Live-Blogging the Debate

Obviously I am pretty happy with the way the polls and especially the electoral map seem to be pointing these days.  That said, I am excited about the debate tonight.  Obama needs to maintain his poise and presidential demeanor; he needs to stick to the issues, but not be afraid to answer back if McCain attacks.  McCain, I do not think anyone can deny, has been looking a bit desperate lately, and one of his strategists even said that the campaign needs to get people's minds off of the economy. 

When things go negative, I think Obama comes across better.  He can be negative and still seem dignified, whereas McCain comes across as petty and jealous and smarmy.

Anyway, the debate is about to begin.  I'll be back . . . 

LIVE-BLOGGING

8:02 PM. Once again, CNN goes graphic-crazy.  Such nonsense.  I suppose I could change the channel, but then I could not mock Alex Castellanos.

8:03. The first question is of course about the economy.  I will be the first to admit that I do not really have a full grasp of (Hey, is that Rod Steiger?) economic issues.  It is just something I cannot really get my brain around.  But Obama has a good handle on keeping the focus on the middle class, etc.

8:06. "It's good to be with you at a town hall meeting."  Ugh.  One thing about McCain is that he always delivers the same lines, even when they do not go over well.  His oft-repeated line about Miss Congeniality was never funny, but he says it all the time.  Hopefully not tonight.

8:09. McCain seems to be breathing heavily.  I hope he's ok.  

8:11.  I think that whenever Obama says things like "Senator McCain is right," he scores some points with undecided voters.  Maybe I'm wrong.

8:13.  If I were playing a drinking game, we would drink whenever someone says Main Street, middle class, "my friends," and earmarks.  And whenever Obama starts a sentence with "Look."

8:17.  When Obama said "We're going to need a 21st century regulation system," he should have added "that requires an understanding of computers."  But that would be wrong.

8:19.  Was Teresa (the question asker) an example of Joe Six-Pack? Good lord.  As my brother just told me, anyone who is still undecided is probably ready for 1) jury duty, 2) infomercial audience member.

8:22. McCain is coming across as very nervous.  The heavy breathing, the pacing, etc. And he's walking around like an old man.  I am not saying that to seem ageist, but he just seems unsteady, which adds to his nervousness.

8:28. On CNN, the "Uncommitted Ohio Voters" graph is interesting to watch.  Sometimes the men and women disagree, but it does not really make sense when and about what.

8:30. "We're not rifle shots here."  Now there's a bumper sticker.

8:32.  I'm thinking about remodeling my apartment with bright red carpet.

8:34. "Like nailing Jell-O to the wall."  Ho ho.  Priceless.  The fact is, McCain LIES about Obama's tax plan.  He lies.

8:39. I wish Gwen Ifill had been as strict as Tom Brokaw is being.

8:40.  A $5000 credit for health insurance will not get anyone very far.

8:42. Regarding the drinking game, all we need is the "my friends" rule.

8:44. I will say that McCain has been on the right side of climate change far longer than his Republican friends.  I will also say that I am more on the side of Republicans when it comes to nuclear power.  I have studied nuclear power in school, and i agree that it needs to be included in any discussion of alternative energy sources.

8:48. Tom's getting feisty.

8:49. When McCain gets all snarky, the graph on the bottom plummets.  Interesting.

8:55. OK, I'm just gonna say this, and I do not mean anything other than a comment about his presentation . . . There is something about McCain's delivery that reminds me a little (it might be the "whistled s") of the creepy child molester from Family Guy.

8:58. I think it is clear that these "uncommitted Ohio voters" have made up their minds.

9:01. No, Senator McCain. Obama was not wrong about Iraq.

9:05. I was hoping that Obama would make the point that stopping genocide is in our national interests, and he did.

9:06. OK, this "my friends" thing is really starting to bug me.  Come on.  Find some synonyms.  My buds. My homies. My brahs.

9:10. Under an Obama administration, people will pronounce countries' names properly.  No more of this "Eye-rack" and"Eye-ran" nonsense.

9:14. What is this "I know how to get bin Laden" nonsense? It is like when he says "I know how to win a war."  Really?  What war has McCain ever won?

9:20. The Ohio voters apparently get off on talk of Russia.  Go figure.

9:25. McCain just patted a guy.  How quaint.  I too learned everything I know from a chief petty officer.

9:27. If Iran attacks Israel, Israel will not need our help because they will wipe Iran off the map.  (Oh wait, Israel is not a nuclear country.  Ha.)

9:30. "What don't you know, and how will you learn it?"  Great question.

9:32. So Obama did not really answer that great question.  I guess it was more of an opening for a closing statement.

9:34. Not sure McCain should have ended on "We need a steady hand."  But Tom Brokaw ended the debate well by telling McCain, "Move, bitch, get out the way."

Summary: The debate lacked some excitement--none of the mud-slinging that people expected.  But  in general I would say that the net effect of this debate will be that the status quo (by which I mean that everything seems to be trending toward Obama) will be maintained.  Stark differences between these candidates exist, and these uncommitted voters must be figuring out something by now.  But McCain needed a home run tonight, and he did not get it.

Thanks for tuning in.