10:03 PM [Sean] We'll have a bit more on the debate later. Also an announcement about our trip involving Brett. Nate on Colbert tonight wasn't the only news of the day.
9:57 PM [Sean] By the way, a special shout out for an absolutely horrible experience on the campus of Belmont University. I'm not sure I've ever been to a less welcoming place. We hated this campus and the staff here so much that we left to watch the debate at a pizza joint. I don't like to regret things, but it would be hard to overstate how terrible a day this has been, and how crappy every interaction we had in Tennessee was. It was a terrible decision to leave Indiana and come down here. That had to be said for the record.
9:34 PM. [Nate] Strong close by McCain at least, echoing his underrated convention speech.
9:33 PM [Sean] On "what don't you know and how will you learn it?" the women diverged from the men in their dial response. The women LOVED Obama's answer. Nearly a perfect score. Men merely liked it. Men are liking McCain's answer more than women are. But the men are liking both guys' answers about the same.
9:31 PM. [Nate] Well, Sean, since you broke the seal, I guess I'll just say that I think this was a clear win for Obama -- much clearer than Round 1 -- and that I expect the polls and focus groups will reflect it. Again, it's all about tone and body language ... if you read a transcript of the debate, it might be a tie.
9:29 PM [Sean] The dials love Barack Obama. I'll be surprised if he didn't win the focus groups.
9:26 PM: [Nate] McCain's winning the Terry vote! But seriously, I thought McCain's shaking hands with that guy was effective.
9:25 PM: [Nate] Good off-the-cuff answer from Obama on a relatively difficult question on Russia.
9:16 PM: [Sean] This is the weirdest thing, where each one of these guys is begging Tom Brokaw for permission to break the rules. I don't think it makes either one of them look good. And the dials are not liking McCain.
9:16 PM. [Nate] Damn, would love to see how the dial tests played over those last five minutes. It's tough going cold turkey like this.
9:08 PM. [Nate] The phrase "cool hand at the tiller" appears only 2 times in Google. (Or at least it did before now).
9:06 PM [Sean] On the actual topic of the debate -- two things. Obama's "there are some things I don't understand" pivot was effective. And well-received on the dials. That was definitely a pre-planned line. Another thing, McCain looks weird puttering around in the background on some of these wide shots, my friends. Hey, General Petraeus! They must think that every mention of Petraeus moves a point or two in the polls.
9:05 PM. [Nate] 24 minutes left for a McCain game-changer.
473 comments
:-(
oh that is good
This was a game-changer...officially, game over for McCain.
A McCain game-changer? Not in my lifetime!
24 minutes for a POW reference
McCain needs to re-evaluate his choice of personal heroes.
What's the count on "my friends" so far? 20? 30?
CNN scorecards:
O +72
O -12
M +43
M -32
It's not even close. It's worse than the first debate.
My friends, the skinny lady with the rimless glasses is getting ready to sing... or play the vote...or whatever. IT'S OVER!
What I believe...
I couldn't agree more that McCain looks like impatient and disrespectful by wandering around while Obama talks. Obama sits calmly and listens while McCain talks. I think coming in the aftermath of not looking at Obama in the first debate, his wandering around is going to bring him some grief.
Obama is baracking this debate.
I definitely agree about McCain walking around randomly - wtf is he doing?? It looks really strange in some shots.
play the FLUTE, my friends, play the FLUTE
Regan is McCain's hero? I thought it was Petraus! Someone is going to be crying into their pillow tonight!
did Mccain really try to claim he would be a "cool hand on the tiller?" thats ridiculous.
It's a little OT, but glad you folks could travel through Bloomington Indiana. It's my home town, and I'm wrapping up college at IU. Loved your Birch Bayh piece! Keep on updatin, got you and CNN tuned in fo sho!
Good answer on Pakistan and Afghanistan for Obama. He obviously knows his stuff on this topic
"Senator McCain"?
McCain emerges from the far back corner.
The SNL sketch is being written as we speak.
Obama brought his A game tonight. McCain has one more debate to change things but right now, Obama could be +10 in most polls in the next 7 days. This is a poor performance by McCain. His expectations were high with town halls.
ROOSEVELT??? What happened to Regan!?
I thought his hero was Reagan?
no, his hero is TR.
The campaign has gone on too long when I can predict exactly what one candidate is going to say every time.
If there is anything that McCain could attack, it's the health care "fine". The fact that Obama didn't answer scares me a little.
McCain said he has two heroes. TR and Reagan. Pretty different political styles..
Holy Weighted Question Katy!
Undecided my ass.
How many heroes does McCain have? I think I count 3 tonight.
STEADY hand at the tiller! Duh!
McCain isn't doing that bad.
This is the second time I heard McCain give his "you don't announce an attack" line.
It does sound reasonable; I wonder if it resonates with independent voters?
dude! Mccain is saying Taliban like Obama does now..... interesting.
dude! Mccain is saying Taliban like Obama does now..... interesting.
Every time McCain says "Tal-E-ban" I sing "Come Mr. Tal-e-Ban, tally me bananas..." in my head.
McCain: "I knew Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Teddy Roosevelt."
Damn. I thought it was definitely coming.
Where are people seeing the CNN focus group results? I can't find them anywhere on the internet.
He doesn't know history. The Taliban did not "come back in". Minor but irritating
Obama gives 2 minutes on Pakistan and Afghanistan and why we need to be tough on them. Mccain starts with Teddy Roosevelt references, and is now saying it's a bad thing that the U.S. would threaten other countries.
Is he so senile that McCain has forgotten what "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran" sounds like? Someone should also remind him of his comments on Meet the Press about Musharraf "being the best frined the U.S. has".
Now, he's going Mr. Diplomat? McCain is getting rolled and looks confused there. OH AND NOW HE GOT PISSED AT OBAMA JUMPING IN.
Um, I don't think McCain really wants to question the size of Obama's stick. Everyone knows Obama is packing.
OMG his entire foreign policy seems to be doing what Petraeus says.
Good for Obama forcing a reply. He's the alpha dog. With the biggest stick.
Oops! Not smooth for McCain.
McKindergarten.
"If he gets one I do too!"
Waaaahhhhh.
Wow, McCain is a hypocrite about the Pakistan subject. Aren't him and Palin the ones that want to invade Russia and Iran?
Well, the TR quote may have backfired on McCain.
FINALLY, it gets catty. Here's the payoff that everyone sought, but never got last week.
@ JC go to Cnn.com and clikc on the LIVE ticker link.
JC-at the bottom of the screen if you're watching the debate on CNN.
Loved this one:
"I wanna give every American a $5000 refundable tax credit they can take anywhere. Across state lines! Why not? Don't we go across state lines when we purchase other things in America? Of course it's OK to go across state lines, because in Arizona they may offer a better plan that suits you best, than it does here in Tennessee."
Senator McCain, on the question, "Should health care be treated as a commodity?"
Shut up and wait your turn, old man.
Nate and Sean, your focus group curves on CNN are always going down when you are banting each other instead of talking about the debate and the issues.
Can I be the first to pull a Tim Russert and say "We now know who the next President of the United States will be?"
OH! Obama vs McCain smackdown for last 15 minutes!
Follow up biatch!
I think the big lesson of the night is that Tom Brokaw is fucking useless.
Nate, Sean, Just wanna say I love fivethirtyeight. Use a slipper instead so you can continue your fine work.
Both these guys are like FUCK THE RULES.
"I know how to handle these crisis"...Just like you handled the financial crisis?
OMG :-(
If McCain says "I'll get Bin Laden" enough, I will believe him even less.
If "Teddy Roosevelt" was really McCain's "hero" he would have read enough to know that TR DESPISED being called Teddy. McCain is condescending, boring, surly, snotty....
Wow--totally flatlining during his "i know how to get him" spiel.
Hey McCain, was Roosevelt "telegraphing his punches" when he threatened with the big stick? Hell no. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. And Obama just destroyedd him on "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran."
Good to see Brokaw jump into Afghanistan question from this.
How the hell is it telegraphing to say, "We're going to get him where he is."
As opposed to getting him where he's not? It makes no sense.
Joshua said...
I think the big lesson of the night is that Tom Brokaw is fucking useless.
Seconded.
McCain thinks people still use the telegraph?
McCain knows how to get bin Laden????? Isn't it treason to keep that information to yourself for so long?
Was that a guy SLEEPING in the audience just now when McCain was talking? I swear he was. Or looking down the whole time McCain was looking right in his direction.
Johnny knows how to get Bin Laden. He's gonna share his secret with the pentagon if he gets elected. After Iraq. After Iran. Go get 'em Johnny.
LOL How he acted RESPONSIBLY throughout his military career? When he was crashing all those planes?
OMG ANOTHER Petraeus reference.
Obama is winning the debate
Exactly how many heroes does McCain have?
How about this town hall, eh? what has Brokaw taken, 3 questions from the crowd? Sure the candidates are misbehaving but they will always do that. Brokaw is teh FAIL.
OH! An "Obama is correct!" Schmidt will kill him for that.
McCain: “I’m not going to telegraph my punches.”
…wtf? Way to telegraph your decrepitude, gramps.
I think John McCain has come to the realization that he will not be able to outrank his father. He's angry, and sad. I hope after this is over, he's able to step back and become friends with President Obama.
McCain will misquote Obama right to his face even after Obama clarified his statement. It's sorry I'm too busy talking to listen to you.
Finally, McCain says Obama is correct about something. Only took about 6 months.
Treason is having Bin Laden in your sights, and calling the Delta Force off.
Right after I fix Social Security, I will get Osama. I know how to do it.
Thanks for clearing that up, John Boy.
Brokaw blows, agreed.
somehow, I don't think the SNL sketch is going to be nearly as easy to write this week. how do you make this shit funny?
OMG
McCain just admitted that "Obama is correct!"
Hell just froze over...
Why is McCain suggesting that an Afghan surge will work the way the Iraq surge did? Completely different situation, Petraeus doesn't actually advocte that.
McCain is pacing around when Obama talks because he's really gotta pee. His prostate is probably the size of a baseball.
I tend to be a fatalist democrat like many...but this is over.
GAME OVER. GAME OVER. GAME OVER.
HAHAHAHAHAH
McCain hasn't gotten a jump in the CNN line tracker in a while. He's really been slumping and Obama is pretty consistently climbing with each of his comments. I hope that is truly a group of "undecided" voters in Ohio.
Obama calling McCain out on bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran was great. I don't get animated about these often, but wow, that was simply epic, and one of the best moments of the night.
McCain still seems to have a Secret Plan to Get Osama--it is so secret that he has kept it from the Pentagon and the White House for the last decade.
MCCAIN: "everything is perfect in america-land! We don't have problems! we are exceptional."
seems like a flat claim in the face of all that is going wrong.
McCain's yelling at Putin now? Right after Obama offers polite criticism to Karzai. Interesting.
in the same statement, Mccain:
"I'm not going to start a new Cold War." and then "I looked into 9Putin's) eyes and I saw three letters: K-G-B." That'll make em want to deal with us!
WTF?
@ Ryan - LMAO...good one
Agree with Mark Irish - best shot of the night
How about those "My Friends"? Seriously, I think McCain has said it more tonight than during the entire campaign.
Alyssa: I saw the sleeping guy too! I was cracking up! I still can't believe McCain shouted "Thanks!" while Obama was speaking. I thought that was very disrepectful, joke or not. Kinda like the Bomb Iran "joke" - I don't get it.
The phrase is a "steady hand at the tiller." Maybe McCain has cold hands though and not steady ones?
I don't want to go into the age-related conditions that can lead to that though...
McCain rants about Puting; every male on the CNN meter orgasms continuously for like a minute.
tim f-w:
do you watch the West Wing? because that reminded me a lot of President Bartlet's Secret Plan to Fight Inflation.
Mccain scoring well with men on Russia. God knows why.
Sen. McCain warned about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he knows how to get Osama Bin Laden, he warned about Putin's aggression in Georgia...and yet these are still problems. I guess he thinks being an ineffective senator qualifies one to be president.
... but our allies don't include SPAIN, a member state of NATO.
Offer the ex-Soviets financial support too? With what economy?
voter said...
Every time McCain says "Tal-E-ban" I sing "Come Mr. Tal-e-Ban, tally me bananas..." in my head.
LOL!!!
McCain: I looked into Palin's soul and saw four letters.....
Obama's being too detailed with the Russia question.
*Putin.
Puting, verb.: to consolidate power by squelching freedom of press while looking like Dobby the House Elf.
Obama's Russia answer - 1st one that wasn't smooth and on-target. Small fumble.
Obama's being Elvis.
"Wise men say, only fools rush in."
Obama losing focus? He should just make a short answer & ler McC ramble on. He's already won tonight.
I bet those sleeping people were actually texting on their phones. My students look like that when they do it in my class. :)
YEAH!!
Obama mentioned energy independence when addressing Russia!
"Maybe"
LMFAO
Ridiculous question: "Russia: Evil or no?"
Both candidates dodged it, but there's no alternative. Brokaw has done terribly tonight, a stark contrast to the first two moderators.
McCain's smile is evil.
nice wishy-washy answer mcsame
Is Russia an Evil Empire?
Obama: "No, just out of control."
McCain: "Not yet."
McCain grabbing onto Obama's coattail on energy.
the bit I hate most about mccain is his summing up
Is Russia Evil? Yes or No?
THE worst question I've heard in a long time.
OMG, a question from the audience! That makes what, four for the evening?
Yes or No question on "Russia Evil Empire?"
Both candidates wisely dodged that one...
Brokaw has ended up a broken whore.
Hey! We still have people asking questions? Who knew?
First gotcha question from Terry the Wingnut.
Another question from the "bald men" section
McCain fondles questioner,gets pity handshake.
Get a room.
Get a room.
Oh, c'mon Tom. You know there's no such thing as a Yes or No question in politics.
Worse people to learn leadership from than a CPO. It's just that McCain doesn't seem to have learned much from that CPO.
Or was that the same fat bald guy who asked the first question?
"Ooh a vet. Let me waddle on over and awkwardly pat you."
Pander alert!!!
McCain just LOVES them Chief Petty Officers!
What about airmen?
I feel left out...
apparently mccain only likes undecideds who are military folks enough to shake their hands.
Nice camera shot of his bald patcth.
This election is so over.
McCain needed a breakthrough performance tonight, but that he certainly did not give to us.
Both candidates have had their stumbles, but I can't see this debate having any significant impact on the polls as they currently stand.
We'll know how it works out in a few days.
even I need the potty now - hurry up
"Obama wants to negotiate"
"I want to alienate and pressure them"
Which plan sounds better guys?
lol someone else noticed the disproportionate amount of bald guys in that one section! I thought I was the only one.
Touching moment there for McCain.
Dang, I thought we were actually going to make it through an entire debate without hearing the whole "Preconditions" issue come up.
yeah mcsame, that's how you do DIPLOMACY. without preconditions. that's how you keep communications open.
SOMEONE GIVE ME A COUNT. Did McCain say the words "middle class" AT ALL?
Oh my God -- you're right! All the guys in that section are bald!
Pre-conditions again. Bring the Kissinger, Barack.
Two "My Firend".
Hasn't the McCain campaign figured out that this "preconditions" thing is a non-starter? Nobody cares.
a good answer from both candidates on the russia "evel empire yes/no?" question
Sleepers at town halls RULE.
@ ryan- you literally made me laugh out loud. awkward pat was hilarious.
its over? dials?
McCain just called baldy his friend.:-( I'm jealous!
A league of Democracies!
OMG, it's the retarded child of the Coalition of the Willing.
"SOMEONE GIVE ME A COUNT. Did McCain say the words "middle class" AT ALL?"
I think he did once, and lied about how his plans would benefit them.
Hey Inkstain I think McCain just lost the debate if you go by Godwin's law. Unless there was a Hitler reference earlier that I missed. It is a question about Israel though...
So apparently McCain's anti-Holocaust. That's reassuring.
"So apparently McCain's anti-Holocaust."
We all love Israel!
Yeah Sidney out on a limb opposing another holocaust.
McCain did not have a game changer tonight. He's going to have to throw more effluent at Obama tomorrow. Which isn't working. And Palin will be urinating like a lipsticked bulldog at every one of her pit stops tomorrow, too. Great team. Great strategy.
Game. Set. Match.
CNN responses ALL fell the second McCain mentioned the Holocaust then rose immediately when Obama said they could not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. Good rebound for Obama, total fuckup from McCain. Pardon.
"HOLOCAUST?" Where the hell is that going on? Not in Iran.
Another calm, cool answer from Obama, and trying to control a problem before it happens, and again links the energy weapon to these rouge countries, which is a huge reason these guys flap their gums. And good response on why you discuss things with other countries.
WTF, how many "my friends" is it now? I think it's seriously approaching 30 at this point.
CNN scorecards:
O +76
O -17
M +58
M -35
Total delta: O +59, M +23
(Becky Sharp - answered your question about Brits and Obama on the other thread.)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if there's even any question about who won the debate, then Obama won, right? Being as how McCain needed an absolute smackdown to pull back.
Quit hating on the bald guys!! Well, I guess I'll take it as long as it's coming from My Friends... :)
@ryan: I almost spit beer through my nose. Seriously: Hilarious.
A nod of agreement from Terry. Hmmmm.
Wow. Crazy last question.
becks, after this I'm goin to buy you your own dial.
Peggy 2012!
To Tom Brokaw:
Is your #1 priority staying on schedule or is giving the American People a shot at hearing the next Prez?
Yikes...
"league of democracies" = "league of nations." we all know how that turned out.
Tom Brokaw can't suck enough.
Obama gets an audience laugh with self-deprication. First of the evening, despite McCain's pre-scripted jokes.
McCain wants to ignore the the United Nations but create a league of Democracies???
McCain picked up at the end?
"zen-like question" = "moment of zen"
When did Tom Brokaw become Jon Stewart?
Brokaw reminds me of basketball and football refs who want to be the center of attention, and call penalties which keep the game from proceeding.
Time for him to retire. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll run off with Sarah Palin.
Ohio women are collectively orgasming.
ok, wrap it up, fellers.
Good thought, badly phrased, McCain.
"It Came From The Internet". Coming to a googleplex near you.
Cool Hand John really came up limp in this one. He is a terrible candidate--always has been. Irrespective of his service to his country, etc., he has never, in any of his national runs, provided a compelling reason for electing him. He was handed the nomination virtually by default, and has done nothing with it.
Food Stamps pander alert!!
I think Obama overplays that one...
Good finish though
McCain: I don't know where I am. Cindy? Where's my bed?
The women line for Obama on the last response didn't drop below the very top at all. That was awesome. Even the men stayed up near the top for the most part. (CNN line)
McCain better break out the lapdance... or the 45. Obama just won the election.
here it comes....
Terry in the pink is actually Will Carroll, I'm pretty sure. Nice plant, Nate.
Ohio men are collectively being pissed that the women are ogasaming.
"doing our country's business"
Pander time. Cross in the Sand. Bring it.
This is a blowout, Gameover!!!
So Obama might as well have some fun with the last debate. For instance when he gets the obligatory will you invade Pakistan question, he should answer as follows:
"Our most effective strategy for capturing Bin Laden in the caves of Pakistan will require a skilled military attack combined with forwarding looking diplomatic policy with the new President of Pakistan. We will distract the Pakistani government with Gov. Sarah Palin, while the horny Pakistani government is busy getting hugs and grabbing ass, we will put Bin Laden in a potato sack and drag him over to Afghanistan. That, my friends, was actually Sen. McCain's secret strategy but since he is getting stomped out in this election he felt it was finally necessary to fill me in on his brilliant plan."
OK, so McCain's last word wasn't bad.
Obama has scored some serious female undecided orgasms this evening. But McCain got the undecided males to ejaculate continuously for about a minute while discussing Putin.
And since in the end, this election is maybe, oh, 2% about Putin, McCain has lost tonight, badly
Obama's final appeal: "We need a change from the last 8 years, the polices arent working"
McCains final appealL: " I was a POW"
NOT TBHE POW REFERENCE! PLEASE!!!
lol he stands on his record... like the Keating 5.
Who had "tiller" as the go-to McCain buzzword of the night?
Steady hand now. Sidney finishes strong. Was he really a POW? I didn't know that.
Ahhhhhh, fuck off. Country First. Why did you pick Mooseburger then?
Good thing Cnn aren't showing the assmolemeter.
Steady hand at the tiller, on the other hand, has 51,200 google hits.
i was expecting "i was a pow" but we got a ateady hand at the tiller.
Obama got the first word, McCain had the last. Anyone know of research into primacy vs recency effect for political debates?
OMG McCain blocking the prompter was hilarious
Brokaw was 100% in the tank for McCain.
That was embarrassing.
brokaw adds in the my friend at the end.
ugh! The steady hand line again. Way to end it, but just can't get Mac's hurried breathing in the mic outta my head.
Yuk
Sigh...
I was hoping for a McCain game changer on this debate, because I wanted to see how fast an Obama + 6 can evaporate.
At best, another tie. Probably a small Obama victory
Post a Comment