Y’all know the drill. If you’re watching tonight’s Presidential Debate between Senators McCain and Obama at 9 pm EST, bring us your real-time observations and reactions.
Will things be any more exciting than they were in the initial debate on foreign policy a couple weeks back? Well, they certainly couldn’t get much more dull. Between this “palling around with terrorists” thing and the 25-minute Keating Five mini-documentary, maybe the candidates will finally be in the mood to get crunk on one other… in person?
Either way, have at it.
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G.D. – Here with the liveblogging.
10:35- Time for the spin. What say you? Oh, best believe we’re gonna hear about this:
10:34- Hey, bumpkins: What’s a tiller? Also, HOFSTRA REPRESENT!
10:30- “What don’t you know, and how will you learn it? ” Me? I don’t know Kerry Washington’s phone number, but I’d like to learn it.
10:24- Are the mikes just props? McCain’s is sitting on his lap.
10:23– C.P. time, I know, but Jamelle is twittering the debate.
10:15-They’ve basically blown up the debate format. Judging from the e-mail they just shot Ben Smith, the McCain camp doesn’t like how this is going.
10:10– Obama says “Pah-kee-stahn.” Conservapedia says that his pronunciation of countries’ names is evidence that he’s secretly a Muslim. You can’t make this shit up.
10:02- Okay, if foreign policy is McCain’s strong suit, why aren’t his arguments more thoughtful? He brings up judgment in military leadership, which means Obama has to bring up being against the war. Which he does. This campaign has been going on so long we can safely guess what happens before it does. Make it stop!
10:00- What’s happening on CNN with the reaction-dial-line-thingies? i’m watching online and can’t see.
9:59- McCain got jokes! They’re all bad.
9:56- A strong response by Obama. He says that health care is a right, and brings up his mother’s premature death to cancer, he says he would give credits to small businesses and regulating insurance companies. He’s doing a good job of zooming in and zooming out. Brokaw says mind the time. Obama keeps going.
9:54- McCain makes a hair transplant joke. Crickets.
9:53- “Senator Obama will find you!” He’s like some suave stalker trynna stick you for your Elitist Leafy Greens.
9:48- Shorter Brokaw: “Wrap that shit up!”
9:44- McCain wants nuclear power. He’s been nuclear ships, and poo-pooed that it needs to be safety. Come on, fam.
9:40- “That is not fair.” Obama says about McCain’s tax plan. There’s also a huge gap in specifics here. McCain says, with a straight face, that we all know what the fixes for Social Security are. He doesn’t share this apparently simple wisdom with us.
9:36- Here’s a question: do people believe McCain? I wonder if positions that would normally win for him are greeted with raised eyebrows after the torrent of lies from September.
9:31- Obama says that people can make better decisions about how they can use energy. he seems to be getting lathered up, and looks less stiff.
9:28- Brokaw asks about what Americans can do to sacrifice. McCain says spending will have to be cut across the board, except for veterans, defense and “other vital programs.” Again, he leaves out the Medicare thing.
9:23- Brokaw asks about entitlement reform. McCain has said that he would cut Medicare funding, but he doesn’t say that here. McCain sort of telegraphing his disinterest in domestic policy; he seems to view everything through the lens of defense and foreign policy.
9:20- McCain is robotic in his responses: “Well ______, thank you for your question.” I’m surprised that McCain is playing the bipartisan card after the scorched-earth campaign he’s run. And then another jab. And another jab. Now he’s going on and on about earmarks, an issue that voters DO NOT care about.
9:18- A lady has a really hard time reading her question, but she has an impassioned hard time. Obama looks stiff.
9:16- Obama jabs back. “I gotta correct a little bit of Senator McCain’s history, not surprisingly.” He points out that he prophesied about this crisis, and he gets a subtle dig in at Rick Davis, McCain’s campaign manager, who lobbied for Fannie and Freddie. Both dodge Brokaw’s question about whether the economy is going to get worse. M
9:11- A questioner asks about how the bailout is supposed to work. He says he sounded the alarm two years ago. McCain brings up Fannie and Freddie, and links them to Obama. He says Obama took more money from Fannie and Freddie than almost anyone else.
9:06 – They start off on the economy. Both of them are hewing close to their talking points. McCain says that he would buy up all the bad mortgages and let homeowners renegotiate their mortgages, which a lot of people have called for. He says he likes Warren Buffett and Meg Whitman. Brokaw reminds them to mind the time.
