Nobody really expected this to be John McCain's week.

He had goaded Barack Obama into taking a trip overseas -- and, in a surprise twist, Obama did it. The Democratic presidential candidate flew to Europe and two war zones a month before the party's convention.

Whether Obama, upon his return, is viewed as more internationally savvy remains to be seen. But the presumptive nominee's visit clearly succeeded in capturing the media spotlight, here and abroad, for the past week.

The big question for McCain is whether and how he should respond to Obama's trip.

"It reminds one of the Pope coming to America," Stephen Wayne, political professor at Georgetown University, quipped of Obama's trip. "This was a product of good circumstances for the Democrats, and I don't think there's much McCain could have done about it."

But he said the "amazing thing" is how close the polls are.

McCain is nothing if not dogged.

"I feel fine," McCain said, in an end-of-the-week assessment, claiming he was "glad" Obama went to Iraq.

Neither candidate saw an immediate backlash or bump in the American polls from Obama's visit. A FOX News poll taken while Obama was away showed Obama leading McCain by the slimmest possible margin -- 41 percent to 40 percent by one measure. Obama's lead in the Gallup tracking poll toggled between 6 and 2 percentage points while he was away.

So, will slow and steady prevail? That's the tack McCain's taken so far.

With the hand he was dealt, McCain used the week to needle Obama from afar.

The Republican teased his rival on foreign policy while Obama was attempting to strengthen his image on that front. McCain's campaign griped about the media fanfare overseas, and the candidate tried to emphasize his attention toward domestic issues while Obama wooed the Germans and the French. And McCain campaigned in battleground states and raised millions of dollars at fundraisers.

Obama may have insulated himself against some foreign policy attacks, but McCain amplified a charge that Obama would rather lose a war than a campaign, using Obama's criticism of the troop surge in Iraq to carve a foreign policy divide between them.

"His efforts continue to predict the failure of our troops," McCain told a Denver, Colo., audience Friday. "If Senator Obama had prevailed, American forces would have had to retreat under fire."

But in terms of the image campaign, analysts say McCain's comebacks and put-downs this past week couldn't compete with 200,000 rapt Germans in Berlin watching Obama or the succession of Obama's meetings with foreign dignitaries.

"There seems to be an inevitability to this campaign. ... I don't think Obama's gonna be worn out," Wayne, the Georgetown professor, said -- casting doubt on a slow-and-steady strategy by McCain.

"The Republicans have often had better pictures than Democrats," said Jeremy Mayer, public policy professor at George Mason University. "But if you look at the pictures this week, McCain is speaking at a German restaurant in Ohio, and Obama is speaking before 200,000 Germans in Berlin."

Obama also may have gotten a boost when Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki voiced support for a troop withdrawal plan similar to Obama's proposal.

Mayer said the European trip was not a game-changer. But he said McCain needs to "shake up" the race.

"I think their vice presidential choice becomes much more important."

McCain's campaign stayed in the headlines while Obama was away by fueling speculation that a running-mate choice was imminent.

That didn't materialize, but McCain has a window, possibly before the Olympics, to snatch the spotlight with such a decision. Mayer said at this point McCain would benefit by going outside the box -- picking somebody like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (who recently told FOX News he will not be vice president) or a woman.

"I think there would be a newfound enthusiasm for our ticket by having a No. 2 that everyone will want to get to know and want to get some face time with," Republican consultant Jason Roe told FOX News.

He said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, with his economic credentials, is still the obvious choice.

McCain adviser Charlie Black told The Washington Post in an article published Friday: "He's in a position to make [the VP decision] on short notice if he wanted to."

FOXNews.com's Judson Berger and The Associated Press contributed to this report.