3rd Round: No KO, some body blows

THE REAL STAR of last night's final presidential debate was about 800 miles off camera - some guy from Ohio named Joe the Plumber.

And if he's like most Americans, he's "hurting and angry."

"Joe the Plumber" - a voter in the Buckeye State who confronted Barack Obama recently about how his tax plans would affect small businesses, and whose cause has now been adopted by John McCain - was the most memorable new wrinkle in a debate in which both candidates otherwise stuck to their game plans. As expected, McCain made sure to mention Williams Ayers, a 1960s radical and later an Obama acquaintance - but called him "an old washed-up terrorist." McCain mainly tried to label the Democratic nominee as a big spender.

Obama, with some polls showing him expanding his lead in the national polls to double digits, wanted to look solid and avoid controversy - running out the clock, some said - and that's essentially what he did, even smiling broadly during many of McCain's now-familiar attacks.

The showdown at Hofstra University, on New York's Long Island, was the final debate of a long campaign season, a debate missed by tens of thousands of Philadelphians who chose to watch the Phillies win their first National League pennant in 15 years. From here, the race to replace President Bush as 44th president is a 20-day sprint to the finish line.

If you missed the 90-minute showdown, here are highlights:

Words that would have gotten you blitzed in a debate drinking game: For McCain: "Joe the Plumber," "hurting," "angry," "terrorist," "spending," "nuclear power," "my friends," and "overhead projector."

For Obama: "look," "hatchet," "scalpel," "Bush," "Scranton." For the pundits on TV: "Run out the clock," "game-changer."

Star of the debate: Undoubtedly, it was "Joe the Plumber." Who is this man that McCain referenced some 13 times, once even addressing him directly as "Hey, Joe"? According to news reports, the new celebrity is Joe Wurzelbacher, of Holland, Ohio - who recently confronted the Illinois senator during a campaign appearance and said that he'd pay higher taxes in an Obama administration because the small business he bought nets more than $250,000 a year.

Wurzelbacher will probably earn a lot more than that now, thanks to all the free publicity.

Best line: It came from McCain, who said: "Senator Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy in this country." I'll bet he wished he'd thought of that one back when the race was still a dead heat.

Best Obama retort: "I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings during the course of the campaign than addressing the issues that matter to them so deeply." That was Obama's comeback after McCain said that recent comments by Rep. John Lewis, the civil-rights veteran, blasting campaign tactics by McCain and running mate Sarah Palin were "so hurtful."

Best backstory: The unusual facial expressions of the candidates, which arguably reflected the tiring length of the 2008 campaign. McCain blinked strangely and grinned at odd times, perhaps a reflection of submerged anger towards his Democratic rival. Obama seemed to chuckle at many of the GOP candidate's attacks, as if he'd heard it all and nothing would erode his lead.

Gaffe watch: There were no significant gaffes on the night, as was the case for all three debates - an accomplishment that reflects well on the knowledge level of both candidates, who seemed quite at ease with complex policy questions. The closest thing to misspeaking was when McCain started to call Palin a "breash of freth air."

Best thing about the debate: The format that had both candidates facing each other at a circular table, and which also provided more time for discussion on each question - which forced McCain and Obama to engage each other more directly than the first two rather stilted debates. Folksy Bob Schieffer from CBS was also a plus.

Worst thing: Again, the "fierce urgency of now" seemed missing from the talk about the massive fiscal crisis, and on a day when the Dow lost 733 points. McCain and Obama generated more heat during the discussion on free trade with Colombia. *