I can’t stand to watch the talking heads, so can anyone tell me if any of them has yet pointed out that a gov’t spending freeze in the midst of a severe economic downturn is a spectacularly stupid idea?

MikeEss,

I, too, noticed McCain’s refusal to shake Obama’s hand after the debate.  To her credit, Cindy McCain saw it and quickly shook Obama’s hand.

McCain’s campaign & handlers are spectacularly bad.  How could McCain leave the floor so quickly?  He gave at least 10 minutes (it seemed closer to 30) to footage of Obama shaking every single hand and actually having conversations w/ members of the audience.  Not to mention posing for about 2000 pictures.  That looks horrible for McCain, IMO.

MikeEss,

It seems so.

At first I was thinking McC at least was able to manage his . . . contempt.

What Jake pointed out is very telling about McC’s mindset.

Amazing.

“That one.”

I have a hunch Cindy McCain is probably a decent person having some serious regrets about her marital choice, but sticking it out because a divorce would cost her $$ bigtime.

That was McCain’s best shot?  Man, his best shot is just to concede now, and apologize to his supporters for running such a crappy campaign.

I love McCain’s cranky “we’re *finally* having a town hall” mini-snark at the start of this thing.  I don’t understand why he wanted a bunch of these things.  He’s just as much of an asshole in this venue as in any other.  My guess is that he’s not up for proper campaigning and a bunch of town halls would have meant flying around the country less.  Travel is rough on old dudes, you know?

I was flabbergasted that the Obamas spent so much time with the crowd at the end of the debate. And impressed. McSame was nowhere.to.be.found…

...that said, does McCain have some deep-seated pathological issues with Obama that leave him unable to treat Obama like a human being?  Won’t shake his hand?  WTF is up with that?…

I don’t think it needs to be deep-seated pathological issues—it could be racism, it could be jealously, it could be… OK, you’re right. I can’t call those things anything else.

Why he left: he’s older than dirt, and was exhausted.

I missed the ‘avoiding the handshake’ moment: I thought they had <u>already</u> shook at the end of the debate, but it was off-camera (while the shot was on Brokaw, just before blocking TB’s teleprompter): what looked like the tail-end of it was in a different angle.  The Cindy handshake was (I thought) just a “Hey Barack, here’s my wife” thing.

While the “this one” construction CAN be used in jocular banter amongst friends, it was a spectacularly bad choice in this setting.

McCain’s wrapup speech was very effective, good for him.  Barack pretty much owned the rest of the night, although McCain made some gains during the foreign policy part.  Some.

It there anywhere online to watch the debate uncut? I always wait for my partner to get home for work so we can watch together and the only things we can find are videos of individual topics.

To me the moment in the debate that will truly stay with me is when he called Obama “that one”. In those two simple words he revealed the level of his contempt.  It was further a display of racism and white privilege.  He might as well have called Obama boy in front of the world.

I don’t understand why he wanted a bunch of these things.

My guess is that he’s had Republican audiences and cherry-picked questions for so long, he’s come to believe in the awesome powers of his scintillating wit. Although, in his defense, he did do slightly better than Michael Richards at the Laugh Factory.

Why he left: he’s older than dirt, and was exhausted.

Anyone too old to stay up past 9:30 CT to give proper face time to tens of audience members at a nationally televised town hall debate less than a month before a presidential election is NOT up to the job of being president.  Sorry. 

Remember the “3 AM Call” of the primaries?  I guess McCain better hope it’s more of a 3 PM call and doesn’t happen to coincide with his nap.

Thanks for highlighting Bill Whittle’s pathetic whining over at The Corner. I can’t believe that he’s actually claiming that Brokaw was biased because he asked about things like health care, foreign policy, and tax policy instead of non-issues like “corruption and associations”, by which he means “Tony Rezko and Bill Ayers.”

Imagine what Whittle would be saying now if Brokaw HAD talked about “corruption and associations”, including Charles Keating, Don Diamond, and Carl Lindner.

We cant possibly lose!  Yes!

Seriously, this American presidential election is not good for my health-the debates keep coming on evenings when I’m tired, and need to sleep, and I keep buying chips or popcorn to liven things up. So, I’m tired, and full of useless starchy carbohydrates!

It’s truly remarkable to think that with McCain, we may well have a Presidential candidate even less gracious than George W. Bush, a feat I would have previously thought to be impossible.

I have a hunch Cindy McCain is probably a decent person having some serious regrets about her marital choice, but sticking it out because a divorce would cost her $$ bigtime.

Nope, they have a prenup.  I chalk it up to either Stockholm Syndrome or a desire to be First Lady.  If the latter, I don’t expect their marriage to last much longer.

“Anyone too old to stay up past 9:30 CT to give proper face time to tens of audience members at a nationally televised town hall debate less than a month before a presidential election is NOT up to the job of being president.  Sorry.  “

Why sorry?  I certainly don’t want him to win.  However, I think a presidential candidacy could grind down ANYONE. let along someone as aged as McCain.

To me the moment in the debate that will truly stay with me is when he called Obama “that one”. In those two simple words he revealed the level of his contempt.

Could be, but I was thinking that McCain simply blanked on Obama’s name in a Senior Moment.

archpundit of Illinois provides definite proof linking Ayers to the Republican National Committee:

http://tinyurl.com/4gbgwm

Check out the other questionable Ayers linkages: to the phone company, the biggest daily paper, the natural history museum. Your phone call promotes terrorism.

Why sorry?  I certainly don’t want him to win.  However, I think a presidential candidacy could grind down ANYONE. let along someone as aged as McCain.

I think the point is, it’s not like being President is a standard 9-5 with a lunch break (unless you’re GWB in which case you take half the damn year off, ‘cause you’re useless.)

The campaign is grueling, but you suck it up, because the nation is fucking counting on you. If you’re too old, sick, what have you to deal with it, it doesn’t make you a bad person. But it might make you a bad President.