Liveblogging the first presidential debate!
9:00 p.m. Unboxing the pizza!
9:02 p.m. I'm at Andie and Eric's with them, Allan and Stuart.
9:03 p.m. Recap: McCain, done with rectifying the financial crisis, is ready to debate.
9:04 p.m. Moderator: Jim Lehrer.
9:04 p.m. Go, Jim! You're on.
9:05 p.m. McCain vs. Obama.
9:05 p.m. Do we get to see the coin toss? (No.)
9:06 p.m. Jim: No cheers, no applause, no noise of any kind.
9:06 p.m. "We must achieve both security and solvency."
9:07 p.m. Jim: Where do you stand on the financial recovery plan?
9:07 p.m. Obama: We people on Main Street have been struggling for awhile. ... We have to move swiftly and wisely.
9:08 p.m. Obama: 1.) Oversight over process; 2.) ensure taxpayers can get their money back and/or gains; 3.) money shouldn't pad CEO pockets; 4.) need to resolve foreclosure crisis.
9:08 p.m. Obama: First mention of W.: "It hasn't worked."
9:09 p.m. McCain: Sen. Kennedy is in the hospital.
9:09 p.m. McCain: McCain is feelin' a little better tonight, and he'll tell us why:
9:10 p.m. McCain: Dems and Republicans are working together on the financial crisis.
9:10 p.m. McCain: The point is: we've seen Dems and Repubs working together. A package with a number of...essential elements.
9:11 p.m. McCain sounds nervous. Or angry. Or has a cold. Or it's just Andie's TV.
9:11 p.m. McCain: This is the end of the beginning if we come out with a package that will keep these institutions stable.
9:12 p.m. Obama: "Optimistic." How did we get into this situation in the first place? "I told you so" about the subprime mortgage crisis.
9:13 p.m. McCain: "Sure," he'll vote for the plan. And he, too, warned about Freddie and Fannie and those other guys.
9:13 p.m. McCain: Scripted moment about Roosevelt or someone.
9:14 p.m. McCain: "We got to start also holding people accountable."
9:14 p.m. McCain: "People are going to be held accountable in my administration."
9:14 p.m. Obama: For years, it's been what's good for Wall Street, not Main Street.
9:15 p.m. Chuckly moment. Jim's gettin' persnickety that the candidates aren't talkin' to each other.
9:16 p.m. McCain: "Look: we gotta fix this system." "We have a long way to go." Agencies "weren't doing their job." But he believes in the American worker!
9:17 p.m. Stuart: "He's strokin'." Eric: "He's gonna explode."
9:17 p.m. Jim: Are there differences in your approaches to get us out of this financial crisis?
9:18 p.m. McCain: It's outta control. "Gateway drug" to out-of-control spending and corruption.
9:18 p.m. <McCain: He's got a pen and he's not afraid to VETO with it.
9:19 p.m. McCain: Pork barrel spending! By Obama!
9:19 p.m. Obama: Earmarks process has indeed been abused. McCain also right that special interests are involved. McCain is proposing $300B in tax cuts to some of the wealthiest corps and individuals in the country.
9:20 p.m. Obama: Under McCain, CEOs would get reduced taxes, average Americans would get fucked.
9:20 p.m. Obama: A lil' extra money for Americans: a better recipe for economic growth.
9:21 p.m. McCain: Sen. Obama this and that. Now it's gettin' juicy.
9:21 p.m. McCain: "I was called sheriff." [Bush-style laugh.]
9:22 p.m. McCain: I wanna cut spending. I wanna keep taxes low.
9:22 p.m. Obama: Cuts loopholes & tax breaks. Ensure health care system provides basic coverage.
9:23 p.m. McCain: The business tax: second highest in the world. I wanna cut that, keep businesses in the U.S. and create jobs.
9:24 p.m. McCain: [A bunch of numbers.] I want tax cuts, every family a tax credit, double the dividend for every independent child in America.
9:25 p.m. Obama: [In-depth explanation of what happens to the average American under the tax cuts.]
9:27 p.m. McCain: "Walkin' the walk and talkin' the talk." "Festooned with Christmas tree ornaments." I've fought against wasteful spending and for a fundamentally fair tax system.
9:28 p.m. Obama: Oil companies would get tons of tax breaks under your plan, John.
9:29 p.m. Jim: What are we going to have to give up to pay for financial rescue plan?
9:30 p.m. Obama: We have to have energy independence from Middle Eastern oil in 10 years. Fix the healthcare system. And we have to ensure we're competing in education. Need to fix our infrastructure: new electrical grid.
9:32 p.m. McCain: "We've got to cut spending."
9:32 p.m. [How about on the war?]
9:32 p.m. McCain: Ethanol subsidies. [Uh...]
9:32 p.m. McCain: We have to do away with cost-plus contracts with defense contractors. [There we go.]
9:33 p.m. Jim: Neither of you are suggesting any changes.
9:34 p.m. Obama: Repeats energy/foreign oil dependence point.
9:34 p.m. Obama: Gotta make cuts. Agrees with McCain on that.
9:35 p.m. Obama: Mentions Bush (his "wrongheaded policies") again.
9:35 p.m. Jim: Financial crisis. How will it impact your presidency?
9:36 p.m. Obama: Using a hatchet when you should be using a scalpel, McCain.
9:36 p.m. McCain: Sending lots of $ overseas to countries we don't like much. We need offshore drilling and nuclear power.
9:37 p.m. McCain: Nuclear power fixes our dependence on foreign oil.
9:37 p.m. Jim: Getting cranky about his financial crisis question. Jesus.
9:38 p.m. Obama: It will affect our budget. Mentions Roosevelt.
9:39 p.m. McCain: Obama's healthcare plan will hand the system over to the Federal Government.
9:39 p.m. McCain: Obama has $800B in spending for new programs.
9:40 p.m. McCain: We owe China $500B.
9:40 p.m. McCain: I fight against unnecessary spending.
9:41 p.m. Obama: But... "your president" -> an "orgy of spending."
9:41 p.m. McCain: "It's well known that I have not been elected Ms. Congeniality within the U.S. Senate."
9:42 p.m. McCain: I am MAVERICK OF THE SENATE. (Palin: ALSO A MAVERICK.)
9:43 p.m. McCain: "We are winning in Iraq."
9:44 p.m. Obama: Should have we gone into the war in the first place. I opposed it when it was politically risky to do so.
9:44 p.m. Obama: Have spent almost a $1 trillion and 4,000 lives in the war. (Also, mentions Bush again.)
9:45 p.m. Obama: "We took our eye off the ball," re:war spending.
9:45 p.m. Obama: "I...will keep the American people safe."
9:46 p.m. McCain: Next POTUS will have to decide how, when we leave and what we leave behind.
9:46 p.m. McCain: Obama took forever to visit Iraq, never attended a hearing, etc.
9:47 p.m. Obama: Mentions Biden. "John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007." It started in 2003 and you said it'd be easy, we'd be greeted as liberators, etc.: you were wrong.
9:48 p.m. McCain: [tries to interrupt; fails]
9:48 p.m. McCain: Rolls out prepared "I went to Baghdad" anecdote. Honored to visit troops. Etc. Obama refuses to acknowledge we're winning in Iraq.
9:49 p.m. Obama: That's not true.
9:49 p.m. McCain: [keeps going]
9:50 p.m. Obama: [tries to interrupt; fails]
9:50 p.m. Obama: We both support more troops. We need more troops and resources in Afghanistan.
9:51 p.m. Obama: We have to end this war responsibly, in phases. And "capture and kill Bin Laden and crush Al Qaeda."
9:52 p.m. McCain and Obama: [arguing at same time]
9:52 p.m. McCain: Wider war and more complicated if we follow Obama's plan.
9:53 p.m. Jim: Obama, do you think more U.S. troops should be sent to Afghanistan, how many and when?
9:53 p.m. Obama: Yes. ASAP. It's getting worse.
9:55 p.m. Obama: We have to press the Afghan government to ensure they're working for their people. Deal with the poppy problem. We've got to deal with Pakistan. Under Bush, we've been giving them money.
9:56 p.m. McCain: Regrets washing hands of Afghanistan. Not prepared to cut off aid to Pakistan. Chiding: "You don't do that. You don't say that out loud."
9:57 p.m. McCain: Not just more troops: we need a new strategy.
9:58 p.m. McCain: We've got a lot of work to do in Afghanistan. Mentions Gen. Petraeus for like the fifth time.
9:59 p.m. Obama: [History lesson about Pakistan.]
10:00 p.m. McCain: [Waxes nostalgic about Reagan.]
10:02 p.m. McCain: I have a record of national security issues.
10:02 p.m. McCain: Shopworn anecdote about the slain soldier and his fucking bracelet.
10:03 p.m. Obama: "I've got a bracelet, too."
10:03 p.m. I would like my own slain-soldier bracelet.
10:04 p.m. Obama: We took our eye off of Afghanistan and those 9/11 guys. McCain, you haven't been consistently concerned about what we're doing in Afghanistan. You "muddled through" it.
10:05 p.m. McCain: I visited Afghanistan. Unlike Obama. We will win in Afghanistan. Possibly because I visited.
10:05 p.m. McCain: Petraeus.
10:06 p.m. Jim: Good news: You are even on time. Bad news: "All my little five-minute things have run over."
10:06 p.m. Jim: What about...IRAN?
10:06 p.m. McCain: "An existential threat to the state of Israel."
10:07 p.m. McCain: "We cannot allow a second holocaust."
10:07 p.m. McCain: I shall create a League of Superhero Nations! France! UK! Germany! We can "affect Iranian behavior."
10:08 p.m. I grow drowsy.
10:09 p.m. Obama: The republican guard of Iran is a terrorist organization. Did he just say "Iran-ically"?
10:09 p.m. Obama: We cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran, as McCain says.
10:10 p.m. Obama: We need tougher sanctions. We need cooperation with Russia and China re:trade. We need to engage in tough diplomacy with Iran. Unlike McCain, who believes not talking to someone implies punishment.
10:11 p.m. McCain: Ahmadinejad? Ahmadinejad!
10:12 p.m. McCain: Brief history lesson re:diplomacy. There's gotta be preconditions. No face-to-face meeting with Ahmadinejad.
10:13 p.m. Obama: I reserve the right to meet with whomever I want if I think it's gonna keep America safe.
10:13 p.m. Audience snickers at Obama's "invite them to tea" comment despite Jim's pre-debate STFU warning.
10:16 p.m. McCain: What Obama doesn't understand is sitting down with someone without precondition: that's dangerous.
10:16 p.m. McCain: The N. Koreans have broken every agreement they've entered into.
10:17 p.m. Obama: "We do not expect to solve every problem before we initiate talks."
10:18 p.m. McCain: Goes on about something and his friend Kissinger. Obama tries to interject.
10:19 p.m. Jim: [Some question about Russia.]
10:19 p.m. Obama: We need to follow-through on our six-point ceasefire.
10:20 p.m. "Six-Point Ceasefire" would be a good band name.
10:20 p.m. Obama: We can't return to a Cold War stature with Russia.
10:21 p.m. McCain: "A little bit of naiveté" re:Obama's comments on Georgia vs. Russia.
10:21 p.m. McCain: "I looked into Mr. Putin's eyes and I saw three letters: a "K," a "G," and a "B.""
10:23 p.m. McCain: Another comment about his world travel.
10:24 p.m. McCain: Oh, yes; and I've been to Georgia, too, and I saw a big ol' Putin poster.
10:24 p.m. Obama: We agree for the most part on these issues.
10:26 p.m. Obama: "Russia is in part resurgent and Putin is feeling powerful..."
10:26 p.m. Obama: Rogue states.
10:27 p.m. Obama: McCain voting against alternative energy. We've gotta walk the walk not just talk the talk when it comes to energy independence.
10:28 p.m. McCain: Offshore drilling is very important. Need to "exploit those reserves."
10:28 p.m. Obama: "John?" We have to store nuclear waste... blah blah... big ol' interruptions.
10:29 p.m. Jim: Another 9/11?
10:29 p.m. McCain: "We have a safer nation but we're a long way from safe."
10:30 p.m. McCain: "I think America is safer today than it was on 9/11."
10:31 p.m. McCain: Still a long way to go.
10:31 p.m. Obama: We're safer in some ways. We still have a long way to go. Haven't done enough re:transit and ports.
10:32 p.m. Obama: Al Qaeda! Needs focus and more cooperation with allies.
10:33 p.m. Obama: Will restore America's standing in the world.
10:33 p.m. McCain: Mentions Reagan again.
10:34 p.m. McCain: Obama doesn't get it: if we fail in Iraq, it encourages Al Qaeda.
10:34 p.m. McCain: Petraeus.
10:35 p.m. Obama: Bin Laden still out there. We're China's bitch. Because we've been focused on Iraq, "this single lens." $10B or more/month spent on war. Can't spend on healthcare, science, etc.
10:37 p.m. McCain: Obama doesn't have the knowledge or experience.
10:38 p.m. McCain: I love them and I'll take care of them.
10:38 p.m. McCain: Reform, prosperity and peace. I don't need on-the-job training. I'm ready to take the job now.
10:39 p.m. Obama: Talks about his Kenyan Dad.
10:40 p.m. McCain: Drags out the POW/MIA chestnut. "I know how to heal the wounds of war."
10:40 p.m. The end.
Commentary:
I thought Obama was polished, eloquent and informed, and a formally excellent debater. And that's kind of his problem, isn't it? Have you traveled widely in this great country of ours? The overwhelming majority of it is not polished, eloquent and informed. And people like to hang out with people similar to them. How do you think it was our current president got elected? (Twice.)
McCain snapped back with a lot more direct/personal attacks on Obama (all of them prepared, many only tangentially related to the moderator's question at hand) and he had a ton more mini-anecdotes which come across to me as clumsy. But someone out there must find them personable and endearing, right? I think Obama needs to tough it out with some more direct attacks on McCain. Maybe attend the next debate shirtless.