Joe the Plumber is ringing a little flat for me; it's not as effective as Obama's more personal story. But Obama did well when he addressed JTP, telling him his fine will be zero, and McCain's somewhat flabbergasted look attests to that. As has been a trend in the debates, Obama handles the health care contrast well, clearly explaining his plan and dissecting McCain's. It surprises me that McCain didn't preempt Obama's inevitable decision to talk about McCain's plan to tax employer-based health care, since we saw the same dialog in the last debate. Also, does McCain really consider organ transplants luxury care?
-- Tim Fernholz
