I just hope you're right.

Very well put, Mr. Klein. McCain looked like the loser he really is. The lying, cheap shot, shallow, bottom feeding self-centered loser he really is. The weak, impotent, kowtowing houseboy he really is. A scared little boy, lost in the shadow of men like Obama (and McCain’s father, and grandfather). The sleaze merchant who has joined himself at the hip with the same feral political cowards who eviscerated him in 2000. The same impotent houseboy who's sending his equally narcissistic and castrating wife out to lie for him, as he has exactly no ethical capital left. The empty, wasted shell of bitter mediocrity formerly known as John McCain.

Because Ezra distinctly remembers at 7 years old how Bush debated in 1992...

I think you're right.

Rob, there was this thing called videotape...even way back in 1992.

Totally agree. Without considering the state of the race on the whole, I thought the first debate was basically a draw. This time, I thought Obama completely dominated the debate, and the physical contrast was definitely part of that.

and poor cindy....

you can also tell alot about a person by looking at the their spouse....and cindy mccain looked really weary tonight...not her usual princesslike and imperious self.
i bet the last three weeks with john have hardly been a picnic, and she is more than ready to get away by herself to miraval, or wherever the rich ladies go for extreme pampering.
i bet she has had it with dust and motorcycle fumes all over her galanos suits.... twenty thousand joe sixpacs squeezing her delicate, swanlike fingers and entertaining the palin clan at her home in sedona. which must have been like opening up her mansion to the clampetts.
she made a valiant effort, but she is hardly cut out to be the "people's princess." i think she must be so over the rigors of the campaign trail.

Wasn't this supposed to be McCain's format? He just seemed so awkward throughout it, from the failed jokes to the creepy way he slowly approached and patted the back of the veteran who asked the Israel question near the end.

Obama won the first debate, and for many of the same reasons. McCain's never looking at Obama, smirking during Obama's answers, combined mediocre responses . . . that was a loser.

Frankly, I thought Palin won the VP debate, but I'm prejudiced towards Palin.

I did not see enough of tonight's debate to judge, but I expect I would agree that McCain lost this debate as well. Most conservatives argue that he loses the debate all over the place, starting with his policies and ending with saying stuff like he's going to put Al Gore as the Climate Czar in his cabinet.

I still think the election is going to be close, but can't agree with certain conservative pundits who I respect that consider Barack "unelectable". He's clearly electable, and history would indicate a Democrat win this time out, even if they ran an old toothbrush.

And Obama is a charismatic campaigner and has been running an excellent campaign. If he loses, I'm really going to believe, in my heart of hearts, it was about race and ancestry more than anything else, because he's run an excellent campaign, sounds a lot more moderate than I suspect he actually is, and is really charismatic.

On the other hand, McCain is probably more moderate than he sounds, is not charismatic, and has run a clumsy campaign. I just don't see a way McCain takes it, without some sort of national scale Bradley Effect.

you are so right Ezra. McCain is just too tired, too too tired. it's nappy time for him.

Kevin,

Why, exactly, did you think that Sarah Palin won the first debate? Can you point to three instances--hell, even one instance where she clearly gave a better answer to a question than Biden or had a direct attack that he did not have a response to?

Oh, and btw, you are automatically disqualified if you mention one of the 5 billion times she winked at the camera.

Yep, Ezra, McCain's stage wanderings didn't do him ANY good. People often think they are good at something when outside observers would conclude differently. McCain really WANTED weekly town halls - good for him that Obama didn't oblige.

McCain really do the retirement hall shuffle (visible on full body shots when he walked), and from the rear he looks 90 something instead of early 70's (which would be bad enough).

McCain's 'that one' comment about Obama is gaining lots of attention, as well as McCain's obvious disdain for the black guy who asked about the financial situation, with McCain's answer presuming that the guy could not be expected to know of Fanny/Freddie (like the old lawyer's rule that you should not ever ask a question that you don't know the answer to - McCain and any pol should never presume up front that a citizen doesn't understand some issue).

Of minor import: Ron Reagan's wife was smart enough to keep her hubby well hair-colored throughout his career, taking off maybe 10-15 years from his apparent age. McCain's snow white back/side hair, cut senior barbershop style, and his bald top make McCain look 10 years older than his birth certificate.

Did you notice on CNN how the wavy instant-reaction lines from their focus group zeroed out each time McCain said 'my friends'?

He's done: get out the carving knife and carving fork. Just hope that he was well tenderized and baked very slow to loosen up that tough old bird.

You lost me after "I'm prejudiced towards Palin".

Why in the fuck would a person who is capable of stringing two, hell, ONE coherent sentence together be in favour of such an undeniable nitwit?

You lost me after "I'm prejudiced towards Palin". Why in the fuck would a person who is capable of stringing two, hell, ONE coherent sentence together be in favour of such an undeniable nitwit?

Kevin's brand of conservativism is a sort of winking, self-aware, ironic conservativism. I suspect he knows as well as any of us what a joke Palin is.

It's a silly criterion, but I agree that it will probably have an effect.

The biggest moment of the debate for me was when _McCain_ said the presidency needed a cool hand. You would think he would at least be aware that he is notoriously hot-tempered, but apparently it slipped his mind.

What bugged me most about McCain was the creepy whistling sound through his false teeth. It really grated on me.

Kevin's brand of conservativism is a sort of winking, self-aware, ironic conservativism.

I can't dispute the assertion that such a thing exists (see, PJ O'Rourke's "Republican Party Reptile" and "How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink"), it's incompatible with an affection for Palin, who comes from the "irony free zone" segment of the Republican party.

The focus on who won the debate is as sickening to me as the media's insistence on covering this like a horse race. The only way a performance can be crowned a win or a loss is if one of the candidates majorly screws up, or if the performance significantly moves public opinion. I saw nothing of the former last night, and I'll wait for the post debate polls today, but my hunch is that this didn't move anything.

it's incompatible with an affection for Palin, who comes from the "irony free zone" segment of the Republican party.

Yeah, but that's what makes it so amusing for people to express their affection for her. It's kind of like when people say that Abba is their favorite band. (Though some people really mean it, including, if I remember correctly, John McCain.)

Actually, it probably has more to do with how much she pisses off liberals. Even witty, ironic conservatives love that shit.

McCain looked like some fucked up old stenographer, back there with his little pad and pen, taking notes on the next President. Enjoy your retirement, you washed up old hack.

Jacqueline, it drives me crazy when you bash Cindy McCain for being rich. Just because she has a lot of money does NOT mean she is a bad person. She is a very active philanthropist. You have several times now climbed up onto your high horse to insult her because of her money, and that's totally unwarranted and unfair.

And before you accuse me of being annoyed by this because i myself am rich, i will tell you now that i am decidedly not. But in the same way i was brought up not to discriminate people for being poor, i won't discriminate them for being rich either.

"Frankly, I thought Palin won the VP debate, but I'm prejudiced towards Palin."

Makes sense given that Palin is quite prejudiced herself.

Booyah!

"just because she has a lot of money doesnt mean she is a bad person."

it certainly does not.
it is her ostentation and haughty imperiousness that i find so objectionable.
we have seen examples of that during this campaign, which have already been discussed.
i also find her comments against both michelle and barack obama to be highly offensive....for someone who has been blessed with a life of privilege, she may be philanthropic,but she does not have a charitable nature.

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