Live Blog: Second 2008 Presidential Debate

I live-blogged the second presidential debate, and I surely made some mistakes in grammar and spelling (and even fact) as I attempted to follow the exchange. As is needed, I'll revise this document later.

6:00: After days of particularly vitriolic mud-slinging, I wonder if this debate needs a moderator or a referee. We'll see...

6:01: There are really 80 uncommitted voters left in the country? Who are these people?

6:03: No fists thrown yet. There's hope.

6:04: Obama: "We are in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." Why? Limited regulations, supported by McCain.

6:05: Obama promises tax cuts for the middle class. Just who isn't in the Middle Class, according to these folks?

6:06: After refusing to give his opponent so much as a sideways glance last time, it's nice that Senator McCain has chosen to acknowledge that Senator Obama is in the same room. For about a half-second.

6:07: McCain is doing a solid job of interacting with his audience, covering specific detail about his admittedly expensive home loan protection program.

6:07: McCain's first use(s) of "my friends." Take a drink!

6:08: McCain: "Not you, Tom." Oh my... "Grumpy McCain" is in the house!

6:10: Obama, it's best not use the phrase "flat-lined" and mention McCain in the same answer.

6:11: McCain is referencing his courageous choice to "leave" his campaign. Does anybody really believe that story?

6:12: McCain cites Senator Obama "and his cronies." Yikes!

6:13: Obama talks to Oliver. Here's to you first. I'll get to McCain momentarily...

6:14: Obama: "I've got to correct a little bit of Senator McCain's history - not surprisingly." Zing.

6:15: Obama: "You're not interested in hearing politicians pointin' fingers." Again with the dropped-Gs.

6:16: Brokaw: Is the economy going to get much worse?

6:17: McCain: "It depends on what we do." We need to get rid of the cronyism.

6:18: Again McCain tries to cover his 'economy is fundamentally sound' line by citing "the workers" as our fundamental strength.

6:19: Obama: "I understand your frustration and your cynicism." The woman in front of the questioner is looking at Obama like he just passed gas.

6:20: Obama: "I'm cutting more than I'm spending."

6:21: McCain: "I have been a consistent reformer."

6:22: McCain cites Obama's support for $860 billion in more spending.

6:23: It looks like McCain is going after the Pickens People with his many references to energy independence.

6:24: "My friends" again: Take another drink!

6:24: McCain seems to be both wandering on his feet and among his thoughts.

6:25: How much of this spending goes into terrorist organizations, Senator McCain? That's quite a claim.

6:25: Obama is willing to play the prioritization game. McCain, not so much.

6:27: Obama hits back on earmarks by way of tax cuts for the wealthy: Lots-o-bux for big corporations.

6:28: Nice line about the "time deficit," Brokaw.

6:29: McCain asked about sacrifices necessary to get out of our economic mess promises to eliminate those programs that are not working. First to go: defense pork.

6:29: What's with that "overhead projector" that Obama asked for (according to McCain)?

6:30: McCain: "We're not rifle-shots here. We're Americans." Huh?

6:30: Obama: "A lot of you remember the tragedy of 9/11." You sure?

6:31: Obama turns to energy: We all need to think about how we consume and save energy.

6:32: Obama gives props to the "young people of America."

6:33: Brokaw: How can a president help Americans break bad habits?

6:34: Obama notes that earmarks account for $18 billion of our budget and sticks the shiv again on McCain's support for tax breaks going to the wealthy.

6:35: Obama refers (again) to the hatchet vs. scalpel line.

6:35: McCain: Nailing Obama is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.

6:36: McCain reports that Senator Obama has a "secret." Sure, McCain's talking about harm to small business. But I know that this "Secret Obama" stuff is a sly reference to something much more scary to some voters.

6:37: McCain has news for Obama.

6:37: We have another question from "the internet." Oh no! It's gained sentience!

6:38: Obama: The "Straight-Talk Express lost a wheel."

6:39: Obama claims that only a few small businesses make more than $200,000 a year. I wonder if that's remotely true [update: turns out, it's true].

6:40: Obama claims that McCain wants to give Fortune 500 CEOs tax cuts.

6:40: "My friends" again. Take another drink! Ohhh. I'm feeling shaky already.

6:42: McCain cites a distinction between rhetoric and record.

6:43: A questioner asks how fast we can tackle environmental issues.

6:44: McCain promises that nuclear power is safe and clean. And we can reprocess the fuel. OK. Where do we bury the waste?

6:45: Yo, Obama. from a current professor to a former one, the cerebral persona works in a conference or classroom, but not so much with Joe Sixpack (hell... Twelvepack, these days). Lively up!

6:46: Obama agrees (again) with Senator McCain, but notes that his opponent has voted against alternative fuels 23 times.

6:47: Brokaw reminds the debaters that there are lights in the room. Perhaps they might stay on time from now on - but I doubt it.

6:48: McCain refers to Obama as "that one." Classy.

6:49: No more "my friends" drinking game. Our nation's collective liver can't take the pain.

6:50: Lindsey asks if health care should be treated as a commodity. Obama downshifts to a generic health-care-is-expensive answer.

6:52: Obama takes another swat at McCain on taxing health benefits.

6:52: McCain follows Obama into generic-land, ignoring Lindsey's focus on health-care-as-commodity

6:53: McCain warns us: "Senator Obama will fine you."

6:54: Ohhh. McCain talks about hair transplants. Somewhere, Joe Biden bolts out of his seat.

6:55: Brokaw asks if health care is a privilege or a right or a responsibility. Interesting. McCain focuses on responsibility - but not the one possessed by workers.

6:56: Obama replies: It should be a right and cites his mother's suffering with insurance companies. Nailed it.

6:57: Obama says, yes, folks must ensure that their children must be given health care. That's a mandate I can get behind.

6:58: Obama connects the risk of health care hijinks to those of our financial institutions.

6:59: A questioner asks whether we can remain a "peacemaker" in the world.

7:00: McCain floats around the edges of the question. Truthfully, I would like to know more about how the Senator would, as President, decide how to expend American blood and treasure in the future.

7:01: Obama: It's true, there's a lot I don't understand. Then he turns the knife onto McCain's judgment.

7:03: At least they agree that the United States is the greatest nation on Earth. Whew!

7:04: Brokaw pushes: What is the Obama Doctrine and the McCain Doctrine on peace-making?

7:04: Obama points backward to the Holocaust and Rwanda as times we shouldn't have stood idly by, times we should have acted. OK. How do we decide in the future? No doctrine seems to be forthcoming.

7:06: McCain: Here's my doctrine: Obama would have brought our troops home in defeat.

7:06: McCain: We must temper our peace-making impulses with an awareness of our abilities and limitations.

7:08: McCain says "never again" to the Holocaust and Rwanda. Good to have that cleared up.

7:08: Questioner asks if we should respect Pakistan's borders. Tough question.

7:09: Obama provides some background but the clock is ticking to answer the question.

7:10: Obama is against coddling dictators. Yes, but... the question...

7:10: About a minute and a half later, Obama answers: Yes, we'll cross the border if necessary.

7:11: McCain: Obama says he wants to announce that he will cross the border.

7:12: McCain: We drove the Russians out of Afghanistan with the help of freedom fighters. Pop quiz: Can you guess who one of those "freedom fighters" was?

7:13: Obama v. McCain: War of the "follow-ups"

7:14: Obama won't let the argument about crossing the borders go. He's the terminator! "He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And he absolutely will not stop, ever!"

7:14: Obama pierces McCain's "speak softly but carry a big stick" line. Bomb-bomb-bomb Iran.

7:15: McCain responds: "Not true." I understand what it's like to send soldiers into harm's way.

7:15: McCain: I know how to get Osama bin Laden. Wow, it'd be sweet if you might have shared that with our government a few years ago.

7:18: McCain notes that at least somewhere Obama is correct on some ideas. Nice. He was wrong on Iraq, though. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

7:19: The internet-as-questioner returns: How can we avoid another Cold War? Yeah, "the internet" is concerned about a war between ourselves and the Russians. Listen up, people! Don't you remember The Terminator?

7:20: McCain warns again: Watch out for Ukraine.

7:21: Obama takes a dee-ee-ep sigh. Dude, you look pained. Did someone switch your arugula salad with a Patty Melt?

7:22: Obama returns to the 21st-century challenges line. Clever, subtle dig.

7:23: Brokaw asks for a "yes or no" to the "Is Russia an Evil Empire." Obama avoids the binary trap one way, McCain approaches it another way: "Maybe."

7:24: Navy veteran Terry Shirey asks whether the candidates would commit military force against Iran.

7:25: McCain shakes Shirey's hand, one vet to another. Boom! Visual of the night.

7:26: Obama is probably thinking to himself: Ah geez, again with the "no preconditions" line.

7:27: Obama brings out the old "We honor your service" line.

7:27: Obama promises not to take military options off the table. No UN veto power. But we should "use all the tools at our disposal to prevent the scenario where we've got to make those choices."

7:28: Obama reaffirms: We should have direct talks with Iran.

7:29: Last question from "the internet," which has manifested itself as "Peggy."

7:30: Obama sideswipes the question, What don't you know? Answer: The fuuuuture.

7:32: McCain liked that answer: I don't know the future either!

7:33: McCain: "I know what it's like in dark times." Take a good long gulp. McCain made yet another reference to his POW experience. Somewhere out there, a former New York City mayor (middle name: 9/11) is nodding his head: "Milk it, 9/11! Milk it for all it's (9/11) worth, 9/11!"

7:34: McCain promises a steady hand at the tiller.

7:34: McCain and Obama stand in the way of Brokaw's script. That's a paddlin'.

7:34: Debate concludes.

Who won? Neither managed to score any fatal blows. As with the last debate, McCain supporters will find much to love about their candidate and Obama supporters will continue to stand by their man. On points, I'd find for Obama, particularly for his "health care is a right" reply. That answer is much more likely to resonate with voters. But the debate was hardly a game-changer.

Tonight's Debate

Tonight marks the second presidential debate, which takes place during a period of economic panic that seems to be spreading worldwide. True, following another stock market drop-off yesterday (with the Dow settling below 10,000 for the first time in four years), today's markets are merely dipping into negative territory but not yet taking the plunge (note: until late afternoon when the Dow completed another 500+ point drop). Still, the overall sense of risk is keeping everyone on edge. Just how bad has this crisis become, and how much worse can it get?

For that reason, among many others, I look forward to this debate. I hope that the candidates will be challenged to display some understanding of the problems we face, proposing their ideas for how to get out of this mess. Truthfully, few people expect that an American president can do much to fix our economy. The contagion is too deeply embedded and too globally dispersed to be repaired from the Bully Pulpit. Nonetheless, it'll be useful to see if candidates can get past Red State/Blue State banalities and face our challenges honestly, directly, and soberly.

Unfortunately, this week has seen a remarkable increase in attack ads as McCain and Obama throw guilt-by-association charges at each other, muddying the race with deception and innuendo. Both candidates blame each other for this disturbing political turn and neither appears ready to deescalate and address our real problems.

Once again, I plan to live-blog the debate tonight. It'll be an interesting experiment given the increase in variables to observe. I understand that the format calls for a Town Hall-style encounter, one more likely to inspire real interaction between the candidates and with audience members. Political observers report that McCain thrives in this format while Obama fares slightly less well. All I want? Reasoned clash, coherent specifics, and thoughtful nuance.

We will see…

Tiki Doesn't Have to be Taki

Eric Felten has written a solid article in The Wall Street Journal (October 4) celebrating the ongoing revival of the tiki craze. Here's a thought-provoking snip:

I suspect Donn [the Beachcomber] would have frowned at the technological tethers -- cellphones, BlackBerries and such -- that bind us to our workaday world. We live in an obnoxiously insistent age, with its relentless blog slog and the Sisyphean ordeal of answering emails. This tyranny of hyper-connection may be why tiki culture has a new resonance -- the promise of being detached from the cyber-grind. A thatched hut on some forgotten atoll is the sort of place alluring in its lack of cell coverage.

Happily, the article offers plenty of praise for Alameda's sublime Forbidden Island (though I think Felten could heap more righteous scorn on San Francisco's awful Tonga Room).

Read the entire article, Tiki Doesn't Have to be Tacky

Friday Fun Post: Goofy Signs

These are not my photos. They're from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which has posted a series of goofy signs that might inspire a smile. Here's the link to see more.

Live-Blog: 2008 Vice Presidential Debate

I live-blogged the vice presidential debate, and I surely made some mistakes in grammar and spelling (and even fact) as I attempted to follow the exchange. I'll revise this document later.

6:00: Years ago, I heard some version of this phrase, "Wars are fought by professionals, but the battlefield is filled with amateurs." I'm flashing back on that insight as we begin tonight's debate.

On the Democratic side: a seasoned professional, a member of the United States Senate since he was 30. On the Republican side: a "Hockey Mom" candidate who transforms Joe-Sixpack, Just-Folksism into a virtue.

Tonight we will see a contemporary manifestation of the ancient debate between elitism and populism.

Many prognosticators foretell a blowout one way or the other: a cringe-inducing gaffe by Senator Biden or an embarrassing display of ignorance by Governor Palin.

Me? I anticipate that both candidates will work hard to make no news at all. Both can at times be frustratingly dense. But neither is stupid. Both know that they cannot win so much as they can lose. So there will be few fireworks. At the outset, that's what I predict.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog-post, I'm evaluating this debate according to three criteria: clash, specificity, and nuance. From that perspective, I hope to focus my remarks upon the serious issues raised tonight. But beware: If I spot too much silliness, I may get a little rowdy.

Well, here we go...

6:02: Only 90 seconds for answers and two minutes for follow-up exchange? Lovely. The comparative lack of opportunities for genuine exchange between these candidates promises some pretty low-caliber clash. This debate has been organized to preclude the possibility of, well, debate. Let's see how long these rules hold up.

6:03: "Can I call you Joe?" Oh my...

6:04: Biden lays out "four basic criteria": Good. We see some specifics early on.

6:05: Palin: "Go to a kid's soccer game . . . I betcha..."

6:06: Palin gives a sly look at Biden when dismissing "people in the Senate" who failed to heed John McCain's call for reform.

6:07: Biden: Oh, John? You remember that you celebrated the economy being "strong"?

6:08: Palin: The American workforce is what McCain means by our "strong economy." Yeah, that's the ticket.

6:09: Moderator Gwen Ifill noticed something a bit annoying. Neither candidate seemed to answer the question.

6:10: Palin: "Darn right!"

6:10: The first reference to "Joe Six-Pack."

6:11: Biden has chosen to bypass his opponent's "you betcha" optimism. Thank goodness, though, that he believes that John McCain is a "good man." I was worried.

6:12: Biden is zeroing in McCain's support for deregulation.

6:12: Nice story about Joey not being able to fill up his tank!

6:13: Clash! "The vote she's referring to, John McCain voted the exact same way."

6:14: Palin: "I may not answer the questions the way the moderator or you want..." Well, that's one way to go...

6:15: Senator Biden, has anyone ever mentioned how much your smile resembles that of Rod Serling?

6:15: Palin lets the attack drop entirely on McCain's record on deregulation.

6:16: Biden: No one making less that $200,000 will see their taxes increase. "When you do well, America does well."

6:17: Palin: You're forgetting the millions of small businesses that fit into that category.

6:19: Turning to McCain's health care plan. Palin offers some detail: a tax credit. Then she claims that Obama's plan is universal and mandatory, which is an error in fact.

6:19: Biden: "We don't call that redistribution, we call that fairness."

6:20: Biden continues the clash: That tax credit is paid for by taxation elsewhere.

6:21: First laugh of the night: Biden's reference to "bridge to nowhere."

6:21: Biden tosses foreign aid when asked what must be cut in these tight economic times. Stay classy, Joe!

6:22: "The light is blinking": Senator Biden, that pounding, throbbing sound you hear is the collective racing heartbeat of your handlers hoping that you will stop talking.

6:23: Palin on those oil company CEOs: "Bless their hearts." That's nice.

6:24: Palin: "How long have I been at this, five weeks?" That about covers it.

6:25: Biden asks a rhetorical question: Why is John McCain adding another tax cut for oil companies?

6:26: No answer from Palin (though, to be fair, there's no time).

6:27: What is it with Palin and "rearing heads"?

6:28: Biden does a good job of addressing his voting differences with Obama.

6:29: Rather than answer the question, Palin chooses to talk about "my record on energy."

6:29: The first reference to those danged "East-coast politicians."

6:30: Palin: Energy independence is necessary for this nation's future. Bold talk, Governor.

6:31: Palin: "I don't want to argue about the causes" of climate change. Hmmm. I do!

6:33: Biden: John McCain has voted 20 times against alternative energy funding. What say you, Governor?

6:34: Palin: "Yes, Senator McCain does support this." Well, it's nice to get that settled...

6:35: Biden is looking at Palin as if she's mildly drunk.

6:35: "Nu-CU-ler"? Really? Still?

6:36: Biden pushes the attack: 20 times against...

6:36: Turning to same-sex partnerships.

6:37: Palin resists any policies that change the traditional definition of marriage. Immediately thereafter, she affirms her tolerance. "I will tell Americans straight up": I bet you will.

6:38: Ifell: "Let's try to avoid nuance, Senator." No, let's not.

6:39: Turning to foreign policy...

6:39: Palin: "I am very thankful...": We have a candidate for most pointlessly repeated phrase of the debate.

6:40: Palin pulls out the old 'they voted to cut funding for the troops' line.

6:41: Biden: "With all due respect, I didn't hear a plan."

6:41: Clash! Biden won't allow that 'they didn't vote to fund the troops' silliness.

6:42: Palin: "Your plan is a white flag of surrender." Wow.

6:43: Rather than continue the thread about the comparative plans, Palin chooses to attack Obama and sickeningly bring Biden's family into her argument.

6:45: Turning to Iran and Pakistan...

6:45: Biden: "Pakistan already has nuclear weapons." Interesting point.

6:46: Biden: Any attack on the U.S. will come from Afghanistan and/or Pakistan.

6:46: Biden cites the fight for "hearts and minds." Senator Biden, the ghosts of Vietnam, line one.

6:47: Palin mispronounces "nuclear" again. Take another drink!

6:48: Again with the "no preconditions" line.

6:49: Apparently Palin recently had a great conversation with Dr. Kissinger.

6:49: Biden: And, oh yeah, five secretaries of state said we ought to talk with our enemies.

6:51: Ooops. John McCain did say he wouldn't talk with the government of Spainnnnnnnn. Pause and let that sink in.

6:52: Palin knows of the existence of Jordan and Egypt.

6:53: Biden shows a little nuance "in fairness to Secretary Rice."

6:53: Biden cites "the country immediately to the north of Israel." Go ahead and say it, Lebanon. We can handle the truth, Joe.

6:54: Biden takes a deep breath. Dude, that mic is hot. Relax.

6:55: Palin assures us that positive change is coming. The impressive range and length of Senator Palin's happy-talk, if transformed into electrical energy, could power all of Alaska.

6:55: Biden: "I haven't heard how ____ will be different than George Bush's." How many times was that?

6:56: Palin: "Nu CU ler" weapons. Take another drink, but only one per answer. Otherwise you may not make it through the night.

6:58: Biden: "Facts matter, Gwen."

6:58: Biden: "Let me say that again." No, it's OK. We have Tivo.

6:59: Biden: "My time is almost up." Was that also a rhetorical statement?

7:00: Palin: The surge-I-mean-counter-insurgency strategy will work in Afghanistan.

7:01: Good. There's plenty of exchange. I was afraid this would be a series of competitive talking-points. Not so.

7:01: Biden: "I think the American people have the stomach for success." I'm not so sure. My stomach is filled with chicken wings.

7:02: Biden: "I gave the president the power." Watch it, Joe. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

7:03: Palin: "Oh, man. It's so obvious I'm a Washington outsider." Need directions home, Governor?

7:05: Biden answers a question about lines to be crossed prior to American intervention. For a while. "Let's go back to John McCain's strategy."

7:06: Biden uses a 25-cent-word, "contemporaneously." That's gonna cost you, dude.

7:06: Palin: "John McCain, who knows how to win a war." Well...

7:07: Biden answers a stupid question smartly. What happens if Obama is killed? "God forbid that would ever happen..."

7:09: Palin seemed to like Biden's answer too: "And, heaven forbid..."

7:08: Palin sure is appreciative.

7:10: Palin is reaching out for those average working families again.

7:10: Biden hangs out on Main Street too! He promises!

7:11: "Walk with me in my neighborhood." Biden's ability to drop that line won him the veep spot.

7:12: Palin: "Say it ain't so, Joe!" To paraphrase from Joshua Villines' Facebook posting: snippy, passive-aggressive, and sarcastic is no way to go through life, Governor Palin.

7:12: Palin: "Here's a shout-out." Extra credit for the kids watching the debate!

7:13: Is the veep spot worth more than a warm pitcher of spit?

7:13: Double-checking: Is Palin still thankful? Yes!

7:14: Palin: "John McCain has already tapped me." Don't tell Cindy.

7:15: Ifell asks a tough question about the extent of the vice presidential job. Palin has no idea.

7:17: Biden cites the Constitution specifically and brings the pain unto Cheney. I heard the snap way out here in California.

7:18: Ifell asks Palin about her Achilles Heal. Apparently she doesn't have one.

7:19: Ahh, the "shining city upon a hill." Can you imagine American political discourse without that phrase?

7:20: Biden admits to his excessive passion. I admire your courage, Joe. That must have been tough.

7:20: I feel for Biden's sad loss of his first wife and a child. But still...

7:21: Did Joe almost cry? A couple of more seconds, I might have.

7:21: Don't worry. Palin is stayin' sunny!

7:22: Catch up time! Take a drink for every time Palin said the word, "maverick." Then again, don't.

7:23: Clash! He has not been a maverick in ____. Rinse, repeat.

7:24: America's kitchen tables are recognized tonight!

7:25: Joe Biden to Sarah Palin: "My specificity: Let me show it to you." Sarah Palin (channeling Homer Simpson) to Joe Biden: "Facts are meaningless. You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true."

7:25: Palin: "I quasi-caved." But I've never caved in principle.

7:26: Ifell: How do you change the tone in Washington?

7:27: Biden: When asked how he'd feel if he found that Senator Helms, a fierce opponent, had adopted a child, the senator replies, "I'd feel like a jerk." Question judgment not motives.

7:29: Palin has a problem with that trillion dollar spending proposal. She might want to check in with her party.

7:30: Palin also isn't a fan of the "mainstream media." Governor Palin, no doubt the ditto-heads are nodding furiously at this implication of media "bias." I would respectfully retort: People who rail against media bias actually seem only to reject messages that fail to conform to their own bias.

7:30: Palin wraps up with a nice speech. Really.

7:31: Biden: "Look folks..."

7:31: Biden manages to say something nice about John McCain before returning to the old neighborhood.

7:32: The debate concludes.

Who won? I'm gonna call it. Biden owned the stage. He maintained the clash that Palin sought to avoid. He employed specifics without calling Palin out on her lack of facts (too often). And he demonstrated the kind of nuance demanded by these days. On points and in quality, Joe Biden rocked the room.

Video Blog-Post: Watching the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate

This video blog-post lays out three possible criteria for evaluating tonight's debate. To view the video, either click the image above or the link below. Either way, please select "watch in high quality" to get the best possible image: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjrVdGEAsro

What Was I Expecting?

Yesterday I was searching for the Saturday Night Live skit of the interview between Katie Couric and Sarah Palin (chuckling how much of Tina Fey's spot-on script came nearly verbatim from the candidate's own words).

Eventually I discovered that YouTube wasn't allowing full versions of the skit to be uploaded and turned successfully to the NBC/SNL website - but not without finding this link first: "Watch Sarah Palin and Katie Couric While Working from Home."

I don't know what I was expecting, but what I got was a pitch for one of those "passive income opportunities" that litter our media. And while I should not have been surprised, I was nonetheless amazed.

Even with the "working from home" addendum, is there any other reason for this title except to draw traffic of people looking for something else? Sure, it may be a clever ruse, but it's also deceptive and manipulative.

I'd love to meet the person who gets fooled (like me) into watching this pitch and then says, "Hey! I want to give this guy some of my money!"

And, no: I'm not going to embed the video.