McCain gingerly returned fire, reframing most disputes as a challenge to Obama’s aptitude. From assessing the surge to the merits of meeting with the leaders of hostile nations, McCain tried to cut Obama down by saying the young Senator did “not understand” the issues enough to reach a wise position. “[Obama] doesn’t understand that Russia committed serious aggression against Georgia,” said McCain, in a typical line knocking Obama for exhibiting “naivite” on foreign affairs. McCain sounded confident and somber throughout the foreign policy discussions, which dominated the night after an opening exchange on the financial crisis and federal spending.

The mood here at the debate site — admittedly irrelevant compared to the opinions of the TV audience at home — was measured, even bored, throughout much of the evening. Unlike other major debates, there was no singular exchange, be it angry, humorous or otherwise, that the press seized on to define the night.

I think the most striking exchange came near the closing, in response to Jim Lehrer’s expansive question about the prospect of another 9/11-level attack on the U.S. Obama advocated a return to American principles and human rights to restore the nation’s standing in the world, and then he proactively complimented McCain for fighting the use of torture. (Nevermind that McCain interfered with recent legislative efforts to ban torture by all U.S. government officials.) McCain did not respond in kind — instead he launched another talking point salvo at Obama, chastizing him for failing to “understand” the nature of the threats facing the U.S. It was an exchange that could leave viewers thinking McCain was ungracious, unrelenting or even tough, depending on how well he wears after 90 minutes of contemptously engaging his opponent.

The site declares it represents a group of “concerned citizens” who are not “affiliated with anybody.” It does appear independent of any campaign or political organization. But, the effort is pro-Obama, obviously, and was created by Michael Whitney, a self-described “progressive… interwebologist” in D.C. who helped found Generation Dean.

If a carefully negotiated agreement and public promise don’t make Sen. John McCain feel that he has to keep his word to debate, a progressive web petition isn’t going to make the difference. But the site sill provides a focused portal for all kinds of voters to track and speak out on the debate over the debate. At this point, the Commission on Presidential Debates can surely use any public attention it can get to hold McCain to his commitment.

Finally, Congressional leaders just announced a fundamental agreement on the bailout, so McCain may be the only one who thinks his presence is needed in Washington at 9pm Friday.

On Thursday afternoon, the Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan emailed reporters about the McCain campaign’s suspension — in scare quotes — noting that “despite ’suspension,’” Gov. Sarah Palin was still attending a rally and holding a press availability. He pointed toward the “key point” in a new AP story:

Although the McCain campaign said Palin was suspending her activities - McCain on Wednesday called a halt to his campaign to deal with the financial markets rescue plan being negotiated by Congress and the Bush administration - Palin was heading to Philadelphia for a rally at the airport. (emphasis added)

For anyone paying attention, Obama is betting, it will be hard to believe McCain’s stated rationale for evading Friday’s debate if he’s not even going through the motions of halting his campaign.