John McCain completely missed out on a golden opportunity last night. Town Hall style debates are where he is supposed to shine and he did not. He did not even come close. He did not win, That One did.

Barack Obama, AKA That One, did not say anything new, but he did not make mistakes. He remained poised and professional. There were times when he did not answer the questions that were asked, but he delivered his message and the polls right after the debate, taken of those who actually watched, reflected that.

John McCain looked tired. He acted tired. And again he did not say how he was going to solve any problems. John McCain is trailing in the national polls and is losing support not only it the swing states, but in states that have traditionally voted Republican. He needed to come out a bi g winner and he did not. Watching the debate, it was hard to believe that the Town Hall format is his favorite, so much so that he wanted all the debates to be Town Hall.

Perhaps the biggest shock of all came after the debate, watching a stage full of analysts, both Democratic and Republican actually agreed that McCain did not do what he needed to.

The format did not go the way it was supposed to either. Tom Brokaw had to keep reminding the candidates that they had agreed to a one minute time limit for comments. But then again, keeping a politician to a one minute statement is like holding back a flood with a single sand bag. It simply cannot be done. While the Town Hall format does give the voters a chance to ask questions most important to them, it does lead to more chaos than the podium style. And, while the campaigns did not know the questions in advance, they were screened in advance and only those chosen in advance could ask their questions. Maybe a better way would be to let the candidates take turns picking members from the audience to ask questions

Another thing that was disturbing was the fact that the audience was not allowed to react to the candidates comments. It was done as a time saving measure, but it would have been nice to see what they thought.

At the end of the debate, the McCains and the Obamas met on stage and exchanged pleasantries, but the McCains turned and left and the Obamas stayed and talked one on one with the audience. This was the topper to the evening. It was not a graceful exit, or a respectful one, and not to Obama but the audience, most of which, I am sure would have liked to have an opportunity to get a little one on one.