Live Blog of Final 2008 Presidential Debate: Killing 'em with Cool

So John McCain said he’s gonna whip Obama’s you know what tonight. I gotta feeling it’s not going down like that. If anything, McCain’s fighting words have been nothing but ammunition for Obama.

Once again, it’s on.

9:01 pm—David Brooks just said all of the attention will be on McCain to make a great turnaround; Obama just has to be himself. Truuuue.

9:02: Uh oh…this moderator seem like he gone be gangsta!

9:03: Didn’t McCain give an announcement about somebody being in the hospital at the beginning of the last debate?

9:04: I don’t know why McCain advocated doing ten town hall meetings with Obama. His presentation is so much better sitting down.

9:06: Ha ha…Barack drops the “fundamental of the economy” line already…

9:06: …and he’s agreeing with John McCain already. Let’s hope this won’t be a repeat of the first debate.

9:08: Alright Obama, PLEASE set McCain straight on his Joe the Plumber-small-business-story…

9:09: Maybe Joe can’t read…

9:11: John McCain is not wearing a flag pin. Obama is.

9:11: Oh my gosh, please stop saying “Joe the Plumber.”

9:13: I’m digging this format.

9:17: Why do McCain (and Palin) always mention “countries that don’t like us very much.” That’s like 95% of the world right now.

9:18: Oh snap! McCain is still bringing up the “$3 million overhead projector”! Actually, the “projector” is a critical part of a science museum’s planetarium in Chicago. It was in bad need of repair and kids and adults alike have been inspired to study and contribute to science as a result of the “overhead projector.”

9:23: “…even Fox News disputes it, and that doesn’t happen much when it comes to me.” -Obama on the so-called $42,000 increased tax that McCain keeps bringing up.

9:25: OH DO NOT BLAME YOUR NASTY BEHIND CAMPAIGNING ON BARACK NOT WANTING TO DO YOUR FUNKY BEHIND TOWN HALL MEETINGS!!!!

9:26: McCain, stop acting like you choked up about segregation…oh my gosh…

9:27: Oh my gosh, McCain is straight up lying right now about these negative ads.

9:28: GET ‘EM BARACK!!!! Drop the stats on his behind! 100% of McCain’s ads have been negative!

9:29: Obama is cool as Freddie Jackson sipping a milkshake in a snowstorm (Outkast lyric).

9:33: “I’m proud of the people that come to our rallies.” -McCain. Whoa, he just brought up some T-shirts at Obama rallies…dude is buggin! Please get him a Valium.

9:35: Barack is SO much better than me. How does he stay so calm??? Dude just straight TRIED him.

9:37: Yep, shut down the Ayers and the ACORN allegations. McCain is getting gangsta over bull dooky.

9:39: McCain’s BS, BS, BS “…says more about your campaign than it does about me.” --good point Barack.

9:39: Barack, please bring up AIP. Please bring up Timmons, Keating, or any of McCain/Palin’s other shady behind associations. And…he didn’t. Sigh.

9:42: Sarah Palin is not my role model.

9:43: Okay, nothing against special needs families…but McCain bringing it up as a major point in his campaign is what I like to call B-U-L-L.

9:44: Ha ha, yeah Barack, get ‘em! Can’t help kids with autism if you got a spending freeze, son!

9:47: McCain’s tone is a mixture of gym socks and crack head junkie breath. In other words—STANK! Why is he so stank? I guess I’d be acting stank too if I was down in the polls by double digits…

9:50: I have reached a new level of respect for Obama’s smoothness under pressure. It’s like, not of this Earth. I would be cussin’ by now.

9:52: I know McCain ain’t talkin’ about who hasn’t traveled south of the border. Can we talk about how Palin just got her passport last year?

9:53: “…no brainer”…oh wow, McCain.
9:59: Yeah, we should have physical fitness in schools, McCain, but since y’all are so bent on cuttin’ spending, that means less teachers, and P.E. teachers are the among the first to go.

10:00: Here’s Joe again… “Hi, my name is Joe. I gotta wife and three kids, I work in a button factory. One day, my boss said to me he said, Joe, are you busy, I said no…” (song from elementary school)

10:02: I need to know what kind of yoga/meditation/arugula Barack is on…

10:03: McCain, YOU’RE rich! And you can pay taxes and not miss it. You haven’t missed it, you’ve been able to buy all those houses…psssshh….

10:05: Democrats have only been in charge for 2 years…Republicans have been in charge for six, McCain.

10:07: Did McCain just do quotation marks with his fingers towards Barack?

10:10: YEAH! Bring up equal pay for equal work, Barack!

10:12: Ok, McCain just straight dodged the equal pay for equal work topic.

10:15: McCain just mocked Obama’s eloquence for like the second time.

10:20: “Some of the worst school systems in the country get the most money per student.” –McCain. Somebody needs to research that.

10:22: Don’t know how I feel about the idea of “bad teachers.” How is that determined?

10:23: McCain just said he’s surprised Obama didn’t pay more attention to his example about vouchers. The condescension continues.

10:24: Dude…the special needs again? Are you serious? Did you give a moose’s behind about special needs before Palin rolled up? Exploitation at its worse.


Post-game commentary: McCain could barely make a statement without being negative, yet had the audacity to claim that Obama has led one of the most negative campaigns in history. Some see aggression, I see desperation in McCain. This was his last chance to get something across to the American public while sharing the stage with Barack Obama. And what did he get across? Spitefulness, ill will, malice.

Obama on the other hand, cool as the other side of the pillow, at times, maybe too much so. Or maybe that’s just my inability to comprehend that level of composure. He stuck to the issues and jabbed McCain when necessary.

No matter what side a voter is on, no one can deny which man had the most poise, the most temperament, the level head. Obama stated his policies clearly and succinctly. He was diplomatic and respectful. McCain, the opposite. I mean, how do you answer the question of negative campaigning by lashing out at your opponent…doing the very thing you swear you don’t do?

Chances are, McCain probably appealed to quite a few people with his cowboy behavior. After all, who doesn’t like a good action flick? Everybody loves a rebel, a slick talkin’ son of a gun who bucks the system and takes no prisoners. But I’m fine with leaving that characterization up to Hollywood, not the presidency.

Not a game changer for me.