate tonight, Obama could present a more people-centered, country first solution (here's my "Flood Up, Not Trickle Down" proposal, but I'm sure people here and elsewhere have other good ideas.)  

By going beyond what the Dems are willing to do, Obama would be challenging the standard Democratic solutions (tax and spend, big government) and will therefore appeal to fiscal conservatives.  Given that most people realize we have to do something about the crisis, tax, spend and get some eventual payback is a lot more palatable than shoving more money down a sinkhole.  By improving the Dem plan, Obama can position himself with a solution outside the usual framework of Repubs=no government controls on free markets vs. Dems=unwieldy, ineffective, wasteful, big government oversight).  He can safely buck the establishment (maverick) with a reasonable proposal that clearly defines him as supporting us, the middle and working class people, more than big business.  He'd get the respect and votes of the part of the electorate who are foolishly looking to McCain to buck the system in their favor.  

Meanwhile, he'd promote left wing socialist ideas in a way not being promoted by either party - taxpayers first and foremost.  This bailout could be a leftie bonanza in that our country would be more socialist than ever before by socializing the investment sector, but only if the payback ultimately comes back to the people.  The Dems "oversight" part of their plan doesn't ensure that.  Actual government ownership of the investments does.

Even if a plan like this didn't pass in Congress, Obama can benefit from supporting it because he's showing he's willing to stand up for us, the little guys, correcting failed BushCo policies while leading our country in a new direction away from the previous policies of ineffective oversight.

Even at his worst, Obama is a master debater over McCain. I'm confident people watching will be listening through any uh's and um's to hear the real thoughts on this bailout before the moderators venture into foreign affairs. The subject people want to know most about right now is their financial security.

Obama doesn't have it.  

Thankfully, neither does McCain.

I expect a rather cringe-worthy night, something like watching a grade school play or Pop Warner football.

the surge will undoubtedly be McCains centerpiece and Obama will be a bit in a corner over the lessening violence, but the central or core goal as I remember it was to stabilize and get a functional gov't.  the last report card had us at 3 of the 18 objectives accomplished.  It will take a very skilled politician to dissect that without seeming to come accross as anti-troops.

I don't think McCain has taken the debates all that seriously and I think (despite thinking that O did not win any of the dem debates) McCain will struggle after the surge discussion.  He consistently hangs his hat on the one or two issues he was right on and he believes being right on the surge will take him to the wh.

I also think McCain's speech at the convention is a clear tell-tale of where he will go tonite and it is in the wrong direction.  Americans may care about nat'l sec right now but are not looking for a fear based platform.  His conv speech focused a lot on foreign threats and 9-11 is far removed from the narrative and will not carry much weight.

I look for a draw and Obama with a slight edge.  All he needs is a draw in FP and a slight edge might choke the McCain campaign into removing Palin.  

the base may like her but the indys who decide races are lost on her and McCain has already shown that hail marys in the first quarter are valid options.

I think the american public is expecting more from McCain in this debate not less.  I also think that McCains terrorist pony is sick and frail and the middle is bored with it.  McCain is great with zingers and it will be interesting to see if Obama brings some with him.  

O will win on economics not because he is a better debater but because he might read one or two of Bills old transcripts and learn something.  I reread them from time to time and it is amazing how much he really understood the economic situation.  O can soundbyte his way through after a powerful introduction.

On the e side O has a stronger position and should win by a bit larger margin than McCain on FP.....

The guy dug unaccountably dug his own grave here. You could say that he was for the debate before he was against it before he was for it. A new level of confusion for Palin/McCain.

My rules mean so0mething and you violated them.

Women candidates have similar pitfalls to avoid. I'd argue though that they aren't quite as emotionally explosive, and that exploiting them can have its upside, since women are a majority, especially in the voting population.