Live Blog and Chat: Presidential debate
posted at 8:00 pm on September 26, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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I’ll be live-blogging the first presidential debate, scheduled to start at 9 PM ET. I’m using the Cover It Live system again tonight, but I’m combining it with the Ustream chat room from my show. That way the community can interact with each other as well as with me while I live-blog the debate. Jazz Shaw from The Moderate Voice will be moderating the chat, and don’t forget to register at Ustream to participate!
Here are the keys I’ll watch in the debate:
- If they stick to foreign policy, McCain has to get aggressive with Obama and demand specifics. McCain wants to emphasize his long experience on foreign policy and military affairs. Obama needs to keep the debate on general themes and criticize George Bush while avoiding getting pinned down on specifics.
- If the debate switches to financial policy, which I expect, the dynamics change a little bit. Obama is perceived to be stronger here, and he will need to get specific in order to demonstrate that. McCain still needs to aggressively push Obama on his inaction on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in 2005-6 and emphasize that government meddling created the financial meltdown.
- Obama reacted poorly when Hillary Clinton went after him in Pennsylvania. If he starts stammering his way through questions, he’s rattled. And no one gets under people’s skin like McCain.
I’ll watch the debates on C-SPAN. No one is providing an embeddable live-stream for the debate, as far as I know.
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Alrightly, before you allow the MSM to try to depress your conviction and try to convince you that it was even close to a tie, you remember how it really went down. What we just saw was the Senior Senator take the Junior Senator to the proverbial woodshed.
Head and shoulders better organized, better uh, you know, er….spoken. And probably the bigger point to the whole ass-whooped was that what John McCain said was the truth and ultimately what is best for this country.
Anyone still scared about him talking about the economy. Not me!
hawkdriver on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Be sure to vote on Drudge!
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
And now here’s Joe Gasbag and his opinion. What are the odds that Sara-Cuda’s not invited.
AubieJon on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Sadly, there still some people under the impression that Barack is muslim. He was probably just to disabuse that false meme.
Ric on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Or we were. Question is: what debate were the Idjit voters watching? Oh wait…they weren’t. Why waste the time when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert can do it for them?
ManlyRash on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Too many shots?
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
ass-whooping…
hawkdriver on September 26, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Back in the thread, someone mentioned the “John” remark, and I do agree that he seemed disrespectful.
BuckeyeSam on September 26, 2008 at 10:48 PM
Okay – I will go over to Drudge and vote now!
The Tolly-bahn? Hiding near the Auto-bahn I presume :-)
RD on September 26, 2008 at 10:48 PM
How many times did the ObumBa say “I agree with John”????
SunSword on September 26, 2008 at 10:48 PM
As Brian Williams (incongruously) said to Barry last night:
“Happy trails.”
profitsbeard on September 26, 2008 at 10:48 PM
How does Obama spin this?
BuckeyeSam on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
For me I tried my best to throw out my Nixonian roots and listen as Joe Public. The first hour Obama held his own. The last half-hour McCain slapped him around. That, however, is all that Obama needed, prove to the indies that he could enter the ring. I didn’t agree with Barry, I just didn’t think McCain realized that he had to knock him down in the first round.
Limerick on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
No, No, Juan….All I heard Obama say was: I want to spend for the victims….
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
McCain made a clear play for the independents. Chess vs checkers tonight.
I thought McCain won overall.
The first 15 minutes were a tie with both on their talking points.
The next 45 minutes McCain started working away at Obama and got a slight edge.
The last 30 minutes were ALL Johnny boy. What do you guys think?
I know I’m a fan boy of John but I’m trying to be as objective as possible.
Mojave Mark on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
Yaaaa…right.
Over.
1GooDDaDDy on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
Wanna REALLY take on the nutroots? Place your vote at MSNBC
http://jeffblack.newsvine.com/_question/2008/09/26/1919787-who-won-the-presidential-debate
Pilgrim on September 26, 2008 at 10:49 PM
Ok…. McCain clearly won this debate, but strap yourselves in, headlines like, “New poll suggests Obama won the debate,” are probably headed our way. If the MSM is really desperate, I think they could push him towards a 12 point lead.
El_Terrible on September 26, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Performance:
McCain B
Obama A
Substance
McCain A
Obama D
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 10:51 PM
spin spin spin
custer on September 26, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Intrade says McCain won.
p0s3r on September 26, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Performance…..there is the word I was looking for. $10 for that word on the way to you FedEx.
Limerick on September 26, 2008 at 10:52 PM
Hi Guys
I am the other side of the pond – so I don’t get all the “nuances”
Can I ask people to STAND BACK, not be Repub but imagine being an independent watcher – how did it look to the wider world ?
(All I get is crap BBC, in he tank for Obama -and they cut the sound for the debate 15 minutes from the end – to allow a studio slag-off of McaCain.)
JohninLondon on September 26, 2008 at 10:52 PM
I don’t think the moderator controlled the flow, especially in the first part. He let Obama ramble and frequently cut off McCain when McCain tried to rebut. Obama interupted McCain frequently as well.
wepeople on September 26, 2008 at 10:52 PM
paul bafelia head just said that Obama thrashed john mccain. Whuskey Tango Fargo
custer on September 26, 2008 at 10:52 PM
The Indies were moving toward Obama; I think that stopped tonight! Some will move back to McCain; more will move back to undecided. McCain did what he needed to do tonight. He stopped the bleeding. He showed he had the energy to be C in C. Now, if Palin holds her own, and McCain out duals Obama in the Townhall, this race is back to even steven, and the third debate will send McCain on his way to the WH if he wins.
sophiesmom on September 26, 2008 at 10:52 PM
And that’s what they’ll say. And why not, that’s the same kind of blind faith in that empty suit that got him where he is in this campaign.
PS The commercial Obama just ran on Fox after teh debate is a waste of time. If the normal Fox viewers in most homes are like mine, everyone is still yelling and high5in each other.
hawkdriver on September 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
jewells45 on September 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
We who frequent political blogs made our choices long ago. The sleepy middle who is just now starting to pay attention are the ones this debate was meant for. Hate to say it but I don’t think Mav’s poll numbers are going up tomorrow. We can argue finer points about delivery and who looked presidential, but there wasn’t enough here to launch McCain off the flight deck.
I know Barry was lowering expectations to say that a “draw” really works out as a win for him. That is what happened tonight.
innominatus on September 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
It would appear that McCain can multitask quite well.
Connie on September 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
I have no idea who won this. I again tried to follow the debate while blogging on the Powerline forum BUT, as always, Powerline ony paid for dial up bandwith so I was unable to really participate…sigh…
I have no idea who won. I thought McCain lost a few opportunites to hit a home run on the economy when Obamas was spinning his record but McCain did do better than I expected on the issue. I thought Obama did better on foreign affairs, at least superficially, tan I expected and I thought FOX, once again, had too many problem simply broadcasting the thing so I was forced to shift to CNN.
JIMV on September 26, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Yeah, you’re probably right – I expect headlines like, “McCain touts experience on foreign policy while economy looms large.”
dugan on September 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM
Credit where credit’s due. Lehrer did a great job moderating.
p0s3r on September 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM
That is true. There is no way that the MSM is going to
showmanufacture any polls with a McCain lead. Tomorrow we will have polls with 30% more Democrats sampled than Republicans showing Obama with a 10 point lead. The MSM is getting as bad as the Ministry of Truth in 1984.Gabe on September 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM
MCCAIN A-
OBAMA C-
mccain won.
battleoflepanto1571 on September 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM
8 i think
Spirit of 1776 on September 26, 2008 at 10:54 PM
That’s why they call it spin.
McCain A…
Obama C-
hawkdriver on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Yes. Yes.
Spirit of 1776 on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Honestly…it’s too late for Obama to reinvent himself…we’ve been subjected to him for 19 months… we know where he stands… we’ve heard him say it over and over and over again…he was just prepared for the debate but we know his record!
CCRWM on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I think Grahamnesty is gonna cry!
Pilgrim on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
No comparison. Obama’s crimp notes were stale the first time, and disgusting each repetition.
McCain rules. McCain is brilliant! Great stage presence from McCain! Magnificent presentation. Calm and Patient. Deliberate. Humor. Distinctly on Target. Accurate foundation.
By the time national defense was covered, McCain had already mopped the floor with Obama. McCain gave Obama tutorials on EVERYTHING during the debate. I admired the culmination that McCain surmised each step of the way. Strong phrasing, expression, and cadences. Bravo!
Love the new McCain debate ad! Hahahaha!!! (Ace)
maverick muse on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Holy Smokes. Not the knock out I was hoping for. Obama tied himself to some centerist veiews on more than a few points. Obama with his “it isn’t true” didn’t score any points with me. Obama has been reading HotAir as well, not much stuttering. I also saw some the attempted “digs” to get McCain to lose his temper.
But I felt McCain was too reserved too often. I think he should have stopped mid sentence when Obama was on the mic saying “that’s not true” and asked exactly what wasn’t true. And called him on it. It’s recorded, no escaping it.
It would have made a great ad.
Hog Wild on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
CNN is making me sick!
186k on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
He doesn’t…that’s a job for the Drive-By media.
ManlyRash on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Eh…keep it. Under your mattress ;-)
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I don’t think Euros have changed their minds, they still want to see Obama in the Oval Office.
Cr4sh Dummy on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
CNN now has Michael Ware (the imprenator of Lara Light) as a commentator. Give me a break!
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I must have been dozing during that exchange! And of course you know that his middle name isn’t “Kenyan.”
baldilocks on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Voted at MSNBC…74% for Obama. I think the nutroots got into the weed again.
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I’ve gone to drudge and cant find where you can vote.
Bambi on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Farg the media. We KNOW!!!
hawkdriver on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Why is Grahemnesty speaking sooo s…l…o…w…l…y?
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Obama is trapped in the past, he wants to debate whether or not we should have he went into Iraq!
Obama needs to realize that WE ARE NOW IN IRAQ, IT WAS THE POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES FOR REGIME CHANGE IN IRAQ SIGNED INTO LAW BY PRESIDENT CLINTON in 1998!. (Iraq Liberation Act signed into law by unanimous consent in the Senate)
Deal with it, that’s were we are now, we are IN Iraq NOW..
Does Obama want Iran and Al-Qaeda to have Iraq or does he want Democracy in Iraq?
Chakra Hammer on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
My kids watched and they started laughing at all the “uhs” that Obama kept uttering. After a while we’d all repeat “Uh, uh” when he said it.
Finally my ten year old summed it up: “Obama’s an idiot. If you make America a fort and pull our troops behind the wall, the bad guys are just going to take over everything else and then SWOOSH over us like a wave.”
I give it to McCain. He whipped Obama so badly the audience was laughing at his remarks about Obama. That’s the sign of the person who’s winning.
bonnie_ on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
Republicans need to attack Obama for interrupting.
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 10:56 PM
I see the new talking point with the Democrats, they saying McCain is stuck in the past, talks about the past. Well, Obama has not much past experience, not much a pass to build up judgment upon.
They say Obama is for change with the past, well so is McCain, not necessarily siding with the Bush administration nor retreads of the Clinton administration. His change is based on inexperience, no past, no record of 20+ years of going all over the world and talking foreign policy as McCain has emphisised. You can’t just change something for the sake of change, you change things based on your experience and expertise. Obama, lack of experience, lack of long term expertise.
For an “old man”, I am amazed how McCain can just spit out facts and figures right off the top of his head, about most subjects that he has to cover. He talks about names of people he has dealt with in the foreign policy areas. Obama, the inexperienced younger guy, has not said as much nor discuss the leaders he talked to.
StuLongIsland on September 26, 2008 at 10:57 PM
OK, proletarians – if you drank every time Obama stammered and stuttered, you’d be in the hospital.
fiatboomer on September 26, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Very fair. Very balanced. He did a fantastic job!
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 10:57 PM
I was alwalys taught to close with your strongest point….somehow Obama thought that making all the children of the world like America was something I’d give a rats ass about.
Alden Pyle on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
His father is a great argument against wanting people to come to America.
And….his example only works if Kenyans and others are no longer comming to American in droves. Which isn’t true. It was a stupid point.
29Victor on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
My Goodness, what a thread. I am not going to go back and read all these comments, but I thought McCain did well. Obama was all pissy and irritated and I thought he might throw a tantrum or something.
As for the first part on the financial stuff, a draw.
I did notice that Obama did his best to pretend that George Bush was the only politician in DC for the last years.
The hypocricy on the spending from Obama and the financial crisis was stunning. It was regulations to hear him tell it, nothing about loaning too much money to the wrong people.
Terrye on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Obama got completely dominated tonight! He looked way out of his league.
keepinitreal on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Obama might have a smooth delivery but he has a lot of very rough and dangerous people behind him and supporting him. As he would say, pay no attention to the scoundrals behind my curtain.
wepeople on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
it is unfortunate that there is often such a lack of intelligent discussion. McCain hammered Obama.
Obama was defensive all night.
drjohn on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
The last time I checked Drudge Report, McCain is said to be the winner by about 75% of those voters. McCain did win the debate.
Phil Byler on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
CBS was mostly positive about Obama. their polls gave it to Obama. Pleaase tell me Fox has better analysis.
sulla on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Holy crap, Sen. Gram just went for Obama’s jugular on FNC.
Cr4sh Dummy on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Greta, Lurch was there!
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 10:58 PM
http://www.vote.com
Chakra Hammer on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Obama was so pathetic.
I HAVE A BRACELET, TOO! (oh, so tacky) It’s from uh-uh-uh-uh-uh somebody’s mother.
OBAMA THE NEGATE.
Leader of Losers.
maverick muse on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
I can verify that…Took a gulp every time he said it…”hick”
Over.
1GooDDaDDy on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Huh? They’re seeing a man whose father came from Kenya run for the President of the United States.
Idiotic contradiction.
Saltysam on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Coming to you from the ER…I see Obama here, recovering from the bloodbath that just occured. McCain cleaned his clock.
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
Thought McCain won the debate. Now he needs a strong showing from Palin on OCT 2.
unseen on September 26, 2008 at 10:59 PM
I do not like the liberal republican.
I absolutely despise the weasel socialist.
After this debate,
I am resigned to getting used to the sound of “President Weasel Socialist”.
paulsur on September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Krautmeister on the way up.
SouthernGent on September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
+100 to all who said Lehrer was a good moderator. He drinks beer instead of Kool-Aid.
fiatboomer on September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Someone above said that “Obama was pissy.” I agree, but I prefer the term “petulant,” it’s more elitist.
29Victor on September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
I take it Obama is interviewing for Dancing with the Stars, cause it sure seemed like he did a lot of dancing tonight.
N4646W on September 26, 2008 at 11:00 PM
McCain crushed Obama on point after point.
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 11:01 PM
Well I have had a few just to lower the blood pressure, but the first round was squishy, but the rest went to McCain. Obama never answered the question about the reason for all the earmarks, and he could not see “prepare” does not fly with “preconditions”. The sit down with Imajerk and say “No you’re not”, comment and seal comment were stunners for McCain.
If I put myself in the spot of an Indie, I would have to say there is no way I would not trust McCain to do a better job based on the fact he has a record to base his case on. If as an Indie, you are wondering how safe you would be and if things would really change as far as Washington is concerned, then McCain is the answer.
freeus on September 26, 2008 at 11:01 PM
Change! Change the channel away from CNN or MSNBC!
Travis1 on September 26, 2008 at 11:01 PM
Holy crap! 84% McCain. Of course I did my part.
baldilocks on September 26, 2008 at 11:01 PM
Biden on CNN, he’s going after McCain on both wars.
Cr4sh Dummy on September 26, 2008 at 11:02 PM
So far the Drudge poll has Mac winning 73-25 with about 41,000 votes.
pugwriter on September 26, 2008 at 11:02 PM
Half the debate that was supposed to be about foreign policy — McCain’s strength — was spent instead on the economy, which is already supposed to be the main subject of another debate. Trust a journalist to drop everything to key on the big news of the day.
I would hope that the debate focused on the economy would be half-spent on foreign policy. It would be only fair.
But I bet it won’t be.
theregoestheneighborhood on September 26, 2008 at 11:02 PM
I honestly wasn’t sure how McCain would do, but any fair-minded person whould say McCain beat Obama tonight.
davenp35 on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
http://news.aol.com/elections/debates/
Chakra Hammer on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Let’s face it, most of the plebs only watched the first thirty mins. It’s those plebs that this debate was for. Yeah, yeah, yeah John knew his stuff and ended up throwing Barry on the mat. But by that time the plebs were watching either the Playboy or the Knitting Channel.
Limerick on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
did Krauthammer switch sides?????????????
HawaiiLwyr on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Cnn.com has a big picture of Obama and a headline about healing America’s image.
BIAS.
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Krauthammer calls it a draw, which I agre with.
JIMV on September 26, 2008 at 11:03 PM
Everybody go to CNN.com and vote!
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Good luck getting your vote in. Requires registration, which requires e-mail address verification. Been waiting to register for 15 minutes so far.
All of which says to me that the voting will be skewed in favor of the regular MSNBC nutroots.
connertown on September 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM
O.K., I’m done with Charles Krauthammer.
anniekc on September 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Palin has no excuse for not pummeling Biden on foreign policy with Mac as her mentor.
pugwriter on September 26, 2008 at 11:04 PM
At one point, I was wondering if Obama was just going to say “uncle” and walk off the stage. He got so damn flustered.
My favorite moment….
Sit down with Iran and what….
“We’re going to wipe Isreal off the map.”
“No you’re not.”
Classic. The old boy is growing on me.
HornetSting on September 26, 2008 at 11:05 PM
debate poll
http://cnn.com/
indythinker on September 26, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Biden is on CNN, will we see Sarah??
tdavisjr on September 26, 2008 at 11:05 PM
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