A thread for discussion of the US presidential debate as it happens. As with last week’s vice-presidential debate, I won’t tell you shut up if you indulge in partisan name-calling. The other thread remains open for those wishing to discuss the presidential race more broadly.
Author: William Bowe
William Bowe is a Perth-based election analyst and occasional teacher of political science. His blog, The Poll Bludger, has existed in one form or another since 2004, and is one of the most heavily trafficked websites on Australian politics.
View all posts by William Bowe
obama wins the coin toss and goes first ….
SO EXCITED!
Morning Bludgers,
I notice red ties seem to be the thing in the hall tonight
first question is from a guy who wants to know the fastest way to bail people out of the economic ruin that they are facing (to obama)
worm likes obamas answer to this question … my 10yo says ‘mum, look at how high the worm is for obama’ ….. 🙂
What channel has the worm?
[I notice red ties seem to be the thing in the hall tonight]
Yeah, they just crashed a meeting of the Associated Communist & Republican League of Tennessee.
again from the 10yo, ‘mum, the worm doesn’t like mccain when he tries to answer the same question’ 😉 ……
Oz, CNN ……
I simply don’t think proposing another round of tax cuts will be seen as an adequate solution to this problem.
Channel 9 with the pirate feed? =P
Will McCain nod off into a “nanna nap”? 🙂
mccain tries to make a bad joke at brokaw’s expense ……
ShowsOn, I think you give the American voter far too much credit.
obama is asked for who should be or would be his treasury secretary … he won’t commit to a full answer to the question but says warren buffett would be a good choice …
btw, the worm is also monitoring today uncommited ohio voters, same demographic but different people, as the VP debate …
mccain answering a question about the bailout plan and tries to play semantics and says it is NOT a bailout plan it is a rescue plan. apparently rescue has better connotations than bailout? …..
Worm didn’t like “Senator Obama’s cronies”.
mccains answer (re q in #17), worm doesn’t like it at all, flatline or slightly below the line …..
Everytime McCain has gone negative the worm has tanked, but 3:2 men to women – the exact opposite ratio from the VP debate.
Obama correcting mccain’s version of events from things that happened 12 mos ago 😉
If the Government goes out and buys up bad home loans, then that just increases the exposure of tax payers to the bad debt. Which in the longer term will require higher taxes to cover the debt.
The blokes on the worm dont seem to believe a word that either of them are saying!
mccain is trying to tell people he has been fighting for the little man, i.e. the “maverick” argument … the worm doesn’t buy it, worm is flatlined ….
[The blokes on the worm dont seem to believe a word that either of them are saying!]
How did the worm go when McCain said Obama supports tax increases and pork barrel projects?
Sensible chaps.
McCain’s war on earmarks looks like worm Serapax
Didnt really move at all ShowsOn
“Some of this 700billion ends up in the hands of terrorist organisations” says McCain.
WTF?
Obama ought to be buying fuel at our prices, just mentioned nashville folks pay $3.80 US gallon for their fuel …..
I thought this debate was meant to be more impassioned according to media hype.
Obama is making sure that every time McCain attacks one of his position he responds. He doesn’t let anything go by. He doesn’t want to look weak.
Wow, lucky that McCain is a Republican, it is political death for Democrats to attack the defense budget.
What!? He says there is lax spending in defense, but then says he will exclude defense from a spending freeze!
A lot of you will remember the tragedy of 9/11?
If they go over their time limit for an answer why don’t they just turn off their microphone?
[If they go over their time limit for an answer why don’t they just turn off their microphone?]
Yeah, or why doesn’t Brokaw just interrupt them, which they will try to avoid because it sounds bad.
Begs the question: who’s forgotten?
Also: “How to safely store nuclear energy” … ?
Yup …. 9/11 is one of those days that you don’t forget where you were and what you were doing. Challenger explosion in 1986 is another one for me.
Can they get someone to help McCain onto that really high stool? 🙂
And then he’ll bitch at them afterwards, MAN UP BROKAW.
McCain talks about Obama’s tax policies and the worm goes below the line ….. talks about refundable tax credit for health insurance but doesn’t mention that he will tax their health insurance benefits …..
Warning: “Shameless tax bribes”!
(JWH would blush.)
Worm likes Obama talking about CEO’s who should NOT get tax cuts (i.e no tax cuts for the rich) and no golden parachutes either ……
I’m watching it without the worm
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
For those of us without a TV, how’s it seeming so far folks?
McCain is getting killed by the Worm in about 90% of the debate so far.
sif “tv”
im using teh interweb
:O
[For those of us without a TV, how’s it seeming so far folks?]
Nil all draw.
However, McCain has lowered his patronising tone from the last debate, it seems he realises that didn’t go down too well.
Have there been any “game-changing” moments so far?