I believe the polls are right: Barack Obama won Tuesday's second presidential debate, and it wasn't even close.
 
While both of the candidates didn't make any major gaffes, Obama still had a better overall performance on several levels. The Illinois senator was able to more clearly explain his positions, he was more impressive stylistically, and he did a superior job in using the debate to speak directly to America's youth.
 
In a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey conducted at the conclusion of the debate, 54 percent said Obama won, compared to just 30 percent for John McCain. These numbers do not just represent a coincidence, or the fact that Obama is generally perceived as more "likable." I'd argue there are concrete reasons behind Obama's victory.
 
First, throughout the debate, McCain seemed more focused on personally attacking Obama and playing up his own experience than he did in clearly articulating his positions on the issues--presumably what the voters are interested in most.
 
The quintessential example of McCain's struggle at times to get his points across came early on in the debate when he noted that, as president, he would order the treasury secretary to "immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes." Was this a new campaign proposal spontaneously announced? Was it a lesser known part of the financial bailout package recently approved by Congress? How would the plan be administered?
 
McCain simply wasn't clear, and even faithful Republicans admit to being confused by the remarks.
 
Kevin Hargreaves, president of the College Republicans at Utah State University, said McCain "didn't clarify well enough."
 
"To be honest with you ... I'm as big of a McCain supporter as you're gonna find, but it seemed like it was kind of (out of) left field to me," said Hargreaves, 25. "I hadn't heard anything about this before."
 
That's not to say that McCain did not have good moments in the debate. He was relatively coherent on issues such as tax policy and national security, but Obama was more consistently clear on his positions.
 
McCain seemed to be too obsessed with asking voters to look at the "records" of the two candidates. Obama agreed. But in trying to demonstrate a greater level of experience than Obama, McCain came across as condescending, and his approach backfired.
 
Referring to Obama as "that one" who voted for a pork barrel energy bill and calling into question "Obama and his cronies" in associating him with executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac go beyond a standard campaign attack. Instead, it has an air of condescension and disrespect and turns off voters.
 
"The disrespect shown by McCain is indicative of his desperation," said Jackson Olsen, 23, student body vice president at Utah State University. "He's behind in the polls. He's behind in the key battleground states ... and he's starting to feel the dream of his taking over the White House slipping through his fingers."
 
In my view, Obama also lost the debate on style, which in a message conveyed through the medium of television, is important. Throughout the first and second presidential debates, McCain could constantly be seen looking at his notes when Obama was speaking, and McCain rarely glanced at Obama, even when going on the attack. In contrast, Obama was not afraid to look in McCain's direction, to make eye contact and to turn his body toward McCain, intent on hearing what he had to say.
 
"He (Obama) came off sounding, looking and feeling more prepared to be president," Olsen added.
 
Hargreaves contends that McCain did better than Obama on style in the second debate, citing the Arizona senator's "extremely good job of walking up and interacting with the audience" and the questioners. 
 
While it's true that McCain succeeded on that front, Obama held his own, quickly picking up on McCain's abilities and matching them.
 
At times, McCain seemed disinterested in the debate, his face down, his pen writing feverishly. It was the wrong body language to project, similar to George H.W. Bush caught staring at his watch or Al Gore's repeated sighs in previous presidential debates. Obama was more attentive and civil, which likely registered more with voters.
 
Finally, Obama did a better job speaking directly to younger voters. McCain was not silent when referring to younger Americans, however.
 
For instance, McCain noted that the United States has "laid a $10 trillion debt on these young Americans who are here with us tonight." He said the "security" of the country's young men and women serving in the military "are my first priority after our nation's security." But these were more casual references in the overall context of speaking about the national debt and the war in Iraq. And the comments are more indicative of relating younger Americans to the country's existing problems, rather than incorporating them into a larger vision for the country.
 
Obama went out of his way at times to mention younger Americans specifically. When asked to rank his priorities among the issues of energy, health care and entitlement reform, Obama left out the latter completely, instead expounding on education.
 
He said, "And number three (priority), we've got to deal with education so that our young people are competitive in a global economy."
 
Hargreaves conceded that Obama more frequently and specifically addressed younger Americans in the debate, but he does not believe that automatically means Obama resonated more with them for that reason.
 
"It just kind of depends on what you feel is important," he said, noting McCain's resolve on national security issues connected with him since he has family members and friends serving in the military.
 
But there is something to be said about singling out a specific demographic, and Obama directly addressed the youth on a few occasions.
 
"I think the young people of America are especially interested in how they can serve, and that's one of the reasons why I'm interested in doubling the Peace Corps," Obama said.
 
And even in his closing statement, Obama found a way to again directly address the plight of younger voters.
 
"We've got young people who have got the grades and the will and the drive to go to college, but they just don't have the money," Obama said--the second time he emphasized college affordability in the debate.
 
McCain needs more than a few clever lines in the last debate next Wednesday to finally beat Obama. He needs to be more engaged, more clear in the pronouncement of his policies and more conscious of key demographics such as younger voters if he wants to bounce back.