Tonight’s town hall style debate for this second of three presidential debates is being held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw.
Join in as we live-blog tonight’s non-debate debate!
The Obama-McCain event tonight consists of two parallel press conferences that happen to be in the same room. Here are the rules:
- The questions will be culled from a group of 100 to 150 uncommitted likely voters in the audience and another one-third to come via the Internet. Brokaw selects which questions to ask from written queries submitted prior to the debate.
- The Gallup Organization makes sure the questioners reflect the demographic makeup of the nation.
- An audience member isn’t allowed to switch questions and will not be allowed a follow-up either. His or her microphone will be turned off after the question is read and a camera shot will only be shown of the person asking — not reacting.
- The moderator may not ask followups or make comments.
- McCain and Obama will be provided with director’s chairs, but they’re also allowed to stand. They can’t roam past their “designated area” marked on the stage and are not supposed to ask each other direct questions.
This is not really a debate now, is it? We’ll see what happens.
UPDATE: According to Ben Smith of Politico:
Lynn Sweet reported yesterday that the two campaigns had reached an agreement under which, among other things, moderator Tom Brokaw wouldn’t ask follow-up questions tonight.But Brokaw wasn’t a party to the deal, I’m told, and hasn’t agreed to it, so the campaigns are expecting follow-up questions, a senior campaign official said.
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271 Comments
October 7, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I’ll be driving home for the first 45 minutes, and eating dinner upon arrival at the RUCottageInTheWoods.
Hopefully I can catch up later. Thanks for the bloggeration, y’all!
October 7, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Everybody do finger exercises and get warmed up for battle.
October 7, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I’m going to have to type from the other room. Nuts. I can watch the replay later. I can hear it from the other room.
October 7, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Follow up questions could clobber McIIIrd, who isn’t known for being light on his brain.
Can you say stumblebum real fast six times?
October 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm
All day long there were Obama supporters outside of the venue cheering. I didn’t see any McCain supporters.
October 7, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I am sort of stealin’ cable again. If thin’s go well, I might be able to see this.
October 7, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Tom Brokaw is welcoming everyone and introducing the candidates.
October 7, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Uncommitted voters at this point. Real geniuses.
October 7, 2008 at 6:02 pm
A presidential debate sponsored by the “comission on presidential debates”? That already freaks me out
October 7, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Each candidate gets 2 minutes with a 1 minute follow up.
October 7, 2008 at 6:02 pm
McCain is a big fan town hall meetings as long as nobody asks follow up questions.
October 7, 2008 at 6:03 pm
I bet McCain is wearing lifts in his shoes.
October 7, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Brokaw freaks me out more than ny commission.
October 7, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Yes, I did some editing, folks. Portions of this commentary not affecting the outcome may have been edited out in the interest of bandwidth.
October 7, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Can’t talk – eating and watching.
October 7, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Obama immediately starts kicking McCain’s butt over the economy. Looks like he’s trying to piss the old coot off.
October 7, 2008 at 6:05 pm
CNN sky hi on the people meter right now.
October 7, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Obama is trashing AIG for their $400,000 junket one week after the government bailed them out. Those executives should be fired and the taxpayers reimbursed. Yes!
October 7, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I wish they had a split screen to see both ofo them when they are speaking.
October 7, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Eat shit you rat bastard.
October 7, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Oh, and AIG? Fuck you, AIG. Fuck you hard.
Had to get that out of my system. Sorry.
October 7, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Nice to see you at a town hall meeting. Energy independence. WTF.
October 7, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Energy independence? Spare me
Women are eating it up.
October 7, 2008 at 6:07 pm
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE to fix the financial fuck up!?
October 7, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Now he wants peace in the world. What happened to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran? Lying sack of crap.
October 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm
My friends! ONE SHOT
October 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm
NOW he wants to buy up bad mortgages. Should have thought of that before he voted for the last trillion.
October 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm
OH, NO! “My friends”. Take a drink.
October 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm
GMTA. MsJ!
October 7, 2008 at 6:09 pm
MsJoanne, do you have the URL for the people meter…?
October 7, 2008 at 6:09 pm
MEG WHITMAN??? As sec treas??? OMFG!
October 7, 2008 at 6:10 pm
We don’t have trust and competence and so you pick the idiot for a VP.
October 7, 2008 at 6:10 pm
i am watching CNN over here in Germany.
they may be streaming though.
October 7, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Prosperity is not going to trickle down. – BO
Take that McCranky.
October 7, 2008 at 6:11 pm
First he stole Warren Buffet from Obama MJ.
October 7, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Tom cracks the whip and reminds them of the rules they both signed off on.
October 7, 2008 at 6:12 pm
JM- It’s not a bail out it’s a rescue. WTF. Didn’t Obama go back to Washington the same time McCain did. That’s another lie they’re telling.
October 7, 2008 at 6:12 pm
He’s lying now. “I suspended my campaign…”. No he didn’t.
October 7, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Mccain is tanking with men.
October 7, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Condescending bastard, you probably never heard of FM & FM. It’s the brown people who couldn’t really afford loans. I knew it.
October 7, 2008 at 6:13 pm
complete flat line on the fm.fm thing. Mccain is not doing well.
October 7, 2008 at 6:13 pm
And, as fans of Letterman (and politics) know, he lied to Letterman and told him that he couldn;t be onthe show because he had to fly back to DC. Then Letterman got a live feed from a Katie Couric interview with McCain. Letterman was pissed.
October 7, 2008 at 6:14 pm
BO better hit him back on his lies. Yeesh.
October 7, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Thanks you BO. I tried to reregulate.
October 7, 2008 at 6:15 pm
RUC, try this:
http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live.html?stream=stream2
Or, if that doesn’t work, go to cnn.com and click on their box on the top of the page.
October 7, 2008 at 6:17 pm
“my friend”. I count two.
October 7, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Mccain warned of this disaster?
Really?
Right.
October 7, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Thus far, the people do not like McCain but are pretty high on Obama.
October 7, 2008 at 6:18 pm
“We’re the best exporters”??? I’m not saying they’re not fine people who are good at their jobs, but come on! China exports a HELL of a lot more than we do. That’s why we have, what they call, a “trade deficit.”
October 7, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I think everytime he says My Friends, a lie follows.
October 7, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Every time John McCain says “My friends”, a demon gets his horns.
October 7, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I’ve been a reformer because I said so.
October 7, 2008 at 6:21 pm
When Obama talked about spending and cutting the men totally tanked…back to flatline.
How odd.
October 7, 2008 at 6:22 pm
He’s going to say “maverick”, no?
October 7, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Damn, maybe it is my lack of regular tv access but McCain seems really old and fragile to me
October 7, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Mccain is below the flatline.
October 7, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I haven’t heard any “mavericks” yet, ev.
I was hoping he would bring up the grizzly bear study again. he voted for it.
October 7, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Obama voted for the planetarium where millions of school kids pass through every year. How awful.
October 7, 2008 at 6:23 pm
No, but he’s saying “my friends” a lot. Good I’ve not signed up for a drinking game.
October 7, 2008 at 6:23 pm
slight uptick but overall not good at all for mccain thus far.
October 7, 2008 at 6:24 pm
excuse me but the world’s largest economy will never be independent of the global energy market. It is a stupid concept
October 7, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I believe the “my friends” count is up to two, unless I missed one. I’m not drinking, so I should be able to keep count.
October 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
He’s saying he’s going to cut SS. OMG.
October 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
He knows how to do everything…he knows how to win wars, he knows how to fix the economy…how come everything sucks then?
jeebus cripes on a crisp.
October 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Just because he doesn’t need the money. Now he’s back to energy.
October 7, 2008 at 6:25 pm
shayne, did he say that? I missed it.
October 7, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I just heard another “my friends”. I say it’s three but Jane says it’s four. MsJoanne? Do you know? Impatient drunks want to know.
October 7, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Nuclear powerplants Sen. McCain? My kids will love you for that and their kids and their kids and the kids of many generations to come..
October 7, 2008 at 6:26 pm
What is wrong with Tom’s eyes? Cider Run?
October 7, 2008 at 6:26 pm
I can’t believe he said he is going to cut entitlements. There goes Florida McStupid. At a time everybody is hit in the wallet he’s threatening to cut Medicare.
October 7, 2008 at 6:27 pm
He said we have to cut entitlements and people won’t be able to get the same retirement benefits.
October 7, 2008 at 6:27 pm
wayne, i think i am blocking it…no more my friends. i dont have anything to drink
October 7, 2008 at 6:28 pm
four “my friends” imho
October 7, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Did someone say Cider Run?
I’ll have to look more closely at Tom now! Ooh, they look so tiny–damn, he put his glasses on now.
October 7, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Why does Brokaw keep bitching about them going over their time? HE’S the moderator.
October 7, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Yeah, Shayne. Threatening to cut Medicare while ion Florida is not what any political strategist would recommend.
Second time he’s brought up the overhead projector. Damn those kids who learn!
“Across the board freeze”!!!
October 7, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Spending freeze. Way to create jobs.
October 7, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I concede to the women who have sharper hearing than I. We’re up to four.
October 7, 2008 at 6:30 pm
And Illinois gets something like .60 for every dollar it pays in unlike Alaska.
October 7, 2008 at 6:30 pm
How about cutting spending on no-bid-cost-plus government projects, ya troll?
Sneaking in earmarks in the middle of the night? That’s a Repub tactic!
October 7, 2008 at 6:30 pm
A spending freeze is NOT asking the people to sacrifice — it’s being done to them.
How about asking the people to conserve energy? Or to live within their means?
October 7, 2008 at 6:31 pm
As usual, Zooey makes a good point. If you wanna be in charge, be in charge!
October 7, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Everytime Obama speaks, he winds up spiking to the top limit at least during a period of what he is saying.
October 7, 2008 at 6:33 pm
It’s simple. Leaders lead, they don’t dictate.
October 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm
What is wrong with the guy with the green ties messed up moustache?
October 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I have yet to see McCain look at Obama when he is speaking.
October 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Shayne, I believe that in NY the ratio is even lower.
October 7, 2008 at 6:34 pm
The “shifty” one, dbadass?
October 7, 2008 at 6:35 pm
good point. Give the teachers more money…
October 7, 2008 at 6:35 pm
He pointed out how earmarks are nothing compared to tax breaks for the wealthy.
October 7, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I didn’t know where Obama was going by bringin up 9/11, but the follow up was smart. Energy consumption changes is something most people can participate.
October 7, 2008 at 6:36 pm
McCain is below the flatline again
October 7, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Illinois is third from the bottom. NY is probably the bottom. They don’t want to send money back to brown people.
October 7, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Now, women are below the flatline on this small business bullshit. Men are right around the flatline.
October 7, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Who is buying the Obama wants to raise taxes line anymore..noone it seems, he goes down in perception meter.
October 7, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Is it just me or is McCain sort of wheezing. He draws deep audible inhalations before almost every sentence.
October 7, 2008 at 6:37 pm
“My friends”. I believe that’s five.
October 7, 2008 at 6:37 pm
What’s a refundable tax credit?
October 7, 2008 at 6:38 pm
something you take off your taxes after outlaying a ton of cash and getting taxed, then if you file taxes at a certain amount, you get a lower tax burden.
October 7, 2008 at 6:39 pm
If you make over $250k profit a year you’re not a small business any more.
October 7, 2008 at 6:40 pm
How much does your state get back in federal taxes versus how much your state paid?
The answer is here:
http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
Alaska gets third most with $1.84 in federal money against each dollar sent there by Alaska.
October 7, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Was that a sixth “my friends”.
October 7, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Seven?
October 7, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Our wonderful Ronald Reagan. Fuck you you asshole. I know how to fix it but he’s not going to tell us how. OH, we need a commission.
October 7, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Wonderful Reagan…who started deregulation.
I am so fucking tired of hearing about saint ronnie.
McCain is flatlining on his whole speech on this.
October 7, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I thought McInsane said he was going to answer the stupid question. Fail.
October 7, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Thankfully, the people are not buying what McCain is selling.
My friends AGAIN.
October 7, 2008 at 6:43 pm
He’s too busy trying to slam Obama that he’s forgetting the questions.
October 7, 2008 at 6:43 pm
A commission!!!??? “My friends” a commission is a surefire way to get nothing done
October 7, 2008 at 6:43 pm
We’re 45 and you’re 42 Jane. We beat you!
October 7, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Why should Obama “take on” his own party leadership? His own party leadership didn’t totally trash the country. Or is Snorty McGramps trying to imply that Obama should have made Reid and Pelosi take up impeachment?
October 7, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Is that a “Blue Ribbon Commission”???
“94 times” on the anti tax cuits shit again! Many of those were procedural votes, and a lot of them are for not extending the Bush tax cuts, which every sensible economist agrees were a bad idea during time of war.
October 7, 2008 at 6:44 pm
total flatline on nuke power.
October 7, 2008 at 6:44 pm
He’s such an old school pol that he thinks a commission is the answer for everything. Illinois also has more nuclear plants than any other state you dirtbag.
October 7, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I sort of think it is time for a new rule!
Every time he says Leiberman, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT (what the hell was that all about) Drink Twice
October 7, 2008 at 6:45 pm
yeah, Shayne, by four cents!
Eight “my friends”?
What’s the best way of fixing climate change? “Nuclear power”! Then he blew off complaints about what to do with all that deadly radioactive waste that will be around for at least twice as long as man has had written history.
October 7, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Sorry, Sen Obama, but that’s not how “the computer” was invented. It was how The Internets were started. (”It’s a series of tubes!”)
October 7, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Obama says nukes, men and women dial down. Nukes are not popular.
October 7, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Illinois has 6 active and two that are already being decommissioned lying sack of crap.
October 7, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Only if you;re ted stevens, Wayne.
October 7, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Nuclear power again. It was sometime in the 1970’s that we found out nuclear power is a dead end and a liability for our and future generations.
October 7, 2008 at 6:48 pm
How many billions of dollars were wasted on the storage facility for nuclear waste that ended up being built on an aquifer and had to be scrapped. I’m sure McCain worked to get that financed.
October 7, 2008 at 6:48 pm
So who is it shallow enough among us to point out the strategic use and nonuse of flag pins?
October 7, 2008 at 6:48 pm
McCain doesn’t care about nuclear waste he’ll be dead soon.
October 7, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Looking at that tax chart, it surprises me that Florida gets less back in federal taxes than they pay in. I would have figured that many retirees would bring more tax dollars to Florida than they pay. No offense intended to the many hard-working Floridians out there.
Nine “my friends”.
October 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm
he supports governmental R&D?? Right.
How snide! Wow. that didn’t go over well. Men REALLY do not like McCain tonight.
October 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Obama’s got McCain over the pork barrel.
October 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm
My friends, STFU you ass. He called Obama “that one” who voted for an energy bill. Yeah a bill to fund alternative energy.
October 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Did someone say flag pin?
October 7, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Three my friends in the last two minutes.
October 7, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Drill this you worthless piece of crap. No off shore drilling in Arizona is there you asshole.
October 7, 2008 at 6:50 pm
“That one” referring to Barack Obama.. nice. Manners?
October 7, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Lindsey’s been asking about me I hear…
October 7, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I may be losing count of the “my friends”, so someone will have to check the transcript.
I’m up to nine, but I was busy typing and I may have missed one of those rapid fire ones.
October 7, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I agree, EV. Nuclear energy is a dead end environmentally, and a national security risk as well.
October 7, 2008 at 6:52 pm
My mammograms aren’t covered and out insurance is $12k a year.
October 7, 2008 at 6:52 pm
And, ev, our Congressman John Hall has been an activist against nuclear energy for more than thirty years. It’s one of the reasons we were happy to both vote for him and help with his campaign.
October 7, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Where is McCain’s flag pin my friends. Did you know he was a POW.
October 7, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Wane, just put the schnaps bottle to your mouth and take a big gulp every time McCain opens his mouth. That should cover all the “my friends” and take away the pain, too
October 7, 2008 at 6:53 pm
It’ll be cool when people hack those medical records.
October 7, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Sorry McDopey, I don’t want my medical records ONLINE.
October 7, 2008 at 6:53 pm
“Put health records online.” Obama mentioned somethign similar. This concerns me a lot because I want to have a lock solid, jail-enforced guarantee that those records will be both secure and kept out of the hands of marketers for the pharmaceutical industry.
October 7, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Nuclear energy is a very bad thing. Agreed.
October 7, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I do not want to go to fucking Walmart to a doc in the box. Jesus Christ. Fuck you, McCain. I want to go to MY OWN doctors. I don’t want to see someone who graduated virtually last in their class like you did.
Spare me.
Thankfully, the people polling at CNN arer still not buying this shit.
October 7, 2008 at 6:54 pm
McCain is using that “tone.”
October 7, 2008 at 6:55 pm
65% of the American public can’t do the math…
October 7, 2008 at 6:55 pm
“Did you know he was a POW.”
No, Shayne. Is that what he really means when he keeps talking about the time he “spent in prison”?
October 7, 2008 at 6:55 pm
$5000 won’t buy shit in terms of health insurance.
October 7, 2008 at 6:55 pm
And he tanks on the people poll everytime he does, Zooey.
October 7, 2008 at 6:55 pm
They’ve been available to every insurance company since I worked in hospitals. 1975. The people just found out about it and that’s why there’s some protection now.
October 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm
My friends, I can’t put on a flag pin because I can’t raise my arms. Of course for 5 years I didn’t have any pins.
October 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm
“Government mandates? I’m always worried about that.”
Well, Johnny Boy, some people call them “regulations.”
October 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Will have to read all your comment’s later, watching and screaming at the TV along trying to put the fire out in my head……..Screammmmmmming..Blessings
October 7, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Shit there was the sketchy guy with the moustache and green tie
October 7, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Good job, McCain voted against S chip.
October 7, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Shit, Why did he mention Delaware?
October 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm
SCHIP tanked with the men. The women loved it.
October 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Oops, He just stabbed Biden. Banks go to Delaware because they have loose credit card laws there.
October 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm
that was my thought, too, DB…but it’s true. Obama is honest. Maybe to a fault sometime.
October 7, 2008 at 6:59 pm
McCain just jumped the shark:
“Did we hear how much the fine is?”
October 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm
America is the greatest force for good, blah, blah, blah.
October 7, 2008 at 7:01 pm
So, we went into Iraq because we’re a “nation of good”?
October 7, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Ok, this sucks…McCain talks about national security and men go up about to an 8…and they are sitting there with a fucking dial in their hands and not with a gun in their hand in Iraq.
That bothers me. Really, really bothers me.
Russia and the Surge tanked in the poll…big time.
October 7, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Delaware has always been the place big business incorporated because they have no state taxes. Way before Biden. Every major corp used to be a Delaware corporation. GE, etc. Now they’re probably incorporated in the middle east.
October 7, 2008 at 7:01 pm
The “tone” sounds to me like the purr that comes from an old tom cat with adenoids. I hate it.
October 7, 2008 at 7:02 pm
“Obama was wrong about the Surge in Iraq.”
Well, he was right about going into Iraq in the first place. Now he’s exlpaining how wrong McCain has been.
October 7, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Holy shit…Obama just hit a 10 with men on security.
October 7, 2008 at 7:03 pm
It is funny to talk about billions. It is sort of Carl Saganish…
October 7, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Listened to the radio on the way home.
Two observations.
McIIIrd is getting his grandfather clock cleaned.
You all must be very drunk, my friends…
October 7, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Ah, yes, Carl Sagan. Billions and billions of memories about Carl Sagan and SETI.
October 7, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Actually, RUC, we think Brokaw is drunk.
October 7, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Do you have any idea how many serious yachts are registered in DE? The entire state doesn’t have dockage for a fraction of the boats who claim it to be home
October 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
“My friends” Is that ten now? And I’m sober!
October 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Who said anything about Iraq?
October 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
this from one of the right wing sites:
Obama is doing his best to play a victim, but even watching the CNN independent voter lines, it doesn’t appear to be working to his advantage.
People don’t like whiners.
……………………………………………
Only problem is that CNN does not have a line for independents.
Fucking liars! Lying liars.
October 7, 2008 at 7:06 pm
“My friends” and Iraq instead of McCain doctrine, “my friends” again.
October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Thanks Wayne!!
October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Bringing the troops home “in honor” is one of the “fundamental differences” McCain has with Obama??? On that point, Johnny, you are not in disagreement. STFU!
October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
If you send away for 100 annual reports they’ll probably all be Delaware corporations.
October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Reagan..his hero.
Funny, that holds no sway with the polling peeps.
October 7, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’m proud of the bald headed fellow who wore the pink shirt. Oh sorry, I stand corrected. It is coral…
October 7, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Ms Joanne, online there’s a yellow indie line. Obama’s doin fine there….
October 7, 2008 at 7:08 pm
darn sure ??? Palin speak now?
October 7, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Damn Katy can barely read…
October 7, 2008 at 7:09 pm
McStupid just COMPLETELY contradicted himself over the Iraq and peace-keeping.
October 7, 2008 at 7:11 pm
The thing I’ve noticed in these debates, is that McCain gets very tired after about an hour. He starts repeating himself, and making dumb mistakes like saying Petraeus is on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
October 7, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Oh yeah…right wingers watching the debate.
————-
Did McCain just say that he wanted to refinance everyone’s mortgage at the current market value? ie, an unbelievably huge principal write-down at tax-payer expense? I don’t even know where to begin (or who to vote for anymore…). Sigh.
————–
McCain has another hero? Ｃａｉｎ ｉｓ ｂｅｌｏｗ ｔｈｅ ｂａｓｅｌｉｎｅ
October 7, 2008 at 7:11 pm
The hero has lots of heroes..Oops lines tank.
October 7, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Whatever you do just have a stick.
October 7, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I’m pretty sure Reagan hated McCains stupid guts, because of the first wife thing.
October 7, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Now his hero’s Teddy Roosevelt.
Just the other day, one his dimwitted surrogates (Heather Wilson, NM?) said that anyone who disagreed with the president was unpatriotic. TR said to not dissent when you felt your country was wrong was un-patriotic.
Another case of the McCain Campaign not speaking for McCain.
October 7, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Come Mr Taliban, tally me…
October 7, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Follow-up whining now.
October 7, 2008 at 7:13 pm
To sum things up, carry a stick
October 7, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Did he threaten to attack citizens or to attack bin Laden? Idiot.
October 7, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Sorry for the weird text. McCain is still flatlining.
(more from the wingers:
This is getting real scary!
McCain is NOT covering himself in glory tonight.
—————–
HEH!
October 7, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I think you got the essence of TR just about nailed there, dbadass. LOL
October 7, 2008 at 7:14 pm
McCain sang bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. YESSSSS.
October 7, 2008 at 7:15 pm
OMG, the wingers are screaming for Palin.
WTF is this world coming to? Wow.
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Is McCain going to crash another plane to get bin Laden?
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
There he is again…I KNOW HOW TO GET BIN LADEN.
Well…DO SOMETHING.
Good lord.
flat, flat, flat line
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Tom would make a sorry ass baby sitter.
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
McCain inadvertently said something important. He said, “when we drove the russians out of Afghanistan” and then corrected himself the mujaheddin did. Yes, but the US has had a hand in supporting the mujaheddin which eventually became al-quaida.
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
McCain, you fucking traitor. You know how to get bin Laden, but you’re waiting until you’re president to do so?
Liar.
Fuck you.
October 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Did he just try to say the “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” line was a private conversation with a veteran friend? Because I heard him say it in answer to an audience question.
October 7, 2008 at 7:17 pm
What Zooey just said!
October 7, 2008 at 7:18 pm
He loves him some Petrayus doesn’t he.
October 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Flat line all over the place.
October 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
There must be a rule about drinking when he says surge. Either way, I think I will drink
October 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
You are absolutely correct, ev. The US had a hand in creating al Qaeda. It is not something the right wing in this country wishes to acknowledge.
October 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I saw him say it in front of a really large crowd too Wayne.
October 7, 2008 at 7:19 pm
MsJ where are the wingnuts? Wanna see, wanna see..
October 7, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Brokaw talks like he has a mouth full of shit.
October 7, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Sure will fight with Russia for his precious Georgia.
October 7, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Speaking of “petro-dollars”, that is why Hugo Chavez is considered to be a threat to Bush’s political life.
Consequences for this behavior? Invading another country? Hello, Johnny!
October 7, 2008 at 7:21 pm
The young folk don’t have any idea what the KGB is. ”
When the youth is united, it can never be divided”
October 7, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I cant believe people buy into this Russia as the enemy bullshit.
October 7, 2008 at 7:22 pm
was
October 7, 2008 at 7:22 pm
It’s “1984″ again, MsJoanne. Russia is the Enemy. Russia has always been the Enemy.
October 7, 2008 at 7:23 pm
what, dbadass?
October 7, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Hey, dbadass, is that your friend in the pink/coral shirt asking a question?
October 7, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Why does this audience guy think that Iran will attack Israel, when the real concern is for Israel attacking Iran pre-emptively? (”They looked at us funny” is only valid in New York State.)
October 7, 2008 at 7:26 pm
No security council!!!?? Four more Bush years!
October 7, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Isn’t it cute how everyone holds their hands in their laps? It isn’t a coincidence of manners that we do that…
October 7, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Does “my friend” count the same as “my friends”? That would make 11. Or more.
EV, conservatives in this country do not respect international opinion or authority. They have no interest, whatsoever, in being part of any kind of international venture unless we call the shots. Their attitude is “Americans are answerable only to America”. I do not agree with this viewpoint. I believe that we are answerable to Humanity as a whole.
October 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm
dbadass,
There’s a couple of guys standing off-stage with tasers in case anyone gets too raucus.
October 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Yes Jane
Oh btw:
Don’t speed in Amherst NH. It is a super Stepford sort of place.
October 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm
And, if you’re a Gemini like me, you can expect the unexpected.
October 7, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I can’t be the only person in the world goofing on that green tie guy with that ‘tashe
October 7, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Ok, off to bed for me.
I will catch up in the am.
Night all.
October 7, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I know what time it is like what is time like…
October 7, 2008 at 7:34 pm
He knows what it’s like because he knows everything.
October 7, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Ha-ha, they blocked Brokaw’s teleprompter!
October 7, 2008 at 7:35 pm
That shit with the camera made my night.
peace all…
October 7, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Good night, MsJoanne and EV (I’m sure you’re going to fall asleep soon, too). Thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow.
October 7, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Sorry I missed it. I am seriously toast. My daughter is here and we raised our glasses every time we heard “My friend.”.. I was toast withint 15 minet.s..
October 7, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Obama was awesome.
October 7, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Drawl? Are they cracked?
October 7, 2008 at 7:39 pm
g’night, db.
Yes, muse, I thought Obama did well.
October 7, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Is it just me, or does it make absolutely NO sense to cut taxes when we need money to pay for shit?
How on earth can anyone be saying that with a straight face?
October 7, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Goodnight, MizzJ! Feel better soon.
October 7, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Goodnight muse, ev, MsJ!
October 7, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I may be impaired, but Obama was as coherent, serious, and focussed as any candidate as I’ve ever seen.
He talked to the people there – he was serious and to the point.
October 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Obama won this thing. He won it as soon as McCain said “Not you, Tom,” in regard to the Sec of Treas position.
October 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm
G’night Jane. I’m off to a fluff movie with my daughter.
October 7, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Zooey,
How do we get this idea out there more? The question about sacrifices should have been a start. We need to use less, share more, and cherish all we do have
October 7, 2008 at 7:43 pm
And calling Obama “that one” was the major gaffe of the evening.
October 7, 2008 at 7:44 pm
That “Not you Tom” thing was pretty fucking weird. Am I allowed to say that?
October 7, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I hate Pat Buchanan, why is he always on Rachel’s show?
October 7, 2008 at 7:46 pm
We won this as soon as the Republicans started a war[s], cut taxes and programs in a time of war, giving tax breaks for the very rich, making the middle class and poor pay for it, and tried to somehow blame the Dems for it.
Ouch.
October 7, 2008 at 7:46 pm
db, I’m no economist, so I’d have a real hard time posing that argument — other than it just fucking well makes sense.
We really need to change our attitude in this country. We have to stop using up this planet, and filling our lives with STUFF, rather than spending time with one another, and loving one another.
Nobody gets to take their crap with them when they die, so what’s the damn point?
October 7, 2008 at 7:47 pm
And Obama answered the actual question while McCain patted himself on the back.
October 7, 2008 at 7:47 pm
When Obama went after AIG, that was one of his best home-runs of the night. Obama was more relaxed and loose tonight. He worked that entire room. McCain several times was caught wondering while Obama was talking like he was lost??? very odd behavior.
Obama scored big points with the undecideds with the Bomb,Bomb, Bomb Iran quote, and in the background McCain was really pissed off…
Obama completely won on his points about Pakistan, McCain was fumbling the entire time.
Obama scored another home run with undecideds over Health Care and pointing out McCain voted against the Schip. Great Point to hammer home.
Obama also did a fantastic job on the climate change issue about it creating 5 million new jobs. The solar, wind and geothermal alternatives.
Great touching moment when Obama says Michelle teaches him what he doesn’t know. I am truly pleased by the way he worked the room and was geniune. McCain was as uptight as always.
Obama won this again.. great job..
October 7, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I love that the movie W is coming out before the election and they’ll be doing all the promotion for it right before the election.
October 7, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Yeah, I didn’t like the “that one” comment, either.
October 7, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Ok I’m back to bed soon, too. Thanks for letting me join you!
If I may wrap up what happened. McCain never got near to the kind of victory (for want of a better word) he needed to turn things around. The “that one” remark is going to come back to haunt him. Vile, just vile. If we said something like that about someone, my father went ballistic, he found it so disrespectful.
October 7, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Omg, my daughter insisted on taking a drink every single time McCain said “my friend”…. What’s with that. He’s not MY friend… As far as I can see, he’s not ANYONE’S friend…
October 7, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Is the next debate an kind of normal debate style? Does anyone know?
October 7, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Well, muse, I counted at least eleven times when she would have taken a drink.
October 7, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Wayne, way more than that…. It wasn’t just her..
(ok, I’m done..)
October 7, 2008 at 7:53 pm
The third debate will be at Hofstra University.
http://www.hofstra.edu/debate/index.html
Practice home of the New York Jets. J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS!
October 7, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Good night, muse. And to your daughter, too. See you tomorrow.
October 7, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Zooey, I haven’t heard what the style is for the next debate, hopefully, they will have news about that tomorrow…
October 7, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Good night everyone
October 7, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Good night, all. Off to watch Jon Stewart.
October 7, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Jon Stewart for President!
Because what America needs in this time of crisis, is a president with asthma.
October 7, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Keith is on. Gonna go watch him…
October 7, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I should unplug this splitter line. I don’t get why they don’t see the usuage spike. Maybe it is the transient behavior of the connection. Kill your tvs!
October 7, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Great coverage critter’s, I watched and blew my stack on the “That one” refrence to Obama…Reminded me of a hateful, crotchety old fool with both a little man syndrom and a god complex….
Did you all notice both candidate’s are left handed.? Nothing of substance in that sentance, just something I had not noticed before…Clearly Obama won the debate and I personely thought mcnut’s acted diffrent and very odd from the last debate…For some reason mcnut’s really hate’s Obama….Maybe the old wacko just hate’s everyone who disagrees with him….Sure glad I don’t have to live with someone like that..I feel sorry for his wife and kid’s, no wonder she take’s drug’s, tonight’s debate’s made me think he’s on something…Blessings
October 7, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I only saw a part of the debate, but I was not surprised at Obama’s ease with the format. Remember, Obama is a professor of constitutional law. In that role, he is frequently engaging in a conversation of question and answer with his students, in much the same physical set-up.
sorry I haven’t been around much…busy….
October 7, 2008 at 11:20 pm
Glad to read you now and welcome back lolair….Blessings