Well, that’s a bit more like it.  That was almost a debate.  There was almost engagement.  There were almost specific details about policies.  (Kudos to the moderator, Bob Schieffer of CBS, for asking some good, direct and succinct questions, for widening the scope from “just” the economy and Iraq and for striking the right tone throughout.)

And – listening on radio, and contrary to the immediate reaction on the main US news sites – I’m going to call the evening for McCain, albeit very narrowly.  It was by far his best performance of the three “debates”, he gave it a decent crack, and I give him credit for trying valiantly (and apparently sincerely) to defend his disastrous choice of running mate (apparently she’s qualified to be Vice President because she has an autistic child).

He certainly got in the soundbite of the night: “Senator Obama, I am not President George Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.”  As spontaneous and natural as a Scotch egg, but a nice one, nevertheless.

But it wasn’t enough by any stretch of the imagination – not least because he fell into That One’s trap, even if the Ayers Moment didn’t actually quite scale the anticipated dramatic heights.

McCain spent the 90 minutes attacking Obama on a consistently personal basis, despite him (presumably) knowing that all polling evidence has demonstrated electors’ disdain for constant personal attacks.  There were times when McCain sounded angry (I have no idea how he looked, what his body language betrayed or whether he actually managed to look That One in the eye at all this time around) and barely able to contain his contempt for his opponent.  Unless those earlier polls were wildly inaccurate, it’s hard to see how that approach will have done much but turn people off.

That One, in contrast, sounded only marginally less laid back than a Dido ballad.  For the large part when he was attacked, he did not react – he explained.  Instead of mouthing platitudes about new dawns for America “my friends”, he said that things were in a mess, problems could not be solved overnight and that public investment would be needed to start to turn things around.  (Joe The Plumber didn’t get any false assurance that his tax bill – as the earner of a mere $250,000-$280,000 a year – would fall under an Obama administration: bravo, That One.)  With the exception of a couple of fluffed lines, he was calm and rational – in short, he sounded presidential.

Further, it’s hard to see how even the dumbest of American voters can fall for McCain’s repeated, contradictory claims that (a) he will bring The Change for which Americans are apparently crying out, and (b) as a United States Senator for the past 21½ years, he has had nothing to do with the errors of recent years.

I was a little disappointed that That One didn’t have a nice soundbite ready in response to the Ayers question.

My personal choice would have been, “I was eight years old when WIlliam Ayers was engaged in deplorable acts I have always condemned.  When you were eight years old, John, Adolf Hitler was still occupying most of western Europe.  I don’t seek to claim you are culpable for World War Two.”

That may, however, explain why I’m not running for US President…

Either way, the debate was played out against 24 more hours of stock market turmoil.  There’s only one story in this election (to date), and that story has spiked every gun McCain has.

I am aware that there are probably not too many fat, middle-aged British lawyers blogging about American presidential politics at 4.30am.  I have some self-awareness.  I am not proud of myself.  I need some sleep.