Did McCain do what he needed to shake up race?

By Steve Holland - Analysis

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Republican John McCain was steady on the attack against Democrat Barack Obama at their second debate. But did he provide the kind of performance he needed to shake up a race in which he is behind?

Probably not, analysts said after a 90-minute encounter in which the two candidates prowled around a stage and questioned each other's judgement on the economy, taxes, energy and foreign policy.

"I think McCain finished exceptionally well," said Republican strategist Scott Reed. "But overall, the event is not going to rock the race."

McCain is hanging on for dear life in a race that favours Obama. He is down in opinion polls ahead of the November 4 election and in the midst of a U.S. financial crisis that a majority of Americans believe Obama is better prepared to handle.

McCain was in his element at the debate -- a "town-hall" format in which regular voters pose questions, a style he used effectively earlier this year to come back from the political grave and defeat a host of Republican rivals.

At Nashville's Belmont University, he managed to turn just about every question into an attack on Obama as his Democratic opponent sat nearby in a tall chair looking sometimes amused, sometimes annoyed.

McCain quickly went on the offensive in an opening discussion about who was to blame for government policies that led to the Wall Street crisis, saying Obama has benefited mightily from campaign contributions from executives of the two troubled mortgage companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

"They're the ones that, with the encouragement of Senator Obama and his cronies and his friends in Washington, that went out and made all these risky loans, gave them to people that could never afford to pay back," he said.