Last night’s debate fell short in many ways of the expected mud-slinging some of us anticipated McCain would resort to in response to Obama’s growing lead in the polls. What happened was quite different. McCain, instead of going for the jugular, went for a mix of humor, sincerity and condescension. Rather than attack Obama, he tried to turn Obama’s candidacy into a joke, asking the audience if Obama would ever tell them the cost of the fines on families who don’t buy their children healthcare, or alleging that hair implants would be required in government-sponsored health care plans. In my humble opinion, the strategy fell largely flat. While McCain’s presentation of himself as a candidate was articulate — albeit vague — his task was to tear down Barack Obama, and on that front he failed. If anything, Obama was emboldened by some of McCain’s attacks. On the issue of health care and taxes, McCain attempted to paint him as a big government liberal, supporting high taxes and government-mandated health care. On both occasions, Obama responded forcefully, yet earnestly, making it clear to undecided voters that he could integrate compassion and intellectualism in his policy. Obama responded to his opponent — always a risky move in politics — but also more clearly presented his plan in the process. Ironically, Obama did even better on foreign policy. McCain, perhaps feeling over-zealous about what should be his strength, attacked Obama for calling for the invasion of Pakistan. Obama responded strongly, citing McCain’s own irresponsible comments about “Bomb Iran,” and “Next Stop Baghdad!.” But more importantly, he clarified his statement on Pakistan, and further used the opportunity to discuss the importance of “catching Bin Laden,” a perceived failure of the Bush administration. What is surprising is that no social issues were discussed. Obviously that plays to the benefit of the Democrats, who are looking to run on nothing else but the economic downturn.