I think that there was a subliminal message for many people in last night's debate.  The people I am thinking of are the ones who are currently dealing with aging parents who are no longer quite at the top of their game and tend to say and do things which make their kids groan, "Oh, Dad!  You KNOW that isn't right!"  When I looked at Barak Obama reacting to John McCain, that often seemed to be the way he felt, "The old geezer's losing it."  I think there are a lot of people who will sub-consciously relate their own experiences with their parents to what they were seeing in the debate and come to the conclusion that you can still like and respect John McCain, but for heaven's sake don't let him get a-hold of the car keys!  Not to mention the codes for the warheads.