McCain-Obama Round 3 Live Blog

Well, tonight's debate will either be one for the ages, or the most inconsequential debate ever. I'm hoping for the latter. Scott and I will be blogging live, starting at 9:00.

As usual, Scott is in blue, I am in red. And we're off...

9:01 -- I'm watching this on CNN, which is filled with a billion graphics. There are literally twice as many graphics on CNN's debate than there are when I play Call of Duty 4. That doesn't seem quite right to me. CNN has 6 pundits that will be adjusting little graphs depending on how they think the debate is going. So, in other words, they are live blogging too, only they are using color coded flash cards instead of all those pesky, confusing words. That pretty much sums up the difference between nodrumlins and CNN.

9:02 -- That and 4 million viewers. I'm on NBC, because they seem to show lots of split screens.

9:03 -- McCain could hardly even spit out Obama's name. Not off to a great start.

9:04 -- Fannie and Freddie! Drink!

9:05 -- McCain just got a +2 on Martin's dial. His half-elf must have equipped his Dagger of Ogre Slaying.

9:05 -- McCain's left hand/arm is shaking. For what that's worth.

9:06 -- On CNN, Obama's hair is really shiny. It looks kind of like field turf in HD, though.

9:07 -- Both of them are wearing their bracelets. Obama has been looking right at the camera. McCain apparently got the message, as he was looking right at Obama as he spoke.

9:08 -- McCain is flailing, and it's only 9:08. He's blinking like Joba Chamberlain in the bug game last year. It's probably all those lights in his face.

9:11 -- McCain certainly has a hard time attacking. He looks uncomfortable at it.

9:13 -- Isn't Joe the Plumber one of the guys Astrid brought to Game Night? <--- nodrumlins inside joke.

9:15 -- Does Obama seem a little defensive or off his game? I'm not sure what it is...maybe I'm just paranoid.

9:16 -- The "uncommitted voters of Ohio", who also have their own graph, seemed to really like what Obama just said; their lines almost went right off the top of the chart and pierced Martin's color coded debate bubble. That would have been cool. Now the Men are almost going off the top of the chart as McCain talks, but the women are down in the middle. Damn men, am I right, ladies?

9:18 -- Eliminating a tariff won't be a program cut. It will be another tax cut. McCain seems very angry. He seemed mad that Bob Scheiffer kept on him.

9:21 -- The "I'm not President Bush" line was a good one. Obviously rehearsed, but still a good one.

9:21 -- I think Martin might have passed out on his joystick; he's got McCain at +10 and -5 and Obama at +15 and -4, for an Obama lead of 11 to 5. Meanwhile, someone named Gergen, has them tied at 1 each. Both McCain and Obama, though, are beating the Red Sox by 8.

9:24 -- I hope Obama brings up the Keating 5. DO IT! Go for the juglar! Knives out!

9:25 -- He won't.

9:26 -- McCain won't look him in the eye and say it to his face. Bringing up John Lewis is putting it on a tee. He shouldn't go there.

9:27 -- I have no idea what McCain is talking about, with this Palin killing children thing. I'm not sure it's a good idea to introduce this idea to a viewing public that hasn't heard of it, especially coming from McCain's mouth.

9:29 -- Obama hasn't been doing as well with the undecided people of Ohio since it moved away from the economy. But, you know what? Screw Ohio. I'm so over Ohio it's ridiculous. They can float that vast wasteland into the ocean and sink it for all I care.

9:30 -- Thank you Oil Can Boyd.

9:31 -- Here's a new bailout idea -- we'll trade Ohio straight up for Iceland.

9:33 -- Obama could have been better on this. He seems to be goading McCain into talking about Ayers. I wonder why.

9:34 -- There goes McCain looking into the crowd again for support.

9:39 -- This part is going on too long for Obama, though I thought he did a good job of calmly dismissing all of it. I am a bit biased here, but frankly, I think McCain is flat out lying. I can tell because his pants are, in fact, on fire.

9:40 -- What did the dials think?

9:41 -- The current scores... let's see, need to do some math... carry the one... Begala has Obama up 8-5. Bennett has them tied 3-3. Castellanos has McCain ahead 16-15. Bergen has Obama ahead 2-1. King has them tied 8-8. And Martin has Obama ahead 28-3. The commissioner from Reno has Sugar Ray ahead 110-108.

9:43 -- Michelle: Sarah Palin "sure is not a role model for me...Give me a [expletive] break."

9:44 -- I'm not sure that's true; Michelle told me the other day she wants to name the baby Fenway Banknorth.

9:46 -- I wish Obama had taken the bait and talked about McCain as "erratic" by pointing out that he has had about five different economic positions in the last two weeks.

9:48 -- McCain thinks we can reduce our dependence on Middle Eastern oil in the next four years by building 45 nuclear plants? Is he nuts?

9:48 -- Castellanos just gave McCain +1 point and -1 point at the same time. The role of Castellanos tonight is being played by Harvey Dent.

9:51 -- McCain just called himself a traitor! "I am a free traitor"! Wow, there's the moment. Game over.

9:52 -- ...oh, wait. Nevermind.

9:52 -- I don't think McCain does himself any favors when he is sarcastic.

9:54 -- These guys can debate trade treaties with Peru and Columbia every day for the next three weeks, as far as I'm concerned. That discussion won't move one voter.

9:55 -- Obama said "midwestern" and Ohio voters went off the charts. Good, they recognize when someone is talking about them. Someone give them a treat. Next debate we're going to work on recognzing shapes and colors. So they can understand the CNN coverage.

9:57 -- How did the Toledo reference go over?

9:58 -- I wonder if the Bruins won.

9:59 -- They are behind 3-2 late in the third.

9:59 -- They're behind 3-2. That's one of the graphics on CNN.

10:00 -- And we're back to Joe the Plumber. Look, the only plumbers I want to hear about are named Mario and Luigi.

10:00 -- Was Joe the plumber the guy in that Kevin Costner movie where there is only one undecided voter in a tied race, or something like that?

10:03 -- F*** JOE ALREADY!

10:04 -- McCain just told Joe that's he's rich. You know that guy is going to try to collect on that promise.

10:05 -- He also just suggested transplants and cosmetic surgery were in the same class of medical procedure. Tell that to Ron the not plumber, you mean old bastard!

10:06 -- Well, for McCain it's in the same category. His first wife had to have cosmetic surgery, so he got a spouse transplant.

10:08 -- Back to George Bush's "Elections have consequences" clap trap.

10:09 -- Isn't that the Levitra slogan? Or, wait, that's something slightly different.

10:12 -- Mmmmm. Melba snacks.

10:14 -- Dodgers are rolling over. Weirdly, I'm pretty sure I saw Varitek and Ortiz in their lineup tonight.

10:16 -- How do the dials look? McCain seems to have been slipping as the night goes on.

10:17 -- About the same, mostly. Scores right now are Obama 13-4, McCain 8-4, McCain 28-24, Obama 3-1, McCain 15-13 and Obama 38-22. In other words, three of the pundits are Republicans and three are Democrats. Pretty useless.

10:20 -- Did McCain just propose a program where soldiers can become teachers when they leave the armed forces without taking certification exams? I honor the troops as much as anyone else, but I don't think they ought to be teaching without training. That's a ridiculous proposal.

10:22 -- Dad: So if they don't know math, they're going to teach them how to become a dragon gunner?

10:23 -- Watching this on CNN is maddening. I feel like I am steering a Submarine.

10:26 -- Bruins forced a shootout. Salvaging one point is a pretty good result.

10:28 -- McCain doesn't sound like he practiced his closing. Not a strong finish at all.

10:28 -- McCain has some serious choppers. When he goes into that sarcastic grin and laugh, he bears an eerie resemblance to Todd McFarlane's Violator.

10:29 -- Someone violated Todd McFarlane? How tragic. I hope he reported that to the authorities.

10:30 -- McCain just did a great Tim Conway impression when he stood up. Hilarious.

10:33 -- Probably a draw. I thought McCain was harsh, but that's the way he is. Obama seemed a little too reserved. I thought he missed a couple of opportunities to hit McCain, but he's most likely just trying to run out the clock.

10:36 -- The pundits seem to be calling it a split. They seem to agree that McCain was very good early but that he slipped midway through, allowing Obama to catch up. Anyway, I'm done. Later, internets.


Tags: Election 2008 Barack Obama Debate John McCain