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Obama wasn't going to dominate this one going in. Evangelicals are a mixed crowd, but plenty of them have a Republican fixation that no mere incompetance, lies or foolishness can shake. They are also organized and activist, and that makes them dangerous enemies. Obama had to show them that he wasn't the antiChrist or a Black Panther, and I think he did that. Some of the audience are certain to be as rabidly anti-Obama as the PUMA freaks, but if he managed to reassure others, then these reachable ones may not feel the need to drag themselves out of bed at 4 am to battle the forces of evil. If so, it's a win.
As for McCain, he won too. Slogans and macho posturing pass for decisiveness and manly virtue among many, and those sorts got an ear full of what they wanted. Likewise, his self-serving, exhaustively practised tales from the war proved themselves (long, long ago) able to produce a blush of pleasure and awe among folks with duller lives.
It is widely noted that McCain does best in front of a live audience. It wasn't too obvious last night, perhaps because it mostly comes out when the audience is less in thrall, but he seems to me like a weakling in constant need of validation. Sometimes he delivers his tales of wartime heroism while his eyes wander pleadingly around the audience, desperate for approval. I'd predict that if he makes president, we're all in for some pretty weird stuff.
