Fiddlesticks!!

I had a class last Thrusday night from 6-10 and missed the Palin-Biden shindig. Now I have class from 6-10 tonight that forces me to miss this debate too! What's with these debates being scheduled during class time?

Have fun watching on my behalf.

We're doing it live! I tried to post a feed from Fox, but only MSNBC offers handy embed code. I do have RedState on tab though.

We'll miss you Jared and, frankly, you'll probably learning more. . .

"Can I call you Maverick?"

This is the only Maverick I recognize.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/94/Maverick_movie.jpg/4...

Who else is watching?

Apparently you can't say "Bailout", McCain just corrected a questioner that it is a "Rescue Package". Obama just repeated it.

funny:)

Yeah, the brilliant idea around Congress last week was, "if we're going to pass this thing, we're going to have to change the name. . ."

So far it's very boring. Blah, blah, blah. They're both talking slowly and pausing a lot.

Substance-wise, at least Obama is talking about increasing oversight of the financial markets.

Sure there's abuse of the earmark system, but really, it's actually a very small part of the budget.

I like planetariums.

I remember when planetariums were good too!

Both of them are working very hard on their PR image, though McCain looks rather fake in the process. Obama's public appearance is much more natural.

I'm pretty sure Lieberman crossed the aisle...

yes, get it under control!

Does anyone else have a McCain Palin ad at the bottom of the page?

Also although much of what both of them are saying are things we have already heard so many times, McCain responses are much more clicheized.

Nailing jello to the wall. I'll get on that right away.

My health benefits cost almost $8000 a year (employer and employee parts). $5000 doesn't cut it.

Obama made some great points about global warming. This "drill, baby, drill" rhetoric has been paid for by the oil companies.

I am an outsider who is not able to vote due to my residential status. But if I were to vote my choice would be clear. I cannot imagine McCain as the next USA president. I am not concerned at all about what his promises are and if he would be able to fulfill them should he become the next president. What am I looking for in both candidates is who appears more honest, less manipulative, patronizes less, and who bits around the bush the list. In that regard Obama is a person who has been much more in charge of his arguments and appearances etc throughout the entire champagne so far..... On the other hand, should McCain by any misfortune go sooner than the first mandate is over, I find it unbelievable that America would not have a better choice that to have Palin taking over. This would be like going from injury to insult.

They seem to agree with Thomas Friedman that energy independence is vital. But, Friedman says, in regard to drilling, "It’s the wrong approach because in a world that’s hot, flat, and crowded, fossil fuels—and particularly crude oil—are going to be expensive and exhausting. Therefore the focus should be on the next great global industry: clean energy technology. When I hear McCain pounding the table for “drill, drill, drill,” it reminds me of someone pounding the table for IBM Selectric typewriters on the eve of the IT revolution."

McCain seems winded.

Oooh, that was ugly! That was a low blow to Biden to bring up hair transplants!

When was the last time McCain went out to buy health insurance? He is covered by the VA system, the Federal system, the Budwiser system.

Thanks for that quote Brenton. It's been interesting to see Friedman really see the light about the new green economy.

"America is the greatest force for good in the world.... we are peace makers and peace keepers."... says McCain. Only those who have not been travelling around the world and seen the world, can say something like this. The greater truth is that America has to work hard today to restore its credibility in the eyes of many in the world. The unnecessary war in Iraq has taken away the credibility. Many in the world today see America as the ancient nations saw the ancient Babylon. You have to love it because you can't help it.

Hmm. . .like they say, McCain really does have a warrior mentality which he applies to domestic situations.

"I've been in those situations all my life. . ."

Katie???

I've got a big stick...I'll get him

And I won't telegraph the size of my net... oops, just did.

McCain repeatedly manipulates Obama's words, although what Obama is saying is clear even to me. And Obama is taking his manipulations with dignity.

McCain thought bubble. We won't re-ignite a cold war with Russia. More of a lukewarm war really, kind of tepid, like the waters off my vacation house in the Bahamas.

Evil Empire? What constitutes an evil empire today?

I've never understood how problems can be solved without communication.

Thanks for joining in folks.

Now it's time to hear from the pundits what we should all think. . . : )

A rather tedious debate that Obama handily won on style points, quite apart from consideration of the issues debated. He looked calm and composed, McCain pacing, nervous, uncomfortable. Interesting how he kept referring to Liberman, as if he were his running mate.

I think that the closing remarks from both candidates were the highlight.

Other highlights:

Nailing jellow to the wall. McCain on Obama tax policies.

A wheel has come off the stright talk express. Obama, not sure exactly the context.

I find it interesting that no questions are being asked about how would the new administration handle the poverty issue in the US. There is a huge army of extremely poor people living in America. The questions related to poverty were present in the early stages of the presidential nomination process, but are absent now. To me this is by far more burning issue than, for example, the same-sex marriages issue.