Live-Blogging the Last Debate

Sorry, I can't just sit here and listen, I need to write, so here's some live-blogging.

Joe the Plumber - Try this story for some background. Joe's a small business owner; to him, Obama is not the Chosen One.

You're no Reagan - McCain doesn't tell human-interest stories with quite the flair that Reagan did.

Barack the Populist - Saying taxes will go down for 95% of Americans?

Tighten your belts, you spend too much - Obama sounds like Jimmy Carter. Think malaise.

The Freeze - Seems like a reasonable idea to throw out during a campaign in tough times, but I haven't seen any buzz about it since McCain raised it in the last debate.

Going negative - Each asserts the other is going negative ... with examples. "I'm tough; you're negative," each says. Obama says 100% of McCain's ads are negative.

Dissing America's team - Not good, McCain.

Moderator Schieffer - This format and Schieffer as moderator seem to be creating better interaction and more forthright comments from the candidates.

Obama on Biden - The man from Scranton; he fights for the little guy.

McCain on Palin - She's a reformer who is not afraid to face down big corporations and corruption.

Obama on Palin - He avoids the experience issue. Wonder why?

McCain on Biden - Sure, he's qualified, except for his cockamamie ideas.

Canadian oil is fine - McCain won't be building a wall on our northern border.

I support free trade, but ... - The Columbian exchange was the first where Obama was a little weak, I think.

Dissing Detroit - Not good, Obama.

Health care, you're breakin' my heart - Obama's health plan to bankrupt the country. It'll save the federal budget? Is that a joke? Mr. Freeze touts his $5000 tax credit plan that nobody wants and talks to Joe the Plumber, who will probably be getting some new business this week.

I'm a Federalist - Washington, Adams, Marshall, McCain. No ideological tests for Supreme Court appointments, as long as they are strict constructionists.

Roe v. Wade - My connection blipped when Obama addressed right of privacy in relation to Supreme Court appointments.

Last question: Education - Obama praises early childhood education, which he claims shows great returns in terms of better outcomes later on. $4,000 tuition credit for community service to recruit more teachers. Obama disses parents. McCain endorses school choice and competition; suggests underperforming teachers find another line of work. Mr. Freeze opposes throwing money at the problem. Wants to put vets in the classroom as teachers. They both critique teachers and parents ... what about telling students to get with the program?

Vouchers - Obama's against them; McCain's for them.

McCain's last dance - Tough times for America; we need a new direction (sounds like a pitch for Obama). I'm a reformer (new word replacing "maverick"). Look at my record and my proposals. I have served my country; it's been the great honor of my life.

President Obama speaks - Tough times for America; we need a new direction and fundamental change. Brighter days are still ahead. Tax cuts and health care for all. I will work tirelessly on your behalf.

My quick conclusion - Obama looked and sounded good; McCain tried to hit on specific criticisms and proposals, but I'm not sure that scored many points. It was certainly the best of the three debates.

Comments

[Steve Evans]

Thanks for the write-up, Dave. I think the consensus is that this was the best debate, with the best moderator.

[Geoff B]

Dave, I couldn't bear to watch this debate, so I have been reading some recaps, and this was the best one so far. Thanks for this.

[the narrator]

Geoff,

I think you have to watch the debate as the demeanor and facial expressions portray (what I believe to be) significant aspects of their character.

[the narrator]

i think this photo best describes the debate

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//081016/ids_photos_ts/r1772410910.jpg/

[Jim Cobabe]

Dave,

My favorite debate issue was Joe the Plumber. It was difficult to listen to anything else. Both of the candidate seem to be wrapped in a fabric of lies and subterfuge. Why can't a political campaign just represent the truth, and let voters decide on the merits?

[Dave]

Yeah, the media is really picking up on Joe the Plumber. It's sort of classy how he refuses to endorse a candidate or say who he's going to vote for. The GOP ought to send Todd Palin over to have a couple of beers and invite Joe up for some snowmobiling. As goes Joe, so goes America.

[the narrator]

"It's sort of classy how he refuses to endorse a candidate or say who he's going to vote for."

Huh? He's even more obvious than you.

[Dave]

If you don't like Joe the Plumber, you're just a tough guy to please, narrator. Do you like anyone besides Obama, Wittgenstein, and maybe Che Guevara?

[the narrator]

I've got nothing against Joe the Plumber, besides that he wasn't paying his taxes. I'm glad that the Obama economic plan will actually help his new company get off the ground (he admittedly probably won't be making over $250,000 for a while).

I also like lot's of people. Such as my girlfriend, my family, my roommate Jordan, my bishop, Pres. Monson and pals in Salt Lake, Marlin K. Jensen, Richard Bushman who I am studying with right now, pre-GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, my profs at UVSC, that 'Hey Vern' guy, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Chuck Palahniuk, Cormac McCarthy, Saul Williams, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Robert Jordan, Thomas D. Fitzgerald, D.Z Phillips, Darren Aronofsky, Trent Reznor, Sufjan Stevens, BH Roberts, Eugene England, Lowell Benion, Bob Millet, Hugh Nibley, John Dominic Crosson, Marcus Borg, NT Wright, John Sanders, Bell Hooks, Simone de Bouvoir, Jack Johnson, Deion Sanders, Darren Williams, Trey Parker, Armand Mauss, Jim Faulkener, Adam Miller, Jaques Derrida, Socrates, D. Michael Quinn, Jesus, Orson Pratt, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Hugh B Brown, Bart Ehrman, Stanley Hauerwas, Jean-Paul Sartre, David Fincher, Tim Burton, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Sterling McMurrin, David Paulsen, my good friend Jack Jared Waters, Jack Johnson, Margaret Toscano, Grimace (that purple guy), whoever created string cheese, Bill Watterson, Alyosha Karamazov (though I acknowledge his isn't a real person), Dennis Potter, Brian Birch, Boyd Peterson, that guy who stood in front of the tank in Tienanmen Square, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Talmage, Joe Biden, David O. McKay, Ammon, Samuel the Lamanite, King Benjamin, Irshad Manji, Sister Helen Prejean, W.V.O. Quine, Zach de la Rocca, and you.

That's all that is on the top of my head.

I really don't know much about Che Guevara. I'm guessing you just threw that in as an attempt to categorize me. Though I must admit his portrayal in the film Motorcycle Diaries had me tear up - you know, the part when he swims across the water to be with the sick.

[Dave]

Deion Sanders?

[the narrator]

Yes. Prime time. Neon Deion. The best cornerback to ever play the position.