And the winner of last night's debate is...

not sure. Senators Obama and McCain both had opportunities to score major points last night during their second presidential debate at Belmont University in Tennessee, but neither man struck a fatal blow. Obama had a real chance to "seal the deal" by once and for all linking McCain to the "failed Bush" policies of the last eight years. Instead, Obama was often frustrated by some of McCain's attacks and the format of the debate itself, the townhall meeting, where Tom Brokaw tried desperately to have each candidate answer the questions and stay within the time limits, often redirecting the candidates to stay on topic. Obama did scote heavily during the 30 minute deiscussion of foreign policy in response to being called "dangerous" and a "neophyte" by McCain saying "Nobody called for the invasion of Pakistan. If Pakistan is unable or unwilling to hunt down bin Laden and take him out, then we should." Obama continued: "Now, Sen. McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears and, you know, I'm just spouting off, and he's somber and responsible." McCain smiled and said, "Thank you very much." But the smile faded when Obama said: "This is the guy who sang, 'Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,' who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That, I don't think, is an example of speaking softly."

McCain on the other hand had some opportunities to paint Obama as a "tax and spend" liberal who wants almost $1 trillion of new spending, give 45% who do not pay taxes a check from the government, raise taxes on small businesses, and have the government run health care. McCain could have also delved into the problems of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in more detail and really stuck it to Obama and Democrats like Dodd and Frank who have touted that these institutions were financially sound, but McCain backed off only referring to them in passing. Unfortunately for McCain, he was not agressive enough in these areas and he did not pressure Obama as much as he could have on these and other issues. The one idea McCain did have that caught Obama off guard is having the Fed buy up bad mortgages and renegotiate new terms with the borrower. This idea, unfortunately, is another government solution to a major problem. McCain at times appeared grumpy and pessimistic and about as way away from Reagan's sunny disposition as you can get.

So who won? One could say that McCain won on points because he was more substantive than Obama but McCain did not score a knockout. So, since Obama is still the front runner, advantage Obama. Obama takes another day off the calendar and McCain now only has one debate to pressure Obama. If McCain wins the White House it will be in spite of the debates.

There are 27 days until the presidential election. There are 103 days left in the Bush presidency. And, it's been 2,781 days since there's been a terrorist attack on US soil. Good day and God bless!