Reflections on the Miracle of Democracy at Work in the Greatest Nation on Earth

McCain versus Obama debate thread

A thread for discussion of the US presidential debate as it happens. As with last week’s vice-presidential debate, I won’t tell you shut up if you indulge in partisan name-calling. The other thread remains open for those wishing to discuss the presidential race more broadly.

180 Comments

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  1. 151
    Inner Westie
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:42 pm | Permalink

    LOL ShowsOn. And thanks. I’ve jotted these down:

    “Sometimes I work TOO hard”

    “Sometimes I am so well organised that I don’t consider alternate approaches”

  2. 152
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:42 pm | Permalink

    145 Glen, these debates won’t decide anything. They are only fun to watch, occasionally informative. The amounts of people that McCain needs to convert to win (millions and millions) – that volume of people won’t be turned over by this performance. No one hit anything out of the ball park on either side.

  3. 153
    Dario
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:43 pm | Permalink

    Wow who didnt pick that its CNN Dario god wake up!

    I know you prefer Drudge Glen, but here we post results of all polls

  4. 154
    sondeo
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:44 pm | Permalink

    Claims Obama offered to shake McCains hand and McCain refused. They are going ballistic on the US blogs. Is it true.?

  5. 155
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:45 pm | Permalink

    I think so, sondeo …. I saw mccain walk away from him but didn’t see what precipitated it ……

  6. 156
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:46 pm | Permalink

    CNN will be on for the next 75 minutes until 3pm local time with post debate analysis …..

  7. 157
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:46 pm | Permalink

    going now to the focus “worm” group of voters in Ohio ….

  8. 158
    Inner Westie
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:47 pm | Permalink

    Yes, a rebuffed handshake gesture is not good form. What if it were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il or Warren Buffet extending the hand!

  9. 159
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:47 pm | Permalink

    I’m not sure that having debates mediated for you by “the blogs” is all that good an idea.

  10. 160
    zombie mao
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:48 pm | Permalink

    i think the onething everyone will agree with is that brokaw was crap

  11. 161
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:48 pm | Permalink

    He should have just accepted the handshake, but what he did instead was sort of say “hey, meet my wife”.

  12. 162
    ShowsOn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:50 pm | Permalink

    Apparently McCain’s plan to buy up bad mortgages would cost about $2 trillion.

  13. 163
    sondeo
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:51 pm | Permalink

    Maybe we should send over Mark Latham and show Mr McCain how to really lay on a handshake.

  14. 164
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:51 pm | Permalink

    Ooh, CNN focus group. Should be interesting.

  15. 165
    Gary Bruce
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:51 pm | Permalink

    Glen thinks McCain won? Wow, surprise , surprise, surprise.

  16. 166
    ShowsOn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:52 pm | Permalink

    I think the onething everyone will agree with is that brokaw was crap

    It was either him or exhume Tim Russert.

  17. 167
    Socrates
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:52 pm | Permalink

    I thought the bits of the debate I heard were fairly even, but the real question for me went unanswered: how will McCain pay for what he promises? The US is broke, so the money has to come from somewhere.

  18. 168
    Dario
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:52 pm | Permalink

    McCain just sounds like a grumpy old coot. He won’t win many undecideds that way.

  19. 169
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:53 pm | Permalink

    worm group in ohio almost evenly split-

    mccain – 10 people said he won
    obama – 12 people said obama won

  20. 170
    ShowsOn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:54 pm | Permalink

    Obama back over 70 on Intrade. He was in the high 60s during the debate.

    McCain back below 30.

  21. 171
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:54 pm | Permalink

    Sorry, false alarm – not interesting at all (so far). 10 say McCain won, 12 say Obama.

  22. 172
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:55 pm | Permalink

    they claim that the focus group was randomly picked by a research group BUT the man they are talking to now was also in the studio for the first debate ….

  23. 173
    ShowsOn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:55 pm | Permalink

    how will McCain pay for what he promises? The US is broke, so the money has to come from somewhere.

    He would get the Treasury Secretary to sell more Government bonds to China and Japan.

    That’s how they got the $700 billion for the bail out.

  24. 174
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:56 pm | Permalink

    barack and michelle still working the post debate crowd of people in the auditorium ……

  25. 175
    Darn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm | Permalink

    $2 trillion eh? Not bad for a bloke who says he wants to reign in government spending and sees government intervention as ideologically bad.

    All the signs of someone who knows he’s in deep doo doo.

  26. 176
    Oz
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm | Permalink

    Look at you on first name terms with the Obama’s.

    What are John and Cindy up too.

  27. 177
    Oz
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:02 pm | Permalink

    Anyone see Jon Stewart yesterday. Juxtaposed Palin’s comments about government.

    “Government get out of the way!” “Government, you are the problem!”

    “Federal government just isn’t doing enough!” “The Government has let the people down.”

    Jon Stewart: “Government go away…. come back!… go away… come back!!”

  28. 178
    ShowsOn
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:03 pm | Permalink

    $2 trillion eh? Not bad for a bloke who says he wants to reign in government spending and sees government intervention as ideologically bad.

    That was his latest stunt.

    And remember, these are BAD DEBTS, so this effectively means tax payers would never get anything back, and would be subsidising the homes of people who can’t afford to pay back their home loans. It is a huge Federal Housing Scheme. McCain should’ve said his hero was FDR.

  29. 179
    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:06 pm | Permalink

    juliem
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 1:56 pm | Permalink
    barack and michelle still working the post debate crowd of people in the auditorium ……

    and CNN have just noted the McCain and his wife left the room straight away ….. showed that Obama wants to listen and talk to voters … McCain pissed off and didn’t hang around

  30. 180
    Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 2:06 pm | Permalink

    CNN poll: Obama 54, McCain 30. On that note, let’s take it back to the other thread.

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