Call me crazy but the little Rep/Dem/Ind bars at the bottom were, on average, higher for Obama than they were for McCain.

"Spending freeze with the exceptions of veterans, national defense and 'several other vital issues'"

Oh well no worries then, that's not even remotely vague is it?

Not a very encouraging debate, overall.

I was pretty disappointed by the debate. It felt like both sides were just rehashing their campaign commercials, down to the attacks on each other. Hopefully the rest will be more interesting, but at the very least I expect to be entertained by watching Biden make a 5 course meal out of Palin.

The moderator really gets it--he calls them out on being exactly the same on the issues in this debate (3:38), and also calls them out on failing to debate each other and just running off prepared remarks (1:42).

1. bailout: mcain-yes, obama-yes
2. corporate taxes: mccain-35% rate,obama-39% rate
3. pakistan: mccain-invade,obama-invade
4. bracelets: mccain-yes,obama-yes
so, basically this debate was about 4%.

these highlights make me cringe...i'd hate to see what the rest of the debate was like. the only redeeming part was where mccain said he wants a spending freeze of all non-vital governmental functions.

>> ^imstellar28:
the only redeeming part was where mccain said he wants a spending freeze of all non-vital governmental functions.


He said he'd freeze everything but defense and veteran's benefits. If those are 'all non-vital gov. functions'... well that's a pretty interesting government.

Watching highlights it does look like McCain faded pretty hard down the home stretch. The big crowd I watched the debate with had a lot of comments about his seeming exhausted at the end. It might just be in comparison, because Obama looked and sounded just as forceful at the end as at the beginning.

omg how embarrassing, they had identical bracelets

it would have been pretty awesome if the host would have said; "gentlemen, I TOO have a bracelet with a appropriate human interest story showing my compassion for military families" DUM DUM DUM DUM DUUUUMMMM *zoom to his face*

My running commentary while watching this
===

* McCain saying that Obama's voting record is very left, very liberal... um... All that does is make me like Obama more.

* WTF on spending freeze on everything but Military ones... Yeah, let's not spend anything on health, education, infrastructure, social security, ANYTHING... But f*ck it, let's spend on up big on those guns. FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK Him.


* Holy crap does McCain calling himself a Maverick of the Senate just shit me up the wall... Giving yourself a title like that is so phony, so hollow, such bullshit.

* Trying to suggest there's some long list of things he's gone again Bush on... I'd like to see the list he has gone WITH him on vs those he's gone against him on, AND weights against them for actually how different they were and how important each decision was.

* OH MAN can you look at and address Obama directly? Obama looks at McCain, addresses McCain, tries to talk directly with him, and McCain refuses to look at, or address him directly. Does this not make people pause to think that the man has issues with confrontation? Issues with speaking directly to others... wouldn't you just LOVE to have him across a negotiating table staring off to the right while address you through a 3rd person.

* I just like Obama when he speaks, I mean look at him on the end, strides over to McCain, 'Good Job', shakes hands... McCain looks like a withered prune who doesn't quite know what he's doing.

Please don't let McCain run your country.

Please.

Okay hold up there...

Osama Bin Laden never said that Iraq is the central battleground, its a game of telephone factoid stemming from an Al Qaeda letter discovered by US forces, that mentioned operations taking place in Iraq, this was used as proof that the terrorists were present in Iraq.

In reality the letter specified implementation of a guerrilla war to tie down the US forces down in Iraq allowing Al Qaeda to reconvene and regroup in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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McCain essentially was against torture before he was for it.