EDITORIAL: Second debate still doesn’t change the game

‘ ‘ ‘ The second presidential debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain took place… ‘ ‘ ‘ The second presidential debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain took place last night at 9. Although the debate was a different format and provided many opportunities for both candidates to lay down some good points, in many ways it was simply a more heated redux of the first debate. Both candidates held their own ground but delivered little in the way of major blows or major screwups. ‘ ‘ ‘ Tom Brokaw of NBC moderated the debate, and he deserves credit as the most vociferous and active moderator of this year’s debates. Brokaw certainly wasn’t afraid to interrupt the candidates and lay down the rules when necessary. But even Brokaw could only get the candidates to follow the rules up to a point. Obama especially seemed prone to breaking the time limit and giving long-winded speeches, though both candidates went far over their one-minute discussion period more than once. ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite all this, though, the debate will probably have little effect on the overall race. Along with the lack of major knockouts or embarrassing gaffes, the candidates simply failed to move beyond many of the talking points they delivered in their debate on Sept. 26. Both Obama and McCain were quick to reuse their own soundbytes against the other candidate, and neither really broached new territory. ‘ ‘ ‘ Most of the answers were predictable, and the few that weren’t were still far from surprising. For the most part the candidates both sounded like they were giving prepared and rehearsed responses. In a few cases they actually engaged each other, most notably on the topic of Pakistan, in which Obama actually flouted debate rules and asked for a follow-up response. For the most part, though, they delivered the same answers to many of the same questions that they got in the first debate. ‘ ‘ ‘ This isn’t to say that the questions were all the same, but that both candidates made heavy use of the tactic of sidestepping the question for one that they want to answer. Obama touted energy reform in questions that had nothing to do with energy, and McCain more than once focused on his Congressional record when asked specifically about how he would behave in the future. ‘ ‘ ‘ There were no real game-changers in this debate, and either candidate could ‘mdash; and likely will ‘mdash; claim victory. But McCain missed out on his chance to bring momentum back into his camp. ‘ ‘ ‘ People who were undecided before this debate are probably still undecided, and for those who were leaning one way or another, there was enough from both candidates to attract people either way. It’s unlikely that either candidate will experience a boost in the polls, unless some unforeseen controversy arises in the next few days. ‘ ‘ ‘ Even though McCain laid down some good points in the debate, and even though the format favored him ‘mdash; he’s a known fan of the town-hall style ‘mdash; McCain is trailing in most polls, and this debate probably won’t change that fact. ‘ ‘ ‘ Neither candidate really won or lost, both gave strong performances that had a few weak points, and overall it’s doubtful that anyone’s mind is going to change because of it. Hopefully, the candidates offer better performances in the third debate than they did in the first two.