Live-blogging the presidential debate

9First things first: I'm happy to be able to give a shout out to Jen, one of my most loyal readers in Louisville, Kentucky. Here's a challenge, though Jen - you can't just read, you've got to comment every now and again, too.

Now on to the debate:

• 8:55pm - No danger of train wrecks tonight - or at least not nearly as much danger as there was for Biden and Palin. Instead, both candidates need to focus on appearing strong and competent without being too angry or going overly negative. Another real danger? Ponytail Guy. Watch out for him.
• 8:59pm - Disappointingly, I've just realized I'm out of wine. No chance of a Maverick drinking game for me tonight.
• 9:00pm - That is one teeny tiny town in that hall.
• 9:05pm - Allen's question. Obama is first up; his answer is particularly new - we've heard a lot of this before. But he sounds competent and in charge.
• 9:07pm - McCain takes on Allen's question and leads off with...energy independence? Really? That's the first step in your plan? Doesn't sound all that useful to help Joe Six-Pack with his gutted 401K. On the upside, McCain does a better job working the room than did Obama who stayed in one spot too long.
  
• 9:08pm - Ooohh...let's do a Maverick count and a My Friends count. My Friends total count: 1.
• 9:09pm - Bizarre mention of folks who make their living on eBay by McCain. Desperate attempt to sound hip and with it?
• 9:11pm - McCain rolls out the old "I suspended my campaign in this crisis" line. Isn't that so debunked now that it's almost ridiculous to mention?
• 9:14pm - Obama: "I've got to correct a little bit of Senator McCain's history, not surprisingly..." A little early to be snide, isn't it?
• 9:33pm - Obama suggests that military families shouldn't be the only ones bearing the burden of service. I'll stand behind that.
• 9:35pm - Obama again uses the that's a hatchet when you need a scalpel line. It's apropos, but it's old. He could use some new catchphrases.
• 9:37pm - In McCain's tax plan, childless people get screwed again. Why can't I double the deduction on my dogs from $3500 to $7000?
  
• 9:37pm - Brokaw gets scrappy with regard to the debate rules.
  
• 9:41pm - Total My Friends count: 2. McCain's plan for Social Security? It's not that hard - you just have to sit down with folks across the aisle. Who knew that's all it would take?
• 9:42pm - Total My Friends count: 3.
• 9:43pm - Great question, Ingrid. How will you make Congress get off their tushes on the environment and alternative energy? Total My Friends count: 4.
• 9:46pm - Obama: "Senator McCain is right that Congress hasn't done anything about renewable energy for the last 30 years. What he doesn't mention is that he's been there for 26 of them." Nice sound bite.
  
• 9:48pm - Total My Friends count: 4. By the way - did he just refer to Obama as "that one"?
• 9:49pm - Total My Friends count: 5. It would have been a long dry night if I'd been doing a Maverick drinking game. I wonder if that's on purpose after all the laughing at the Maverick's expense this week.
  
• 9:53pm - Health costs are skyrocketing and McCain hits on....putting medical records online? Really? My mom does this for a living. It's required for all hospitals within the next five years as it is. Why would you mention this, much less first?
• 9:55pm - McCain calls health care a responsibility. Big mistake. Will Obama capitalize?
• 9:56pm - Obama calls health care a right. Damn right. He hit that one out of the park, especially with the mention of his mother wrangling with insurance companies over pre-existing conditions.
  
• 10:00pm - Total My Friends count: 6. By the way - how could I just have noticed that candy cane tie McCain is wearing? Total My Friends count: 7.
• 10:03pm - Next debate I'm getting a "Fundamental" drinking game going.
• 10:06pm - My Friends count: 8. No wait: 9.
• 10:08pm - How do you exacerbate a reputation?
• 10:11pm - McCain plays the old "Obama would announce that he was going to attack Pakistan" line. It occurs to me that we announced we were going to attack Iraq. By several days. We gave them a specific time, for Pete's sake. It was a sensible thing to do to give Saddam a deadline and allow innocent people to flee Baghdad. Why does he keep harping on this stupid issue?
• 10:14pm - Obama, in so many words, calls McCain a crazy old coot.
• 10:15pm - Total My Friends count: 10. How will McCain get bin Laden? He'll take the Nike approach. He'll just do it.
• 10:20pm - The lights off McCain's head are a little glaring in the wide view.
• 10:25pm - Total My Friends count: 11. No wait: 12.
  
• 10:31pm - Obama's grandmother was scrimpin' to help put him through school. When did he start dropping his g's?
• 10:32pm - McCain has the misfortune of having to tell his family story after Obama's. Who's going to believe a white guy growing up in the fifties had it worse than a black man in the seventies?

Overall - I thought it was a narrow Obama win. He showed a lot more fire than he did in the first debate, but he finished weakly on the Russia issue. McCain - other than that senseless "that one" comment - was his usual snarky self. Nevertheless, he finished better than Obama did. I doubt this debate changed any minds - it certainly won't have the power that the VP debate had last week. What was most interesting was how relatively civil this debate was after the nasty turn the larger campaign has taken in the last few days.

BTW - I'm watching CNN now and they focused on whether or not the two would shake hands after the debate. At one point, Obama stuck out his hand in McCain's direction, either McCain ignored it or didn't see it, left Obama hanging, and he ended up shaking Cindy's hand. I wonder if this will be an issue...