What They're Saying About John McCain Debate

"McCain Has Best Debate Yet In Final Face-Off," With "Aggressive, Assertive" Performance
Time's Mark Halperin: "McCain has best debate yet in final face-off. ... McCain: A- ..." (Mark Halperin, "Enough (!)(?)" TIME's "The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 10/15/08)

· Halperin: "During the first half of the debate, showed off the best of himself -- dedicated, sincere, patriotic, cheery, earnest, commanding--all without seeming old or anxious. Even scored some points in the 'change' category, against the candidate who has owned the theme. Clear, upbeat, and totally on message." (Mark Halperin, "Mark Halperin's Grades For The Final Presidential Debate," TIME's "The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 10/15/08)

· Halperin: "[I]f a majority of persuadable voters watched the debate, they saw why McCain's advisers have faith in him and still believe he can win this race." (Mark Halperin, "Mark Halperin's Grades For The Final Presidential Debate," TIME's "The Page" Blog, thepage.time.com, 10/15/08)

CNN's John King: "It was by far McCain's best performance of the three debates. ... It was by far McCain's most aggressive, assertive." (CNN, 10/15/08)

The Associated Press' Liz Sidoti: "John McCain Kept Barack Obama On The Defensive ... By That Measure, McCain Won The Last Debate Of The 2008 Campaign." "This time, John McCain kept Barack Obama on the defensive. The feisty Republican tried hard to find a lifeline Wednesday night, challenging his Democratic rival at every turn over his truthfulness, associations and record. By that measure, McCain won the last debate of the 2008 campaign." (Liz Sidoti, "McCain Puts Obama On The Defensive," The Associated Press, 10/15/08)

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell: "I thought John McCain had a very strong night. I thought it was his best debate, clearly." (MSNBC's "Post Debate Analysis," 10/15/08)

Former Clinton White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers: "I thought it was a stronger night for McCain, though, than the last debate, and he got in some licks, like the one that Dan was talking about where he said you know, if you wanted to run against George Bush you should have run four years ago. I think he brought up Joe The Plumber and used that quite effectively for most of the times he brought it up, which was a lot of times. So a stronger performance from McCain." (CBS's "Presidential Debate," 10/15/08)

CNN's Candy Crowley: "I would agree this was not Obama's best debate." (CNN, 10/15/08)

CNN's Gloria Borger: "John McCain finally got to say tonight I am not George W. Bush. ... That was his best line. That's the line he has been waiting to say." (CNN, 10/15/08)

CNN's David Gergen: "I thought that McCain had the best start than he's had in any debate. The first 30 minutes I thought he excelled, I thought he played very well to his base. Obama started to look, I thought, flat." (CNN, 10/15/08)

"McCain Has Done Much Of What He Needed To Do Tonight" "he Was Aggressive. He Was Strong. He Was On Offense."

ABC News' Rick Klein: "My sense is that McCain has done much of what he needed to do tonight..." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate Blog," ABC News' "Live Debate" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 10/15/08)

· Klein: "The 'long line of McCains' remark a slightly emotional, and probably effective, close." (Rick Klein, "Live Debate Blog," ABC News' "Live Debate" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 10/15/08)

Fox News' Charles Krauthammer: "I thought McCain was feisty and tough." (Fox News' "On The Record," 10/15/08)

ABC News' Charlie Gibson: "It was interesting -- my only thought, when he said that, first of all, very good line." (ABC News' "Vote 08: The Final Debate," 10/15/08)
The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: "McCain's best line of attack in this debate: Obama talks about bipartisanship but doesn't get it done." (Chris Cillizza, "The Fix Twitters The Final Debate!" The Washington Post's "The Fix" Blog, www.washingtonpost.com, 10/15/08)

CNN's Bill Bennett: "Well remember last time I said I didn't think that McCain broke through. I think he did this time. He had a very strong debate." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/15/08)

· Bennett: "Here is what I saw in John McCain -- he was aggressive. He was strong. He was on offense. I thought Obama was flat, professorial -- didn't rise to the occasion. ... McCain was just hammering and I think he scored a lot of points. The most interesting thing about it to me -- thematically - was you saw a real contrast between a conservative and a liberal. You saw a consistent, conservative refrain ... and a liberal refrain mantra from Barack Obama." (CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," 10/15/08)

MSNBC's Pat Buchanan: "I think it goes to McCain on the issues..." (Pat Buchanan, "Buchanan And Maddow: Live Debate Commentary," MSNBC's "First Read" Blog, firstread.msnbc.com, 10/15/08)

Fox News' Greta Van Susteren: "We certainly saw a different side of John McCain tonight. He came out swinging a little bit more, a little more aggressive." (Fox News' "On The Record," 10/15/08)

Townhall's Amanda Carpenter: "If there is any winner in tonight's debate it's Joe the Plumber and that certainly puts McCain closer to the 'W' column than Barack Obama. By speaking directly to Plumber Joe McCain was able to explain why 'Senator Government,' a welcome Freudian slip, is wrong for the economy during these turbulent economic times." (Amanda Carpenter, "The Wrap Up," Townhall's "Amanda Carpenter" Blog, www.townhall.com, 10/15/08)

· Carpenter: "McCain finally showed he was not afraid to bring up Obama's relationship to the radical William Ayers and hit him for associating so closely with a fraudulent non-profit engaging in rampant voter registration fraud this election." (Amanda Carpenter, "The Wrap Up," Townhall's "Amanda Carpenter" Blog, www.townhall.com, 10/15/08)