After watching the first Presidential Debate last night, I felt confident that McCain had "won," but still unsatisfied with his performance on the whole. At this point, it's hard to tell if I'm disappointed in the Republican nominee or just utterly disgusted by the Democratic nominee. Of course, everyone's a critic and everyone thinks they can do someone else's job better; I'm certainly no exception. That notwithstanding, I can't shake this feeling that McCain is surrounded by all the wrong people. Why aren't they coaching him on how to talk directly to the American People?

There were a couple moments when I felt that Senator McCain scored big points. For instance, when he referred to Obama as a "convert" with respect to earmark/pork-barrel spending restraint. The point that Barack Obama changed his ways--where earmark requests are concerned--only after beginning his bid for the White House, is revealing. And calling earmarks a "gateway" was something I think would tend to resonate with average Americans. But all of that was lost when McCain refused to fight back on the issue of the two candidates contrasted tax plans.

Conservatives and Republicans get it. Raising taxes to pay for a bigger government threatens our markets, our business, and ultimately erodes our individual liberties. But too many Americans lose sight of this reality when they are bombarded with class-warfare rhetoric and populist messages of "hope" and "change." This leads to my first criticism of the way McCain handled himself last night (and indeed the way he's handled himself throughout the general election campaign).

In the first act of the debate, the focus centered around the economy. I honestly expected more clarity from both candidates on the issue of the "bailout package" being negotiated in Washington D.C.  What I wanted to see was each of them take a position on the initial Bush Administration proposal or what had been worked on by the administration and Congress up to that point; and, I was hoping to see McCain come out against the proposal and take the side of House Republicans and the American People.  Instead, we were given the same talking points about the same grievances they have with each others plan.

"Senator Obama has asked for nearly a million dollars in pork for every day he's been in the Senate."

"I'm going to cut taxes for 95% of Americans."

"He's gonna increase the size and scope of government and kill the economy by taxing producers to death."

"We can't afford four more years of George Bush's policies."

Maybe I'm alone in this, but it's all starting to get rather boring. Obama is going to keep doing what he does. He will keep invoking the specter of George W. Bush and keep using his smooth voice to reassure voters that he really cares about the common-man who clings to his guns and Bible. He's invested too much into his own propaganda to simply abandon it now or employ a new campaign tactic. McCain, on the other hand, has an opportunity to introduce a new strategic "surge" of anti-class-warfare rhetoric and honest populism into his campaigning.

I say, "has," because although I feel that McCain squandered an opportunity last night, he will have another chance to make the right moves.

The key is in the psychology of ADHDesque voter attention spans and emotional responses. What McCain needs to do is make voters ashamed of the jealous vitriol they are provoked into feeling for their fellow Americans by Democratic speech-writers who use issues like income disparity and healthcare to paint success as a monster that needs to be vanquished. He needs to make voters think about how taking money from the rich is going to pad their own pockets--and if that's the way they want to pay for their groceries, gas, or flat-screen TV's--if that promise could be kept in the first place. The achievement of Barack Obama thus far has been in disassociating (in the minds of voters) wealth from citizenship. For McCain the endgame is a different brand of populism; one that doesn't pit Americans vs. Americans.

One way Senator McCain can turn Obama's message on it's head is to re-frame Obama's insistence that he'll "cut taxes for 95% of Americans."  He can do this effectively by detailing the costs underlying such a proposal. He doesn't even have to tell America what he thinks the costs will be. A few rhetorical questions do the job quite nicely.

"What's going to happen to the cost of groceries when the companies and farmers who deliver your perishables costs go up because of Obama's tax-hikes on the 'rich?'"

"How high will gas prices go when Obama imposes a 'windfall profits tax' on oil producers to fund his taxpayer funded investment into unproven and unready technologies?"

"What's going to happen to your ability to find a new or better job, or a competitive wage when Obama's tax increases deter foreign investment and push domestic corporations overseas?"

"Are these consequences worth the five-hundred or so dollars Obama promises to transfer into your accounts from the accounts of other American citizens?"

What is required of McCain right now is nothing more than an elaboration of his, "Country First," campaign slogan in a way that forces each voter to choose between, "me first," and, "country first."

This is the kind of honest populism Senator McCain can exploit to his advantage in these final weeks of the campaign.  It's because he isn't asking these questions in forums like last nights debate that I can't help but assume that McCain is surrounded by all the wrong people. This assumptions is underscored by other recent events. The controversy surrounding the "bailout package" being negotiated right now in D.C. provides another glimpse into the inadequacies of his campaign advisers.

According to, Rassmussen Reports, only 24% of those polled support the bailout proposal.  Fully 50% oppose it outright. John McCain may yet wrestle an earned sense of respect away from voters by choosing to return to Washington to work on the bailout as Obama went back to the campaign stump, but what he should be doing is leading the House Republicans in their opposition to a "package" the American People overwhelmingly do not support.  What better way to effectively counter-punch against Obama's jabs about the connection between George Bush and John McCain than for McCain to split with Bush and side with Americans on this very important issue? Where are his advisers who can't see the writing on the wall here?

Regardless...

Out of the Abyss of this socio-economic disaster we may see a clear front-runner emerge... Will McCain recalibrate his message and branding, or will he allow Obama to carry this election on the strength of unchecked class-warfare and disingenuous populism?