Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

No one could have predicted…

When I was faster i was always behind.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Innocent people do not delay justice.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

Be a wild strawberry.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2008 / Debate Open Thread

Reader Interactions

155Comments

  4. 4.

    Jon H

    Ha! McCain was still pissed that Ted Kennedy got out of the hospital even before McCain wished him good health at the other debate, so he had Nancy Reagan’s pelvis broken. She won’t be going anywhere.

    That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it.

  6. 6.

    dr. bloor

    I’m in the garage surfing and listening to it. McCain gets the first shot.

    Make a point of checking the telly at some point to take a peek at Schieffer’s tie. Bring your sunglasses.

  11. 11.

    Brian J

    Fannie and Freddie from the start! Damn poor people ruined the economy!

    As Ezra Klein says, the Republican response is nonsense. Unfortunately, we can’t go forward with that.

    And for the love of God, who the hell cares about Nancy Reagan? Of course it sucks that she hurt her pelvis, but it’s so irrelevant.

  16. 16.

    raff

    Opening impressions: McCain is fidgety, rushed & blinking furiously…

    Now Obama is leveled & calm.

    At least McCain is making frequent eye-contact with Obama… let’s see if he brings the pain while still looking Obama in the eye.

  17. 17.

    LH in NYC

    Obama recommends incentives for good corporate behavior – creating jobs. What a concept! Critique of McCain’s homeowner buyout makes a lot of sense too. If the US government pays full price, it’s also a gift to the banks and speculators.

    Can’t believe McCain is still trying to sell the tax increase load of c$#@p. Do people still believe this stuff? Even CNN has debunked these charges.

  18. 18.

    LH in NYC

    Obama recommends incentives for good corporate behavior – creating jobs. What a concept! Critique of McCain’s homeowner buyout makes a lot of sense too. If the US government pays full price, it’s also a gift to the banks and speculators.

    Can’t believe McCain is still trying to sell the tax increase load of c$#@p. Do people still believe this stuff? Even CNN has debunked these charges.

  26. 26.

    dr. bloor

    Accusing Obama of "class warfare" right now is positively the looooooosingest strategy he could possibly fall back on.

  27. 27.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    I think I am going to watch 30 Rock instead.

     
    Foyle’s War for me tonight. What could possibly be said tonight that we haven’t heard before in a zillion different ways?
     
    I will miss the squiggly lines on CNN, though.

  28. 28.

    Brian J

    McCain laughing at his own stupid comments is like the creepy guy in the bar hitting on women, laughing at his own dumb pick up lines. And really, what the hell is with his eyes?

  29. 29.

    Josh Huaco

    spreading the wealth around….looks like mccain’s taking debate pointers from bumluvr…blogreeder, whatever

  30. 30.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I’m in the garage surfing and listening to it. McCain gets the first shot.

    I went and checked out the tube but they are focusing on the candidates. I will keep trying though.

    McCain sounds a bit testy, Obama is still warming up.

  31. 31.

    Товарищ НеинтереснаяСобака

    Joe the Plumber makes more than $250,000 a year? Fuck that guy.

  32. 32.

    JasonF

    McCain’s looks younger.. Oh maybe extra botox?

    He’s sitting next to Bob Schieffer. Methusaleh would look young sitting next to Bob Schieffer.

  33. 33.

    LH in NYC

    McCain’s looks younger.. Oh maybe extra botox?

    Check it out: McCain’s upper lip doesn’t move at all!

  36. 36.

    raff

    McCain’s rictus grin is freaking me out!

    It’s like some kind of forced bon homie gone horribly awry.

  40. 40.

    ThymeZone

    McCain reminds me of Rosanne Rosannadanna. "What’s all this about raising Texas? Why should we spend money to raise Texas? Texas is just about the right height right now, we don’t need to raise it up."

    If he just goes "never mind" toward the end of his segment, the imitation will be perfect.

  41. 41.

    Conservatively Liberal

    I’m in the garage surfing and listening to it. McCain gets the first shot.

    I went and checked out the tube but they are focusing on the candidates. I will keep trying though.

    McCain sounds a bit testy, Obama is still warming up.

    McCain: "…not spread the wealth around."

    What a way to wrap it up. Sheesh.

    BJ seems to be lagging a bit.

  43. 43.

    dr. bloor

    McCain ignores Schieffer’s question, and even Bob feels obliged to try to reorient him to reality.

  44. 44.

    JL

    @Wini: You are right. McCain is pretending that he’s Sarah and just talking about what he wants but the CNN numbers line seems to like him. McCain is a tad hyper though.

  45. 45.

    Nicole

    Both candidates are left-handed? That seems freaky to me.

    What are you implying about my people, JSF?

  47. 47.

    Josh Huaco

    9.17 pm. Memo to McCain: don’t remind people that you remember the last Depression.

    Even Sully gets it right sometimes.

  49. 49.

    Brian J

    Quote of the night from Kevin Drum:

    9:04 – Right off the bat, McCain is blaming Fannie and Freddie for the subprime crisis. What a douchebag.

  50. 50.

    Товарищ НеинтереснаяСобака

    The dial-turners like them some planetariums. McCain’s "overhead projector" line was the first time they twisted negative.

  51. 51.

    raff

    D’oh! Senior moment! McCain answers a question that wasn’t asked, again trying to tie the current crisis on black people buying homes!

    15 minutes in, I don’t want to be hasty, but unless McCain pulls a rabbit out of his hat, Obama is 3-for-3.

  52. 52.

    uila

    again with the nude erection…

    honestly, fuck the deficit. we’re staring down a major recession that has no bottom in sight

  53. 53.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Round 2 goes to Obama for not giggling while McCain was doing his I-know-how-to-do-odd-shit-! routine.

  54. 54.

    sparky

    wtf was up with mcc spouting energy talking points when talking about cutting the budget? he got his cards mixed up or what?

    saying he can balance the budget in 4 years? ponies all round!

  56. 56.

    dr. bloor

    McCain’s getting too excited and too close to doing his Superior Dance. He’s going to put his foot into a big old policy cow flop at some point, and Obama’s going to posterize him on it.

  57. 57.

    gbear

    Not watching. I have to go to the store to pick up batteries for my garage door opener and some treats. Priorities. I’ll watch the clips of the good meltdowns tomorrow.
    OT. I took a scooter ride this evening and wound up out in Michelle Bachman’s district (lots of windy roads with good fall color). The wingnut force is very strong there. Must have seen 20 Bachman signs for every Tinklenberg sign. LOTS of Bachman signs. Just awful.
    Lake Elmo seems to be a Democratic oasis though. Lots of signs for Obama, Franken, Tinklenberg and Bunn.
    Seemed to be a LOT of signs for Bunn. Gotta like Lake Elmo.

  59. 59.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    Dammit I didn’t know "30 Rock" was on.

    McCain is just a big phony. His smile, his stock phrases, his talking points, none of it seems genuine to me.

    But boy did Grampa get angry when Obama called him "Bush".

  62. 62.

    dr. bloor

    McCain better raise Ayers’ name right now, or Obama’s going to raise it himself and shove it down his throat.

  63. 63.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    Round 3 goes to Bob Schieffer for doing somersaults to make a false equivalency argument in regards to the tone of the respective campaigns.

  64. 64.

    Nicole

    Southpaw Presidents:

    Garfield (assassinated, but not for being left-handed. I think)
    Hoover (ouch)
    Truman (yay!)
    Ford (meh)
    Reagan (some would be pleased; I’m not)
    George H.W.Bush (well, better him than the other one)
    Clinton (all 3 candidates in 1992 were)

    Thus concludes your useless trivia break.

  67. 67.

    dslak

    If only Obama had done those Town Halls, McCain wouldn’t have been forced to call him a terrorist!

    Also, kudos to Schieffer for making an equivalence between that and Obama’s criticisms of McCain.

  68. 68.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    Obama wouldn’t do town halls, so we were forced to go negative. It’s not my fault.

  70. 70.

    raff

    …& here comes the Ayers moment.

    McCain plays the victim & claims he’s "repudiated" all negative ads against Obama…

    *sigh*

  72. 72.

    Comrade Peter J

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Both candidates are left-handed? That seems freaky to me.

    Not really.

    Left-handed presidents:

    James A. Garfield
    Herbert Hoover
    Harry S. Truman
    Gerald Ford
    Ronald Reagan
    George Bush
    Bill Clinton

    So while there have only been seven left-handed presidents, of the last six presidents, four has been left-handed.

  77. 77.

    Not My Fault

    Townhall meetings?

    OK I’m in.

    McCain cooked this whole thing up a couple of years ago to get back at the folks who fucked him over in 2000

    He is purposely going down in order to drag as many fuckheads as possible with him.

    Nothing else makes sense.

  79. 79.

    Calliope

    Waaah! Obama wouldn’t do town halls, so it’s all his fault! WAAAHHHH!!!

    Shorter John McCain: I’m a whiny asshole.

    And I see that tripletee beat me too it.

  83. 83.

    dslak

    Why would Americans want to send their kids to college, when that will turn them into godless liberals?

  85. 85.

    Keith

    What’s up with McInsane’s eyes? Which pharmaceutical causes that side effect?

    I’d have to ask his wife to be sure, but I’m going with Ritalin.

  87. 87.

    TR

    I love McCain’s rationale for running so many attack ads — Obama wouldn’t do town hall meetings with me, so I had to slime him.

    It’s like an episode of COPS. He only beats us because he loves us.

  90. 90.

    jrg

    McCain is going to let "Joe the plumber" keep his money. Presumably it’s for a 6-pack. Fucking alcoholic.

  92. 92.

    dslak

    McCain’s attempt to make Obama repudiate Rep. Lewis just seriously backfired, and he wants to dig his hole deeper.

  94. 94.

    LanceThruster

    I thought y’all were shittin’ ’bout McCain’s eyes. I think he done drunk him some True Blood(tm).

  96. 96.

    raff

    OH NOES!!! Obama just SIGHED!!!

    Well, crap. I take back any previous prediction of an Obama pwning. dammit.

  99. 99.

    TR

    WTF is McCain talking about? Someone yelled "kill him" at a McCain rally, and talking about that is an attack on our veterans? Is he fucking insane?

  101. 101.

    LH in NYC

    The R’s liked Obama’s treatment of the Palin rallies on CNN’s live feed. Even more than the Dems. Cool.

  102. 102.

    TR

    Also, it’s nice to see McCain is going out of his way to really disprove the whole image of him as angry, erratic, and snidely dismissive of his opponent.

  103. 103.

    Sleeper

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the Obama campaign specifically say that they disagreed with Rep. Lewis’s comments? I.e. REPUDIATE them?

    McCain is sinking into quicksand tonight. This is almost embarrassing.

  104. 104.

    YellowJournalism

    Wow. McCain just doesn’t get it, does he? "All these things need to be examined, of course…" He’s digging his own hole.

  105. 105.

    dr. bloor

    I dunno, Obama seems a little off tonight.

    McCain’s winning it, but it’s not nearly enough and it’s way too late.

    Fake Edit:: ZOMG!!!! ACORN IS DESTROYING THE FABRIC OF SOCIETY!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!1!1

  106. 106.

    Joshua Norton

    again with the nude erection…

    honestly, fuck the deficit. we’re staring down a major recession that has no bottom in sight

    If his erection needs a bottom, Lieberman will be glad to assume the position.

  109. 109.

    TR

    Obama just knocked the shit out of the Ayers and ACORN bullshit and made McCain look three inches tall in the process.

    Suck it, asshole.

  112. 112.

    Joshua Norton

    Obama wouldn’t do town halls, so we were forced to go negative. It’s not my fault.

    He should be glad. McCain sucked out loud at the last one they did.

    Snausages?….

  115. 115.

    Pooh

    Obama just knocked the shit out of the Ayers and ACORN bullshit and made McCain look three inches tall in the process.

    Suck it, asshole.

    Yeah, I take it back about Obama being off, he completely flipped the "associates" questions and used in to bludgeon McCain. WARREN BUFFET, BITCHES!

  117. 117.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    That closing statement from McCain in round 3 was an absolute trainwreck. I think you’ll see many pundits and commentators go back to that as the end of the end for him.

    I remain optimistic that John McCain will further embarass himself.

  118. 118.

    Brian J

    WTF is McCain talking about? Someone yelled "kill him" at a McCain rally, and talking about that is an attack on our veterans? Is he fucking insane?

    Perhaps he’s not insane, just really, really full of shit.

  121. 121.

    Sleeper

    A couple of people here seem to be saying that McCain is winning. Was that snark? I’m genuinely curious. To me, McCain is totally embarrassing himself in this debate.

  122. 122.

    LanceThruster

    He is a pissy little shit tonight.

    I picture Ms. Palin calming Johnny McSame down when he gits hisself all agitated like Matthew Harrison Brady’s wife did in "Inherit the Wind" just before he burst a blood vessel. Cindy most likely is in the wings as back-up.

  123. 123.

    raff

    I dunno, Obama seems a little off tonight.

    McCain’s winning it, but it’s not nearly enough and it’s way too late.

    Dudes, what debate are you watching? Granted, Obama’s debate style doesn’t have the soaring rhetoric of his oratory style, but he’s doing exactly what he needs to be doing right now: seeming sensible & even-tempered.

    On both substance & presentation I’d give a clear win to Obama — McCain has stumbled quite a bit & is coming off as stilted & fake. Obama, so far, has swatted away all of McCain’s accusations like so many low-hanging softballs.

  124. 124.

    uila

    McCain is winning only if you’re scoring on the basis of nervous energy. Obama is one smooth cat tonight, I have absolutely no complaints.

    Though if I had to pick winner, I’d say Word Press hands down

  125. 125.

    Joe the Plumber

    I’m sure I’m not the only McCain supporter in America who, when John McCain dropped his creepy smile, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think that smile was for me." By the end, when he clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can’t be learned; it’s either something you have or you don’t, and man, he’s got it.

  126. 126.

    Comrade Darkness

    Obama seems tired, and McCain a little over caffeinated (? to be careful of the diagnosis there).

  127. 127.

    jcricket

    Man, how I loves me some liveblogging, rather than watching the actual debate. I do plan on watching CNN afterwards – want to see the snap polls, and what moments they pick to savage McCain on.

    Both candidates are left-handed? That seems freaky to me.

    Yes, this is the secret conspiracy the two major parties won’t talk about. That left-handers, with their satanist angular writing, are plotting to take over the world

    /Brain

  128. 128.

    Sleeper

    Hey Bob, are you going to give Senator Obama the last word at least once tonight? At least make a pretense of being impartial? Just wondering.

  129. 129.

    The Moar You Know

    McCain looks coked-up and as though someone has jammed a doorknob into the side of his face. I find it hilarious that the audience reaction goes negative every time McCain attacks Obama.

  130. 130.

    t jasper parnell

    McCain keeps coming up with new programs while insisting that he will reduce spending. How does that work?

  132. 132.

    TR

    McCain is five minutes away from pulling the Full Stockdale.

    "Who am I? Why am I here? Has anyone seen my little dog?!?"

  134. 134.

    jumpin joe

    mcpasty must have picked up his smarmy little smirk from his lipstickd-pit-bull. and obama’s effectively wiping it off his face.

  136. 136.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    McCain looks coked-up and as though someone has jammed a doorknob into the side of his face. I find it hilarious that the audience reaction goes negative every time McCain attacks Obama.

    It goes down every time McCain speaks. It’s just coincidence that every time McCain speaks, he is attacking Obama.

  137. 137.

    TR

    Here’s a tip, McCain. When you’re an old white guy debating a younger black guy, don’t use the phrase "gold-plated Cadillac" even when it’s a reference to health care policies.

  139. 139.

    Martin

    Spread the wealth!

    McCain thinks that’s a bad thing. For the 150 million people that just took a bath on their retirement account, that sounds pretty fucking good, pal. That line works when the stock market is going up, not down.

  140. 140.

    Conservatively Liberal

    This has been an audio blowout in my mind. I am only listening to this and Obama is coming across as strong, confident and reasonable. McCain is finally doing his attack shtick that the McPalinites have been hollering for but he is going into stupid irrelevant minutiae with his bomb dropping and it is detracting from any message he is trying to deliver.

    Obama: focused

    McCain: nervous

    At least that is the way it sounds to me.

  141. 141.

    Nicole

    Yes, this is the secret conspiracy the two major parties won’t talk about. That left-handers, with their satanist angular writing, are plotting to take over the world

    jcricket, I am so very sorry you have figured out our master plan. Now we will have to kill you. It’s going to take a little while, as these damn instruments have all been designed for right-handed use, but we’ll figure it out.

  143. 143.

    Comrade Kevin

    @jcricket:

    Yes, this is the secret conspiracy the two major parties won’t talk about. That left-handers, with their satanist angular writing, are plotting to take over the world

    You’re onto us, damn.

  145. 145.

    raff

    Wtf? Why are we still talking about Roe v. Wade? What relevance does this issue have with anything other than a rightwing, christianist agenda?

    …& again, Obama’s response is pitch-perfect.

    America, congratulations on your first black president.

  146. 146.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    The CNN audience reaction line is dropping straight down like a bridge jumper every time McCain speaks. Heh.

  150. 150.

    raff

    Well, I suppose McCain deserves kudos for not going negative in his closing remarks (althought he did play the POW card). But as much as McCain tries to paint himself as the candidate of change, he also asks you consider his many years in congress.

    McCain didn’t do what he needed to do. Only the hackiest of McCainiac pundits will declare this a McCain ‘victory’. At best (I’m lookin’ at you, CNN) the MSM will declare the debate a tie, but in this case a ‘tie’ for McCain is a loss.

    Winner: Obama – Game, Set & Match.

  151. 151.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    I was really hoping in one of the three debates Obama would shout out in Vietnamese just to flip out McCain.

  153. 153.

    Liz

    I went roller skating, so I completely missed the debate. Thank you, as always, for the great thread! Makes me feel a little less out of the loop til I get the chance to watch/read it.

  154. 154.

    oh really

    Prior to the first debate I was quite critical of Obama’s primary race debate performances. Initially, I listened to the first debate on the radio, and I thought Obama came across as weak. However, when I went back and watched the debate, it was eas y to see why more people had rated Obama the winner. McCain seemed like a crazy, angry old man; Obama like a mature, intelligent leader fully up to the job.

    In the second debate, which I thought was incredibly boring, the viewers once again rated Obama the winner by a sizable margin. I was happy, because I didn’t care what I thought, as long as the majority of voters leaned toward Obama.

    I watched the third debate and I thought that it was by far the most interesting of the three. Further, I thought Schieffer did a much better job than either Lehrer or Brokaw had done.

    What was more important was how I thought Obama did. Very impressive. The gulf between him and McCain was greater than the gulf between any two candidates I’ve ever seen in a presidential debate. McCain (like Palin) is in way over his head. Yeah, he’s been around a million years, but he simply doesn’t have the tools — intellectual or tempermental — to be a competent president. Obama does. More so, by far, than Kerry, Gore, Mondale, Carter, McGovern, or Kennedy. And, I think, significantly more so than Clinton (Bill). For all Bill’s vaunted political and intellectual skills, Bill has (and had) some huge character flaws that Obama doesn’t seem to share. He may have a weakness, but it was not apparent to me tonight.

    He is not my ideal candidate on the issues — he’s way too moderate for me, but his temperament is amazing. His intellect is impressive, but his emotional intelligence is off the charts. Maybe somewhere down the line he will reveal the chink in his armor, but for now, he looks like the most impressive Democratic candidate in my lifetime (and, sad to say, I’m over 60 and remember watching the 1956 conventions on TV).

    For laughs, I stopped by RedState to see what they had to say about the debate — as always, totally predictable and completely delusional. And that’s good news. Because as long as Republicans continue to be as delusional as the typical RedState psychotic is, the Republican Party is going to continue to atrophy.

    It would be dangerous to have only one party — and no less so if that party were the Modern Democratic Party (which leaves so much to be desired it is almost impossible to express it in words ) — but the Modern Republican Party is no longer a viable alternative. It’s a neo-fascist, fiscally reckless party of free market absolutists and religious bigots. For the sake of the country and the world, it needs to die. The question is what will replace it? We’d be a lot healthier politically if we got a slightly right of center conservative party, purged of the fundamentalists (religious and otherwise), and a new party to the left of the Modern Democrats, and espousing genuinely progressive ideas and policies. For this to happen (and I don’t think it will) the Modern Republican Party must die. My hope is that Bush, McCain, and Palin are the perfect political storm that is needed to kill it. The three most prominent Republican politicians today have no measurable intellect, no integrity, and no judgment.

    Drill, baby, drill?

    No.

    Die, baby, die!!!

  155. 155.

    Brian J

    McCain keeps coming up with new programs while insisting that he will reduce spending. How does that work?

    MAGIC, that’s how.

    Or if that’s not good enough, SHUT UP, that’s how!

Comments are closed.