McCain's Debate Goals: Winning the instant polls, or setting the stage for later arguments?

Even though McCain was obviously better informed on foreign policy, people watching the first debate saw Obama act and talk in a Presidential fashion and saw McCain not look at him.  That gave Obama the boost in the polls.  In other words, people care about what they care about and Obama had a better feel for that then McCain.

Sarah Palin was very effective in the second debate even though many people gave Joe Biden the win.  She did well enough to rehabilitate her image amongst the conservative base who had been told they should be embarrassed to support her.  Just as important, she spent the debate attacking Obama and praising McCain, i.e., focusing on the real subjects.

In this third debate, the early results are that it was boring, kind of a wash, but McCain was disrespectful to Obama by saying 'That One.'  That clearly was a mistake.  On the other hand, McCain did a few things early on which may have resonance later:

1. He talked about his bipartisan record and asked people to go to the internet to look.
2. He talked about Fannie and Freddie.

Neither of these things could possibly matter in an insta-poll.  But enough talk about Fannie and Freddie may start to really hurt the Democratic Brand at a time when it really deserves to be hurt.  At the same time, talking about his bipartisan record isn't a debate winner, but it may improve his standing amongst the swing voters.   Branding oneself as someone with a history of doing things in a bipartisan way may be very effective in a crisis situation.