Live-Blogging the Last Debate

Live-Blogging the Last Debate

Wow.  Has it been two years already? . . . 

8:01.  I am not sure how I feel about the whole sitting down debate.  But you have to love Bob Schieffer's folksy ways.  But he should also do a good job with following up on questions.

8:04. Is McCain gonna get all ragey tonight?  I hope so!  Throwdown at Hofstra!

8:05. Blah blah housing crisis blah blah.

8:08. Holy crap, this is already the world's most boring debate.

8:09.  Joe the Plumber!  Thank god we have found our symbolic Everyman so early in the debate!

8:11.  I hope Joe gets lots of new business from this.

8:12.  When McCain laughs, he creeps me out a little.  (Sorry for the lack of substance in this blog so far, but it is a hard job making this debate interesting . . . )

8:16. But Senator Obama, I want to get back to my profligate ways.

8:18. Bob is certainly not letting them get away with avoiding the question.

8:19.  First of all, Senator McCain, not all spending is pork-barrel.  Second, why do you hate planetariums so much?  Do planetariums remind you of your days long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, when you were the Emperor?

8:21. The Uncommitted Ohio Voters seem to like McCain tonight.  But the women hate it when he talks about Obama.

8:24. After previously claiming that the town hall format was his strength, it looks like McCain may have found a debate format that works for him.  When he isn't wandering around the stage, he comes across much better.

8:25. "Say it to my face!"  Oh, Bob, you want a fight tonight, too, don't you?

8:29. I agree that McCain's notion about how all the negativity would have been solved by town hall meetings is a pretty weak argument.

8:30. Bringing football into the debate.  Nice move.  Oh, and Joe the Plumber again!

8:32.  Tit for tat!

8:33. (Sorry. My 8:32 comment was useless.)

8:34.  (As was my 8:34.)

8:35.  There is steam coming out of McCain's ears.  His head may explode.

8:36. Bill Ayers!  Finally!  Some useless nonsense that is interesting to hear!  And ACORN, the emptiest story around...

8:37. And because Obama's response to it is actually boring, the issue really is a non-issue.  This is McCain grasping at straws, and I think most people can see it.  I think that McCain does not really like the person he is right now.  I think he hates this aspect of the campaign.

8:40. Though McCain has been doing a fairly good job so far, when he gets angry he falters.  I think he may have peaked already in this debate, but we'll see.

8:42. Sarah Palin is a role model to women.  Good to know. Though judging from the Ohio voters graph, the women do not agree.

8:44. Yes, Palin has definitely ignited us.  And McCain has said 109 times that he is "proud" of her.  As my brother said,maybe he will pinch her cheek.

8:45. You do not hear presidential candidates say "cockamamie" enough.

8:46. Bob just put the kibosh--nay, the hammer--on McCain's tangent. 

8:50. McCain is forcing himself to look at Obama, which looks even worse than not looking at him. He is the king of the smirk, the eye roll, the raised eyebrow, and the mock grin.

8:51. Drill, baby, drill! (Barf.)

8:53. "Babble babble Colombia babble drugs babble babble babble, maybe he should travel there babble." [Smirk, look away, sigh in disgust.]

8:56. Health care reform is such a huge topic.  Obviously I cannot claim to understand all the aspects of it. But I think I do know enough about it to know that McCain's $5000 tax credit will barely make a dent in insurance premiums.

8:59. "Joe the Plumber might hurt himself on the job.  Help him, Senator Obama! Don't make him go to Canada!"

9:04. That's it.  I am calling an official end to this Joe the Plumber nonsense.

9:05. Goddammit.  Obama's plan DOES NOT have the government making health care decisions.

9:09. Poor old John Paul Stevens is watching this election carefully, just hoping that he can retire soon.

9:12. "The extreme aspect of the pro-abortion movement."  Ugh.

9:13. OK, I hope someone makes a compilation of McCain's various outstanding faces.

9:15. Again, when Obama is talking about the common ground--reducing pregnancies, teaching responsible sexuality, etc.--he makes a lot of sense on this complicated issue.

9:16. Ooh, an education question . . . Here again, Obama makes a lot of sense.  I really like the focus he puts on parents, which is an aspect that too often gets left out of the education debate.

9:20. I simply do not support vouchers for private schools.  

9:23. McCain is so snarky and nasty. His tone, his body language, etc. show such disdain.

9:27. Yay, he finally said "my friends"!  I was sad because I thought I had dropped off his friends list.

9:30. Good closing statements.  McCain needed a chance to put a little distance between himself and the weird smirky snort he made a second ago.  

But I know McCain is saying "Go fuck yourself" in his head.

This debate will prove to be a perfect example of people seeing what they want to see.   McCain had his best performance, and most will say he won, but I doubt it will change anything.  I think Obama did better in the second half though.  Whatever.

We'll see.