Brokaw reminds them that they signed off on the rules. What a dumbass. Tom Brokaw ... the greatest failure. I hate Tom Brokaw, and he loves John McCain.
Definitely, John seems like he’s gasping for breath, and he’s moving around like a damaged robot.
Content be damned—Obama seems young, confident and engaged. J-Mac wants to project earnest seriousness, but he’s coming across as they guy who had to explain to the passengers on the Titanic why there weren’t enough lifeboats for everyone.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:29 PM
Jesus fucking christ waving a white flag ... enough with the fucking earmarks already you blithering old fart. Fuck earmarks pay for my roads, for my county’s schools and for health care. So fuck off you cretin, and I mean that lovingly.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:30 PM
Oh, and if he badmouths planetarium equipment one more time, I’m going to punch the screen.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:30 PM
Obama? Fuck you and your clean coal bullshit. Motherfuckers still have to dig it up, and lemme tell ya Mr. Harvard pants, there aint no goddamned thing about that that is clean.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:33 PM
They both kind of glanced off that sacrifice question
However, J-Mac is doing a tremendous impression of William Loman...which is not what he wants to be doing.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:38 PM
Sorry. I meant “Willy Loman.” attention has been paid.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:39 PM
Yeah, that health care tax credit McCain’s offering sucks. Goodbye work-provided health insurance. Hello shitty insurance that covers nothing. I’m hoping Obama’s going back to that.
Obama is back to the 40-second wind-ups that hurt his performance in primary debates. Tighten it up, Barack
That’s a quote from the GOS ... what the fuck is this social security is in trouble bullshit? Fuck, how many times do we have to hear the same old bullshit?
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:41 PM
Fuck that maverick bullshit. What the hell has he ever actually done? Christ…
I was on a ship that used nuclear power ... and when it had a catastrophic fire I ran downstairs and hid out while my plane’s captain burned to death. Then I took some much needed R&R;in Saigon. So fuck you America.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:45 PM
I think the majority of this tax discussion is going to come across as a spreading fog to the average viewer. Sort of like Gore and Bush going at each other about school vouchers.
I’m grading on an impressionist scale. McCain seems needy and grasping. Obama isn’t pleading. I know which one I;d buy a used car from.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:45 PM
This has bogged down into wonky bullshit, I agree Strange ... in fact, it’s infuriating because this shit doesn’t do a goddamned thing to change the conversation. The talking heads will drone on and on about how they got stuck on dry tax and budget issues.
9:40: Brokaw editorialized that we can all agree in a “bipartisan way” that entitlement programs are “a big ticking time bomb.” In fact, in 2005 – as President Bush tried to “reform” Social Security with a privatization scheme – “barely one in four Americans believe[d] that a crisis exists.” (UPDATE: As Paul Krugman explains, “No matter how many times you try to kill the mythical Social Security crisis, it just keeps coming back.”)
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:52 PM
The fucking question was about what government would do? Is it just me? Am I as stupid as I seem?
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:53 PM
McCain doesn’t understand how the insurance industry works.
Obama keeps looking at McCain like a kid who just poured a box of Sea Monkeys into a fish-tank. It’s like he’s waiting for J-Mac to give birth to a chest-burster.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 08:54 PM
McCain’s always concerned about govt mandates ... excepot for the one that has given him govt health care from the time his momma squeezed his dumb ass out.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:56 PM
Did they sedate McCain or something? Comment by Ripley on 10/07/08 at 10:17 PM
9:54: McCain said he would give every family a $5,000 tax credit to buy health insurance. But McCain’s credit would not cover the average price of a family health care plan. According to the latest Kaiser Foundation Benefits Survey, “premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose to $12,680 annually for family coverage” in 2008.
More TP
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 08:57 PM
I like how McCain praised the French on nuclear power. Everyone’s supposed to hate the French, silly!
Comment by Rebecca on 10/07/08 at 08:58 PM
Yes! Crack down on the insurance companies. Good one!
Obama aced that health insurance question. I think the tax issue was a bit muddy--maybe a little over the head of some viewers--but I think he won the health care round.
Another thing, if I hear one more time about how Obama is tight with terrorists and their suppoerters, I’m going to get arrested when I start flashing those loving pics of Bush with his cousins from Saudi Arabia.
You’ve heard of saudi Arabia, home to Islam and the birthplace of 19 men who flew planes in to the WTC.
My subjective ruling: America is watching Dwight Frye (as Renfield) debate Sidney Poitier (circa “Lillies of the Field"). This not going to help McCain.
After the first 10-12 repetitions, “my friends” is really sounding like Kriswell’s opening monologue to “Plan 9.”
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:08 PM
Nikkei down 460, for you end-of-the-world observers.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:09 PM
After the first 10-12 repetitions, “my friends” is really sounding like Kriswell’s opening monologue to “Plan 9.”
That’s because you can hear the fatigue and it manifests itself in repetition. McCain was very nervous, it was obvious in his short breaths and hurried answers. In fact, he’s making less and less sense as this goes on.
“Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future. You are interested in the unknown… the mysterious. The unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing to you, the full story of what happened on that fateful day. We are bringing you all the evidence, based only on the secret testimony, of the miserable souls, who survived this terrifying ordeal. The incidents, the places. My friend, we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Let us punish the guilty. Let us reward the innocent. My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts of grave robbers from outer space?”
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:17 PM
Also, let me tell you why this Afghani talk is pure bunkum. Those motherfuckers are the baddest asses this side of the IDF. You’re not gonna control Afghanistan, no one ever could and no shit spewed out by either of these two clowns is gonna change that fact. Bush has fucked us all so hard we’re gonna be talking about this bullshit for the next decade ... and beyond.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:20 PM
Oh, yeah. Invading Georgia was totally out-of-bounds for nations that should respect the idea of sovereignty. Alert the Irony Police.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:21 PM
Don’t worry about Putin. Sarah Palin is watching him from Wasilla.
Humboldt—I agree. So does the Pentagon. These are guys who gave Alexander the Great a run for his money. And McCain should know, because he’s been there, and he knew Alexander.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:23 PM
10:06: McCain just said that if we’d withdrawn from Iraq, Iranian influence would have increased and Al Qaeda would have set up a base. Both of these things happened because we invaded Iraq.
10:03: Discussing when to intervene militarily, McCain mentioned Kosovo. Back in 2000, McCain referred to the conduct of the Kosovo intervention as “the most obscene chapter in recent American history.”
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:25 PM
Motherfucker I was a goddamned 11 Bravo, fuck you and your thank you’s, we don’t want thank you’s we want sane, rational leaders and at this point Grandpa Screaming at the Clouds, .... motherfucking piece of shit.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:26 PM
McCain on Israel/Iran: “Fuck if I know.”
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:26 PM
God, if I hear the word ‘precondition’ one more time this year…
I’d add pancakes on a stick ... Paula Deen, Madonna, Andy dick, Creed, Toby Keith, Lady de Shit For Brains and Pet Rocks.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:31 PM
"Without preconditions?” DID HE JUST SAY WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS? Holy SHIT! I’m assuming the drop, duck, and hide my head under my hands beneath my desk position. I didn’t know that! I’m changing my vote to McCain!
It was never going to be close. McCain sounded the same trumpets, beat a tattoo on the same drums and appeared as he always does, a man whose ambitions far outstrip his qualifications.
Hmm ... seems like I’ve seen that somewhere before.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:39 PM
RussD—Thanks for endeavoring to be impartial.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 09:40 PM
Michael Gerson calls it for McCain. Well, that’s that I guess. Might as well stay home on Nov 4.
My feeling is that they’ll all say McCain won, because it’s in the media’s interest to even the race out. I have no idea what the undecided voters will say. They baffle me.
The other day a friend told me he mixed watermelon vodka and coffee and drank a whole glass. I asked him why, and he said he wanted liquor and coffee both. I asked what it tasted like, and he said, it was all he could do while he drank it not to vomit it back up. I said, why didn’t you just enjoy them separately? And he said, he just really wanted liquor and coffee in one drink.
That is what I think of the undecided voter: I’ll just never understand.
OK, one other thing, this whole pairing of Maddow and Racist Buchanan might be cute for those in the new biz, but it’s a travesty for the watching audience.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 09:44 PM
I didn’t catch the language at the moment. Did McCain actually call Obama ‘that one’?
That’s weird, the poll on newsvine is the msnbc poll and it let me vote again.
Oopsie.
Comment by Rebecca on 10/07/08 at 09:54 PM
When I saw Puffy McJowls refer to Obama as “that one”, I started wondering how long it’d be until he said “you people”. I guess he’s saving that one for the next debate.
Comment by Cello on 10/07/08 at 09:56 PM
Someone please stuff something down David Gregory’s throat. He’s carrying McCain’s water on his mortgage relief suggestion.
Drudge has it down cold for McCain. I just joined PUMA and started signing my emails with a file photo of an angry kitten.
I suggest we all face the fact that John McCain was a supercharged dynamo of conviction and irrefutable fact tonight, as well as an American hero and a guy who really knows how to bag rich models. And besides, Barry’s a Muslim who hangs out with unrepentant terrorists.
And that’s not even counting the incredible Wowee! factor that is Sarah Palin.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:05 PM
I think Obama won handily (with no claims to objectivity, naturally). Things that stuck out in my mind: McCain’s repeated “I know how to do...” XYZ. Winning a war, getting Osama, dealing with the economy, working in a bipartisan manner—whatever the topic, his refrain is that He. Knows. How. Extremely paternalistic.
Obama’s big moment in my opinion was the response on the Pakistan issue. McCain set himself up for it with the “talk softly and carry a big stick” line, and then Obama used McCain’s own words to show that he’s really a blustering, saber-rattling bully. Perfect.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think McCain is the big town hall master he’s cracked up to be. His tone when interacting with the serfs reminded me of how a person who doesn’t really like or understand children sounds when forced to read a bedtime story. He gets this sing-songy, insincere cadence. I guess that’s what passes for warmth? I don’t get it.
I was going to recommend Todd Rundgren’s new “Arena” CD to Kevin K. as a “Swing to the Right” for 2008. But I no longer trust my own judgment.
Is it too late to send money to Phil Berg? And will Hillary still be eligible to run if Obama is disqualified? I’m so confused.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:14 PM
Oh, Betty—hold me. I don’t know what to do!
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:17 PM
pop—My ideal debate scenario would have ended with Obama saying, “There’s only one way to settle this, Senator. It’s time to hang pork.”
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:18 PM
His tone when interacting with the serfs reminded me of how a person who doesn’t really like or understand children sounds when forced to read a bedtime story. He gets this sing-songy, insincere cadence. I guess that’s what passes for warmth? I don’t get it.
Thank you. I could not form the words to describe that tone but it hit me harder and harder as the debate wore on. He was like the earnest Uncle who really, really wants you to register as a Republican for the good of the country.
Then you find out that Uncle John was raided by the Feds who found links to kiddie porn on his computer.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 10:20 PM
Hehe ~ I think that’s why McCain is so angry. Cindy keeps asking him if “it’s true, what they say about, you know ... “
[UPDATE]: One other thought, as triggered by something I saw over NRO: ye gods but were those questions dull.
McCain got some good shots in with Fannie/Freddie, Obama got a good moment or two betraying the progressives over nuclear power, offshore drilling, and Israel; I’ll give the closing statement to McCain, but Obama humanizes amazingly when he’s talking about his wife. No insanely bad howlers this go-round. This was, in fact, kind of boring all around.
So, I’m going to say that things are unchanged, which is advantage: Obama. On the bright side, I called the first two debates for the GOP, so for all I know this is going to turn out to be EPIC WIN for McCain.
Moe Lane
PS: I’m not depressed, however. I can live with a bye.
I am positively, absolutely, unbendingly sure that one Ms. Monica “Soon to be Erickson, hee hee” Goodling will have some serious issues with your bye-love.
At the risk of being redundant, this was for me not the “second” debate but the “last” debate.
Near as I can tell, the Web response ranges from “boring” to “at least Sydney didn’t shit himself.” Even the PUMAs are struggling to paper-over John McCain’s eerie resemblance to Joel Cairo.
I see a steady downhill arc for Hanoi Xian from here on in, although I am obviously and unashamedly biased.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:39 PM
Humboldt—You seem bitter and depressed. Let me have your pain. Best regards, Sybok. ;-
Oh, and don’t thank me for “Hanoi Xian.” Thank Earl Mac Ruach and “Buckaroo Banzai.” .
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:53 PM
pop—I fold. The pot is yours. Just damn.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:54 PM
Wow, Buchanan faced up and called it for Obama ... of course, that’s when he was confronted by McCain’s own words, gestures and general demeanor.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 10:54 PM
Seriously—I WRITE those fucking planetarium shows. John McCain can kiss my ass if he thinks that money is a waste.
Comment by StrangeAppar8us on 10/07/08 at 10:57 PM
What’s amazing is how enthusiastic he was in thinking that people give a fucking shit about a three-thousand dollar projector in Chicago. He really is everybody’s angry grandfather, or the grandpa who is overly excited because he got the spot remover on sale. Yipeee!
Why does this McCain could have thrown a knockout punch with Ayers meme get any traction?
McCain can’t go to issues of character, unless, and you saw it repeatedly tonight, he’s the one doing the talking.
McCain can not go to these so-called knockout punches because he knows damn well that if he does, Obama hits him like Ali hit Liston.
Regulation of housing and banks? Keating 5.
Try to turn to your record time and time again and watch as your opponent takes it head-on and responds with more detail, knowledge and pizazz?
MSNBC is hating on McCain, even Roger simon is laughing out loud at McCain’s persona.
Comment by HumboldtBlue on 10/07/08 at 11:10 PM
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think McCain is the big town hall master he’s cracked up to be.
Yeah, McCain’s big moment supposedly was when he “related” to the serviceman who asked him a question. Otherwise he did not seem to relate to the audience at all. While Obama was open and pretty relaxed. Talked about the, hello, MIDDLE CLASS (us being some of them) while McCain didn’t say a word about us. And what was up with the McCains exiting the building immediately afterwards while Obama and Michelle hung around for an hour or so talking to people and taking pictures? Does one candidate relate to voters more maybe, hmmm? I suppose Say-rah Failin will still be trying to arouse her Rottweiler base to go after Obama tomorrow but I think it may have less effect after the McCain Fail tonight.
Betty Cracker, swear to god I said the same thing about McCain and that ridiculous sing-song cadence he had going on. That was as irritating as Palin’s “g-droppin” folksy crap. McCain was like Mr Rogers on a mind-altering drug; flaky and beady-eyed.
And when he pointed behind his hand to Obama with, “that one”, I was completely creeped out.