ProgressOhio

Given the severity of our economic crisis, the historic nature of this year's presidential election and the intense public interest in what could be the pivotal debate, why did last night's match between two talented candidates turn out to be such a ho-hum affair?

It's not just our economy and our government that needs fixing, it's the election debate format as well.

Climbing into the ring in Nashville, John McCain and Barrack Obama circled each other cautiously during the first 70 of the 90-minute debate before Obama finally landed a real punch. But Obama first had to fight his way through the "referee," debate moderator Tom Brokaw.

What finally ticked off the usual unflappable Democrat was McCain's fight strategy of using bogus charges to take little chops at Obama's gut and then dancing away scot-free as Brokaw called time out. When McCain admonished his opponent to follow Teddy Roosevelt's advice -- "speak softly, but carry a big stick" -- Obama had had enough.

Overriding Brokaw's timekeeper objections, Obama demanded a minute to respond which he got -- and which he did, effectively, reminding voters that it was Sen. "Soft Talk" McCain who had chanted "Bomb, Bomb Iran" during a campaign rally, called for the "annihilation" of North Korea and boasted after the invasion of Afghanistan, "Next up, Baghdad!"

The whole "town hall" format in Nashville was a joke.

Did you ever see a town hall meeting where organizers not only told the "audience" to shut it's collective pie-hole for 90 minutes -- and, in addition, show no emotion or reaction to what the candidates said? Unless those audience members on stage were one of the lucky few to ask a question, they sat like zombies, part of the stage furniture for all they contributed.

Remember your history about the Lincoln-Douglas debates? They shared the stage for hours, going at each other without a fussy timekeeper or "agreed" restrictions on audience participation. And the best man won and saved the nation.

Once again, all the post-fight pundits pronounced last night's debate interesting (for policy wonks at least), but not a game-changer. Nobody was sure who won.

In any case, here's the bits I found interesting:

---McCain's best moment: Running as Sen. "Big Stick" (when he wasn't being Sen. Soft Talk), McCain vowed to get Bin Ladin "but obviously I'm not going to telegraph my punches." NOTE: The last candidate with a secret plan to end the war was Richard Nixon.

---Obama's best moment: Other than that cited above, it had to be his light response to the question, "What don't you know and how will you learn it?" Obama answered, "Michelle can give you a long list," drawing the only laugh of the night from the zombies.

---McCain's favorite phrase: tie, between "My Friends,..." and "Look at the record."

---Obama's favorite phrase: "fundamental change."

---Oddest accusation: McCain, not once but twice, sought to impale Obama on earmarks by citing $3 million the Democrat sought - (but never got) - for projection equipment for the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. McCain keeps referring to this as an "overhead projector," kind of like the one Miss Smith used in junior high. But these night-sky projectors are fantastic pieces of high technology. Hasn't McCain ever been to a planetarium?

---Body language: Both candidates couldn't sit still on their debate stools, feeling they needed to stand and sometimes strut about even when their opponent was speaking. McCain especially had a case of nervous leg syndrome, always avoiding eye contact (again) with Obama while practically bear-hugging an audience questioner who happened to be a veteran.

Winner? Who knows. Ask me on Nov. 5.