scaeagles, which part of Obama's plans (which, yeah, are just elect-me bluster) freak you out? Is it the drawdown of troops from Iraq to increase the levels in Afghanistan? Is it the closing of corporate tax loopholes and not giving businesses a further tax break, but instead extending that break to individuals making less than $200,00 annually? Is it the committment to invest as heavily as possible in renewal energies, including nuclear power?

Those seem to be the 3 topics he belabored through the debate. He barely mentioned his healthcare plan, and when he did, it was with zero detail. If that's what you object to, I call shenanigans. He didn't mention anything about it during the debate, except the vague goal of all Americans having "access" to "basic" healthcare.


Please don't fall for what McCain might have said about it. It's best discount the way each candidate mischaracterizes the positions of the other. Dirty pool.

The quick hit on polls say Obama "won".

I'd agree with what others have said here, that neither candidate screwed up badly, neither did spectacularly well. McCain got in some great foreign policy jabs, though Obama's handling of the format gave him an edge in my book. He addressed Jim, John, and the camera, and did it fluidly. Visually, Obama killed. McCain's eyes were watery and he blinked a lot. I can't stand that awful smile McCain has when he disagrees with Obama - cringeworthy.

oh ... and Goonie's observation that McCain sounds like a grandfather explaining toy trains is right on. He's so patronizing in his tone. Ycch.


I thought the best line of the night was Obama's ... in response to McCain's spending freeze plan ... that the budget is best addressed with a scalpel, not a hatchet.

It was not the only time I thought he made McCain look a little too stupid to be president.


Sigh, not that that's not a highly electible quality. Americans seem to like stupid in their presidents.

I think it was NBC's Brian Williams who observed that McCain really doesn't like Obama and lets it show in his body language, facial expressions and tone of voice. He lets himself get perturbed by his disdain for his opponent, and that makes him look like a jerk. (That last part is mine ;) )

Amazing about the North Korean malnutrition problem. Wow.

One of Kim Jong Il's loonier moves was when someone from Britain gave North Korea a dozen rabbits, very large rabbits, so North Korea could attempt to start a population to use as food for the country. Instead, Il ate them at a banquet for his birthday.

:)

There weren't any strikeouts, nor were there home runs, but I really liked the debate. I think that both of the candidates did a good job of expressing their opinions and represented their differences in a clear way. I'm still voting for Obama, but like scaeagles, if the other guy wins, I'm not going to give up on America. Now if they'd both dump their VP choices...

Just curious...why would you want Obama to dump Biden?

So this opinion has nothing to do with either of their politics, but if one were deciding purely on what body language and the ability to look sincere Obama won by a landslide. McCain kept chuckling at him. At one point Obama looked at someone off camera and gave them a lovely smile. After the debate when they both greeted their wives it seemed that there is actual intimacy between Obama and Michelle while McCain and wife's greeting seemed very forced.

Say what you will about all politicians being the same, but I think Obama has McCain trumped on character and heart.

Sleepyjeff: If by "media conditioning" you mean televising what Palin actually says, you are so right. Maybe they should start over-dubbing with someone who actually knows what she's talking about?

I do think the VP debate will be tricky stuff. Biden's going to have to try not to make it look like a complete bloodbath. Palin's going to be pure slime in avoidance of answering actual questions.

It's not just that McCain sounded patronizing to someone younger, it's that Obama is also Black. My husband remembers hitchhiking through Mississippi years ago. He got a ride with a delivery man who had his Black "boy" with him who made all the deliveries while he chatted with customers. My husband said McCain's tone was just like that man's to his "boy".