I just had to comment. You guys are actually a fun thing to read. It’s amazing, when you complain that you’re economy in the “heartland” has eroded, let me guide you to the reason why… you’re idiots. The heartland is more “heartless” and comprised of what I can only surmise as uneducated, “golly, you betcha”, uncultured dumbasses. Good luck holding onto your “America”. The only way you will do is by denying education to the young people because only those without education and culture would buy into your b.s.

but some of the usual suspects over at NRO seem to have a different opinion. Is Ponnuru maybe a closet dem? He may as well be Begala commenting there at times.

They’re saying the problem with McCain is he doesn’t follow through with the punches.

Agree or not, McCain did pretty darn well tonight.

if the trolls are here that quick. (Not you, Rebel.)

I admit to a deep and abiding pessimism as this race draws to a close. I do think McCain gave his best debate performance tonight. I’m afraid it might be too little, too late.

McCain has a problem going for the jugular. He pulls his punches, like when he refers to Ayers as a “washed up old terrorist,” thereby minimizing his (and Obama’s) radicalism. I’m afraid that Obama comes off as wanting it more.

McCain doesn’t want to win ugly. Sorry, that doesn’t cut it. Obama is a socialist. He is a radical leftist and he is out of step with the majority of Americans. The media isn’t going to report it. If McCain won’t do it, then it’ll never get done.

Maybe Joe the Plumber can pull McCain’s fat out of the fire.

Clearly McCain Won.. I guess there are some who will be slow on the uptake.

nt

In all 4 debates I sense a clear victor, both in style and substance. McCain controlled the tempo and had BO on defense on most issues. He did not hesitate to puncture BO’s pomposity on occasion. Though he hesitated and searched for a word occasionally, it was not as annoying as BO who fell baxk into his “er, ah” mode by the end.

RedStaters thought McCain dusted Obama. That’s what I thought but was deflated when I listened to Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes, Juan Williams, and Nina Easton on Fox News.

I don’t need to argue about whether McCain won. I can let CNN and FOX do it for me.

Fox asked its pool of independent voters if any of them had been convinced, one way or the other, to vote for a specific candidate. Four said that Obama had convinced them, and none said that McCain had succeeded.

CNN asked their pool who had won the debate. 16 said Obama, 11 said McCain.

Those are the only two “snap polls” I’ve seen so far. I’m sure there are more. If you find any saying that McCain won the debate, please post them in a reply!

-Ben

Freudian or not, THAT was the line of the debate — and the line to carry forward until Nov 4th

Erick,when is the October surprise that you posted about last week going to happen? McCain did ok but there were so many things he could have said. He needed to tell America just how serious this is. That we are so close to electing a socialist. I am very afraid.

That is the most positive thing that can be said about it.

As an independent, it was clear to me that Obama appeared more calm, measured, articulate and, yes, presidential.

All you Republicans seem to be pounding your fists and baying for blood, at a time when America needs actual solutions to its financial, healthcare, education and foreign policy problems.

When McCain did go on the attack, it was bizarre to watch. He tried to paint Obama as almost a baby killer at one point, which is a sad act of desperation that won’t fool everyone.

Obama, by contrast, spelled out his plan for the US with great clarity and calmness, rather than look to thump his opponent.

To sum this debate up: McCain has a temper. Obama has solutions. I know which one I would rather be president.

Yes roundedview. We fought a war over taxes. We should never expect the government to provide everything to everybody. The government should get out of our way and let we the people run our own lives. I am afraid that we have lost that rugged individualism that separates us from other countries.

Between October 24th and 27th of 1980, Jimmy Carter was ahead of Ronald Reagan by six points. Obama is up three in the traditional Gallup poll and up eight in the expanded Gallup poll.

Please. Senator McCain is not Ronald Reagan. Never was, never will be.

You had it right recently: The RNC should focus on vulnerable congressional districts and stop messing around.

Anything else is theft of reason, resources, and common sense.

Between October 24th and 27th of 1980, Jimmy Carter was ahead of Ronald Reagan by six points. Obama is up three in the traditional Gallup poll and up eight in the expanded Gallup poll.

Please. Senator McCain is not Ronald Reagan. Never was, never will be.

You had it right recently: The RNC should focus on vulnerable congressional districts and stop messing around.

Anything else is theft of reason, resources, and common sense.

Wow Jeff 45 min troll

Erick may say that McCain “mopped the floor” with Obama, but that’s not what the conventional wisdom on Fox, CNN, and CBS indicates, nor what the story line will be tomorrow. And again, why wasn’t Sarah Palin out there spinning post-debate? McCain may be “proud” of her, but why won’t he let her speak unscripted? I’m not sure what’s left for the McCain campaign…he just isn’t going to do it for us…and whoever said the RNC should spend its money on Congressional races was exactly right…stem the losses, not throw a Hail Mary for an impossibly long-shot victory

I listened to most of the debate, & watched the end.

I think McCain controlled the debate. The MSM is saying Obama won – Democrats “win” every debate per the MSM. I think at least 1, if not more of the “undecideds” in Luntz’s panel were not really undecided. The one lady in the front row had her talking points well laid out – almost rehearsed. I noticed the look of surprise on many faces in the panel when the 4 hands shot up for Obama.

Those looking for a knockout on either side are mistaken in that desire. There is an end to this campaign, & that will be when the votes are counted on Nov. 4.

McCain hit some good shots & has ample material for a push. That the debate is being labeled the “Joe the Plumber” debate is a big plus for McCain.

I heard several of the talking heads comment that Obama was “coasting.” Obama coasted into the nomination, with the superdelegates being herded & browbeaten by the DNC. There are no “superdelegates” for the general election. McCain/Palin have set the stage, if used correctly, for a quite possibly successful run toward the finish line in this race. Obama would be well served to not coast, but try & seal the deal – something he’s not been successful at before.

One thing for certain, despite the spin that it’s over, this election is certainly not over. A strong finish by McCain/Palin can certainly turn the tide. We who support them can help by getting out the message, promoting “Joe the Plumber,” and working to get out those who will vote McCain/Palin.

This is all very reminiscent of the movie Swing Vote (no I haven’t seen it). Both of them leaned on “Joe the plumber” over twenty times.

It’d be awesome if he decided not to just publicly declare that he was ‘for’ Sen. McCain (and it sure sounds on taxes and the American dream he is), but that he was cast in an advertisement.

Obama did not make the sale with Joe.

Obama crushed McCain. According to the snap polls, this was Obama’s biggest victory yet. Get used to it: “President Obama.” McCain must be worries about the “health” of his campaign.

CBS poll of undecided voters:

Who won the debate?

McCain (R) 22
Obama (D) 53

Shares your values

Obama, Before the debate: 54
Obama, After the debate: 63

McCain, Before the debate: 53
McCain, After the debate: 56

Voters who watched the debate:

Who won the debate?

McCain (R) 31
Obama (D) 58

Favorable/Unfavorable

Obama, before debate: 63/35
Obama, after debate: 66/33

McCain, before debate: 51/45
McCain, after debate: 49/49

McCain didn’t win. I’m dead and even I know that.

I’ve played alot of sports in my life and I gotta type, according to gallup, we’re down by a field goal. I think tonight we evened the score, which’ll reflect in 3 days.

That doesn’t mean this is a resting period.

They’re better organized than we are this term and we need to sweat this one out with as much pressure and intensity as possible. We have a chance, and we’re right….

McCain passed us the batton, let’s run with it. There’s still roughly 3 weeks of this race, let’s run right past the finish line.

The funny/amusing thing about History…is that it’s in the past.

Personally, I like these odds.

McCain!

OR

I’ve played alot of sports in my life and I gotta type, according to gallup, we’re down by a field goal. I think tonight we evened the score, which’ll reflect in 3 days.

That doesn’t mean this is a resting period.

They’re better organized than we are this term and we need to sweat this one out with as much pressure and intensity as possible. We have a chance, and we’re right….

McCain passed us the batton, let’s run with it. There’s still roughly 3 weeks of this race, let’s run right past the finish line.

The funny/amusing thing about History…is that it’s in the past.

Personally, I like these odds.

McCain!

OR

McCain was solidall around. He was good on judges/abortion, great on contrasting his bipartisan accomplishments vs. Obama’s (not popular here, but great with most voters), great on free trade, and good on contrasting his tax policy with Obama’s. I think he really nailed Obama on the rhetoric vs. voting record. There were only two problems. Most people probably didn’t get the specific references to Joe the plumber as most probably haven’t seen the video, but that’s no big deal. The other issue is that people aren’t really responding favorably to Ayers or ACORN. They just aren’t deal breaking issues for the vast majority of voters. People don’t care about it. Bring it up hurts McCain more than helps him.

I just hope that this push will be enough. I’m still doubtful asObama already has 50% of the voters. McCain has to take voters away from Obama, which is much more difficult than luring in the undecideds.

Erick,

I completely agree with your observations on this third debate. From the beginning, I could not believe my eyes: it was as if Obama hadn’t slept very well last night! To me, he looked rather sombre, at times almost tired, and three-quarters the way through the debate, I thought he was going to begin stumbling over his own words.

Being as fair as I’m going to be, he was able to pull off a reasonable oratory. However, I don’t think he actually said much. Every time I heard Obama used the word “invest” in connection with the government, my wallet began to feel lighter and lighter!

Further, it appeared as if McCain was on fire. Maybe that’s out of realization that he really is the underdog, maybe that’s out of a final self-determined push he’s giving himself. Based on each candidate’s past history, I’d go for the latter.

Some people fail to see some of the “home runs” that McCain made. The first, of note, was when he remarked back to Obama, “Senator Obama, I’m not George Bush. If you wanted to run against George Bush, you should have run against him in 2004.” Major, major unspoken sentiment that the electorate (those of us conservative/libertarian) have been percolating for the longest time. Major score.

The second major one was turning the whole “tax-and-spend” argument on its head vis-a-vis “Joe The Plumber.” I think Obama will continue to rue the day he made that comment. McCain absolutely swept Obama off the stage with centering everything around the concept that “Senator Obama wants to take Joe the Plumber’s money and ‘spread it around’ for him; I’ll make sure Joe the Plumber uses his money as he sees fit.” The “maybe-intentional-or-was-it-not-intentional-but-made-to-sound-that-way?” comment from McCain of “Senator government” was probably one of the best “slips” yet in the history of politicking! I loved it. Again, score.

Nevertheless, with all of Obama’s great oratory (and McCain mentioned his oratory at least 3 times last night), he failed to close the deal. I cannot say that McCain necessarily closed the deal (maybe he did in his mind in his own way), but if previous contests are a harbinger of future results, we at least know that McCain’s campaign is following a well-trod path; Obama has yet to ever legitimately finish a race without having to resort to suspicions of voter fraud and/or getting his opponents removed from the opposing ticket on technicalities.

The race isn’t over yet.

-Phil

I missed the part where McCain mopped the floor with Obama. McCain had a few good moments with his “I’m not Bush” zinger and his appeal to the Plumber Joe’s of America. There were no blows that really hit hard and would have swayed voters that I saw. I saw an Obama that remained cool the entire debate while McCain seemed to become more of an attack dog. John could have done better in several areas. He could have reminded us how he defended Obama from being called an “Arab” when accused of allowing threats at his rallies. He could have better defended Palin’s ability to lead in his absence (ok, that’s a tall order I know). He should have stayed away from saying it’s ok to have smear ads because Obama didn’t want to do town halls with him.
McCain could have brought up the reality that if Obama becomes POTUS, we could be looking at a Dem majority House and a filibuster proof Dem Senate.
The debate didn’t change my position. I still have to hold my nose, vote for McCain, and pray that he stays in good health for at least 4 years. I just don’t think it helped him or changed any Obama supporters.

Brain surgeon

GOP ticket for 2012:

SARAH PALIN/JOE THE PLUMBER

John McCain mopped the floor with Barack Obama.

Huh? McCain got in some whacks but Senator O kept bringing it back to why his approach to the issues makes sense for you the voter. There was no floor-mopping. It was great to see him finally show up and make some good policy points, but his style was a turnoff and it’s too late at this point. You are delusional if you think he has a ghost of a chance, absent some bizarre Obama gaffe. And other than a primary statement about “bitterness”, he’s been remarkably gaffe-free. Any normal human watching the debates would want Obama answering the phone at 3am.

Poll pre-debate showed that 2/3 of the country thinks McCain is running a negative campaign vs. 1/3 re the Obama campaign. That’s the perception (not saying it’s the reality). Nothing last night helped McCain with any of the voters who matter towards deciding this election. Maybe setting the stage for Republicans next time…? But the party is in danger of splitting. Palin is toast for a national victory but could easily get nominated, meaning we’re looking to 2016 for some sanity to return. See if we can find some true conservatives who believe in small government and fiscal responsibility… Ronald, where ha’ ye gone?

I’m taking the optimistic spin. Obama is out of Univ. of Chicago, the most conservative law school, and his colleagues don’t seem to think he’s a marxist. He has a lot of smart and not particularly ideologically leftist advisors (Goolsbee, Buffett, etc.)
If he works towards pragmatic solutions, there could be a chance of some good outcomes from his administration.

Cracks me up to watch you folks — indeed the reddest of the red — continually decreasing the circumference of your circle as those pushed outside that circle come to their senses about the intellectual and philosophical bankruptcy of both today’s GOP and the presidential ticket.

This is called fundamentalism, when the slightest failure to adhere to the party line or the voicing of any criticism of the policies or practices of The Party results in exclusion and exile.

Your ship is sinking. Get off while you still can. Nobody likes to hang out with martyrs.