Final McCain-Obama debate

In my opinion, so far this is the best debate format of the three, with some very pointed questions from the moderator.

Obama does sound presidential and relaxed. McCain seems to have some fire tonight he did not have in the previous two debates, yet, his thought process at times is unclear and frankly incoherent. Its obvious he's going for broke and giving this debate everything he has... but getting flustered in the process.

Neither have my vote.

Yes, Rod, thank heaven it is the LAST one.
Obama is doing well. Mac is repeating himself...

Obama is dancing around the questions and doing the soft-shoe shuffle.

What an empty suit.

They're both politicians...does anyone expect them to do anything but dance? IMO, Obama is still doing much better...but then I've already made up my mind...now waiting until Nov. 4. Am a "decided Independent".

McCain is repeating the same lies about Obama.

Obama tried to keep the discussion on issues, but McCain wanted to continue the smears, like paling around with terrorist.

Factcheck.org and http://tinyurl.com/483u2a (PolitiFact)

Obama's health care plan is not a government run program. McCain's tax credit is for a family. Half that for a single person. McCain has apparently never priced buying health insurance. McCain's plan allows health insurance companies to consider pre-existing conditions

Another McCain lie about Obama's votes on the "Born alive" issue. Both have been debunked by FactCheck and PolitiFact

PolitiFact

"Born alive" votes fuel abortion fight October 9, 2008

http://tinyurl.com/3v6a7c

'Born Alive' Baloney http://tinyurl.com/4bhb7n (Factcheck)

Obama and 'Infanticide' August 25, 2008
The facts about Obama's votes against 'Born Alive' bills in Illinois.
"A Matter of Definition

http://tinyurl.com/69yu3t

The Truth Behind False, Outrageous Lies about Obama and ''Born Alive'' Legislation
August 19, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/5jq6ak

Every time McCain mentions "Joe the plumber" I want to throw the laptop through the television.

I've spent the past year dealing with a plumbers. Plumbers are irresponsible at best, thieves at worst. If you want me to think sympathetically about small business owners talk to me about those who need a plumber to complete a job in order to get back to work, but not plumbers. GRRRR.

Yes Rod, I agree with you (in spite of the panic that always causes my wife). Our long, national nightmare is finally almost over!

I will concede the point that long term student performance will not be affected by Head Start or any other preschool. What does make the difference in Head Start versus private daycares and preschools is that we work with families and parents as much as we do with the kids. There have been parents in my classes over the past few years that do not have a clue what to do with a child. Heck, the parents we deal with are quite often very young themselves.

In 1999, McCain said he did not support overturning Roe vs Wade because it would cause women to have unsafe abortions. After losing to Bush in 2000, McCain changes all his positions to Bush's stance.

Just in the last couple months McCain has flip-flopped on his wording many times. So has Sarah Palin that promised not to change any abortion laws when she campaigned for governor

I loved how the debate degenerated SO quickly into "It is true", vs. "It isn't true"! It proved so quickly what I have long believed, that ALL these "Presidential Debates" are a sham of true debate, completely worthless for deciding who is better to lead the country.

So you can tell I had low expectations for this debate from the start. Even so, my expectations were not met:( After all, I expected Obama to be the one to take the high ground, taking advantage of all the ill-will the Republicans have generated with their negative ads. But what does he do? He -lies- immediately, claiming that ALL their ads have been negative.

This is obviously false. How could he not know it is false? It is only the vast majority of their recent ads that are 'negative'. Is his memory so short that he can't remember the ads from three weeks ago?

I also thought McCain did get in at least one good zinger: when he said, "if you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago".

After all, I am really disgusted with all the Democrat attack ads blaming McCain for Bush's disastrous actions. McCain was a lonely voice of sanity in his party for these past 8 years. Yet the Democrats find this truth inconvenient, so they work hard to cover it up.

Pity the Republicans make it too easy for them, by forcing McCain to toe a ridiculous party line in order to be their candidate.

I am disappointed in your oppinion. I really believed you would stay with the conservative approach for family and government. A vote for Obama is a vote for turning towards socialism. It isn't over and the votes have not been counted.

Judging by how many people didn't even watch it, I have to agree that this debate is not a "game changer".

Now of course, a "game changer" is exactly what McCain needs and wanted out of this debate. Since he didn't get it, he remains in the underdog position -- which is the very same position where he has already done so well in all his past campaigns.

So don't count him out yet. We may yet find people getting cold feet about voting for Obama once they are in the privacy of the voting booth. They may get chills down their spines at the thought of fist-bumpes in the White House;)

Yes, my fellow Americans, I would rather see mooseburgers in the White House than fist-bumps;)

I'm not so sure McCain is done. Elections are won, as a rule, by getting one's own base out rather than by knocking the other guy's base down. Also remember that American Presidential elections, to the extent that they actually ARE free elections, are 50 different elections instead of one big national one. McCain was going flat-out to: a) re-energize the base; and b) re-connect with working-class and military-affiliated voters in key states like Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida.

To an extent, he did that. For McCain to try for a knockout--to make a blanket attempt to reach out to ALL voters--would have been a waste of time. The comments about His New Best Buddy and Big Toe, Joe The Plumber, are going to help. And the remark about Obama's running against Bush the Younger was perhaps the closest thing to a nuclear-tipped zinger we've seen to date. It was not, however, the A-bomb strike all us amateur pundits were thinking about.

Bottom line: McCain picks up 3-6 points in the national polls, and there will be some ground gained in states with a heavy military/working-class population (Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida come to mind). It won't be enough to win by itself; McCain is still going to have to work for it.

A nip-and-tuck nailbiter of a win, however, is still a win. Remember President Dewey.

Your servant,

Lord Karth

Lord Karth,

I predict the opposite, a double digit win for Obama.

And Matt J. regarding:

"They may get chills down their spines at the thought of fist-bumpes in the White House;)"

What is with the racism?

McCain's low point: "Joe, you're rich!"

Could that joke have been less well-timed? McCain may at one point have been a man of the people, but he sure ain't one now.

Do Joe Six-pack and Joe the Plumber know each other? And are they married to hockey moms?

Watching tonight's event, it's undeniable that if that's what you're voting on, you'll want to vote for Barack Obama.

It's been that way pretty much from the beginning (of the primaries), if you were watching with an open mind.

McCain was hard to watch because he seemed so angry. I've had a quandry as a pro-life Republican who is convinced Obama is the man for the hour. I'm going to vote for him but donate money to pro-life causes. The Republicans need to get their act together and face reality before I vote for them again. Maybe I sound confused, but I don't think so. The Republicans have lost their way. There is more to governing than tax cuts and fear and loathing of liberals.

McCain needed a homerun and he hit a double. He needed to persuade independents, and he played to the base. He came off, well, a little erratic. Watching the graphs on CNN of uncommitted voters showed that McCain doesn't do well with women and that the moment he talked after Obama, everyone's mood got worse.

I thought McCain was doing very well for the first half hour or so (which worried me a little as an Obama supporter). Obama was clearly put in an uncomfortable spot by the Joe the Plumber scenario, and he was having trouble getting his feet under him. However, once McCain got angry -- and so visibly, kinda scary-angry -- I relaxed. I knew it was over for McCain. He beat himself in this debate.

I actually like John McCain as a person. I could respect him as a president -- which would be a refreshing change -- even though I wouldn't agree with many of his policies. But he has not campaigned like the guy I've heard in so many good interviews before the general election season. I'm not sorry to see him loose, because I honestly think Obama is the better choice for our country. But I will be sorry if he continues to debase himself in the next 3 weeks and looses the respect he so rightfully deserves from the American people. To say nothing of his self respect...

After watching three debates, I've come to realize what the problem is with the McCain campaign: He's running a base campaign when his base is shrinking. It seems like he's running to win the polls at Redstate.com, or Townhall.com, or LittleGreenFootballs, or Free Republic, rather than the entire country.

The constant braying about Ayers (which Obama PWNED him on), the snide looks, the eye-rolling, the lack of a coherent theme or policy, all made him look like a small, petulant, angry man.

Meanwhile, Obama just doesn't get ruffled. No matter how many times McCain tried to bait him, Obama just stayed calm and refuted McCain with facts and specifics.

It's. Over. Obama will win by more than 150 electoral votes, in my opinion.

Matt J.: about Obama's statement about Republican negative ads and most if not all contained false statements:

In an Oct. 8 report, they concluded that, “during the week of September 28-October 4, nearly 100 percent of the McCain campaign’s advertisements were negative. During the same period, 34 percent of the Obama campaign’s ads were negative.”

http://wire.factcheck.org/

http://twitter.com/politifact

The above links have fact checks for tonight's debate

oops - that should have been "Palin IS", not "in".

Egad. So to socialism we go.

Any chance McCain might get Kissinger to organize a coup to save the voters from themselves? He's done it before in Chile. McCain the military guy taking office with Nationalized banks, a unitary executive structure already in place, and 49% of the country with a willingness to look the other way when it comes to constitutional matters.

sigh!

I thought McCain did well. And I don't think it's over yet. Here is an insightful post by Stanley Kurtz at NRO:

______________________

ACORN is a powerful example of an Obama "association" that has immense policy implications. ACORN is a genuinely radical group. It believes in economic redistribution, the same question raised by the "Joe the Plumber" controversy. And ACORN’s campaign to undermine credit standards in this country was an extremely important contributing cause of our economic meltdown. So Obama’s ACORN ties are part and parcel of the core issues at play in this campaign.

Bill Ayers? As McCain noted, Ayers and Obama together gave hundreds of thousands of foundation dollars to ACORN. That needs to be unpacked, but McCain’s point begins to get at the real issue. This is not about what happened when Obama was eight years old. Ayers and Obama both believe in a redistributionist economic policies. Together Ayers and Obama backed radical community organizers like ACORN, a key player in the mortgage crisis. ACORN’s assault on credit-standards was driven by its redistributionist philosophy. So Obama’s radical associations reveal the truth of his economic policies. It’s all of a piece. But this critical point has not been made.

People still speak as though the "associations" issue and the economic issue are two different things. They’re not. ACORN wants to spread Joe’s wealth around. So does Bill Ayers. That’s why Obama worked with both ACORN and Ayers. Someone needs to explain all this to Joe.

What McCain’s campaign needs to do is take an "all of the above" approach. Make a positive economic case, and press the "associations" issue at the same time. But above all, McCain needs to draw the links between both lines of attack. The economic differences between Obama and McCain both explain, and are explained by, the Obama’s history of radical political alliances. However much he may try to hide it, Obama has a strongly left-leaning worldview on economic and other issues. Those views place Obama much to the left of the public as a whole. Obama’s current policies and his past political alliances and associations are part of a broader picture. In the time remaining, McCain needs to connect those dots.

"I'm not so sure McCain is done. Elections are won, as a rule, by getting one's own base out rather than by knocking the other guy's base down."

Since 2004, the party ID nationally has shifted. One party's base is shrinking, while the other is growing.

The rule you cite is not a rule. Remember the 1990s, when "soccer moms" decided elections? Or Reagan Democrats? Karl Rove scratched out a win in 2004, but crippled the GOP for a generation in the process. By the way, soccer moms will not take well to the "health" of the mother moment of the debate.

Finally, Obama's got game. Ground game. Maybe the polls capture that, but probably they don't. If you haven't keyed into this dynamic, you need better sources, because Obama has several times more field offices open than McCain, with way more volunteers working way more hours. Check out this quote from Debateable Land (via Sullivan):

"I spent a little bit of time at the Obama state HQ in Columbus yesterday. It was jaw dropping. They had taken over an old mega-church. The first floor was a warren of staffers running around all very young and all very busy. The basement was probably the size of a supermarket, lined with table after table. Each table was staffed by four youngsters, all responsible for a different city, county, task etc. It looked like the command center for a massive army. No windows, no natural light, but filled with kids who probably had no idea it was 8am all hovering over computers, maps, data sheets. There were 600 staffers there, all dedicated to Ohio, at 8am. I'm amazed."

McCain is going down. For the country's sake, I hope it is a graceful fall, and not one filled with nonsensical rhetoric about ACORN destroying American democracy or "palling around with terrorists." If conservatives want to reconstitute their core message, they might as well start now, because no tactical shift can save McCain, and trying to drive up Obama's negatives is exposing the unhinged right wing as the haters and anti-intellectual frauds that they are.

Whatever side of the abortion debate you are on, this performance by McCain was outrageous:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/15/mccain-mockingly-suggests_n_135072.html

What I want to know is what Josephine the Plumber thinks of all this foofarah? Inquiring minds and all that. . . .

http://revolution-21.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-about-josephine-plumber.html

Lord Karth,
You are not my servant. Stop calling yourself that. It's obnoxious, and slightly ridiculous.

Similarly, John McCain is not my "friend" either, although at least he didn't use those words last night, to my recollection. Instead he talked about only one friend, Joe the Plumber. "You're rich!" Whatever.

I agree with Rod. This was the end. McCain came across as petulant and angry (and a bit weird), Obama came across as calm and restrained. I think Obama is a brilliant strategist - if he wanted to he could have come out swinging, but he chose to play a solid defense. It worked.

No one's servant,
Treebeard

McCain will win, barring a terrorist attack between now and November 4. And if there is a terrorist attack, McCain will OVERWHELMINGLY win.

Don't believe the polls. It was only a few months ago that the polls were so incredibly wrong day after day after day re: who was winning the primaries. Why are they now suddenly "reliable"? People have short memories.

McCain will win, and the media will spend the next year calling all Americans "racists."

THAT you can bank on (as opposed to anything else).

Tom Daschle, in his post-debate analysis, may have phrased it best:

"...about two-thirds of the people think John McCain looks angry these days and I think he spent 90 minutes trying to convince the other third..."

I now expect non-stop personal attacks.

My sentiments exactly...reminded me of the Nixon-JFK debates. Not that I was there, but, er, from what I've read about it, the visual effect was everything.

There's a reason for that, Rod. He is sour, agitated and petulant. He's been so for decades.

Listen, my friend, for 5 1/2 years John McCain had a good reason to be sour, agitated and petulant.

Rob G, Pennsylvania is +15 in Obamas favour so it will take quite a swing to put it back in play.

McCain, alas, is of late sounding like an angrier version of Grandpa Simpson. And much as I like Sarah Palin as a person, I do not think she is ready for VP (this would be less of a consideration if McCain seemed more stable).

But I just cannot vote for Obama. I *might* have considered a moderate pro-choicer IF there was a clear pro-life majority in Congress as a check; but Obama's stance on abortion is exceedingly immoderate and with a Democrat-controlled Congress I fear the worst. Besides that, he is a very liberal Democrat -- I *might* have considered a moderate or conservative Democrat (do they even exist?) but I just can't do it for Obama.

So I will probably vote third party this year, as a protest (since Massachusetts always goes solidly Democratic, I suppose this will not impact things in the slightest).

Now, which third party candidate (not that it really matters)? I'm probably going to go with Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party who seems reasonably sane, and Ron Paul endorsed him (I was a Ron Paul girl way back in primary season).

I wonder if the Republican Party will survive all this? Or will it go the way of the Whigs?

I wonder if the Republican Party will survive all this? Or will it go the way of the Whigs?

Well, the Whigs just became Republicans, so the didn't necessarily go away. The system we have is structured for two parties. The GOP will take a pounding, but it's taken as bad before, as in 1964. The Democrats will wear out their welcome soon enough, and the GOP will make a few concessions to reality. They may even mean it when they talk about a "more humble" foreign policy this time.

For anyone voting for McCain STRICTLY because of judges, abortion... McCain showed himself to hardly be your knight in shining armor last night. In fact, his answers were as evasive as anything Clinton ever said when grilled for specifics.

I had to laugh. Knowing how it made some of the usual suspect posters,........ for whom the cry was and remains: 'Forget the war. Forget the deficit! Forget the economy! Forget the last 8 years! Forget it ALL. It's ALL about AbOrTiOn'. Laughed thinking about those who had to have been en masse dropping their jaws listening to John McCain wiggle around the subject evasively.

Wow; what an embarrassingly stupid analysis. Rod must not know anything about ... anything.

Will your head explode if McCain wins? It's not over until it's over and that won't be until Nov. 4th.

It is pretty easy to be calm, cool, and collected when you don't intend to ever answer that 3 am phone call, and retaliate against the thugs who sabotaged and bombed a US warship somewhere in the Middle East. When you never imagine what you would do except talk to the enemies of this nation, and capitulate to their demands, no matter who they are or where they come from......because you truly believe America doesn't need to be defended. When Sen Obambi speaks of Victory in an American endeavor outside of his own campaign, then he will have America's interests at heart, instead of seizing power for Dhimmicrats who want nothing more than to disarm America, weaken her against all foreign threats, and use the money from Defense to buy more votes for their own party. Dhimmicrats never believe 9-11 could happen. Even 8 years after it already did.

It may be over for you, but the Truth is that our ordeal is just beginning. Weakness against radical Islam will encourage them, and the last of their murder and mayhem is far from over. Sen Obambi better make sure he knows what he intends to do when that happens. Because he sure looks like he doesn't care if it does.

Subsunk

"There is a huge number a democrats that have moved into McCain's corner. ... Just expect the backflash [sic] in the votes. Its coming, and its a tidal wave."

Ha. Ha. A-ha. A-ha. A-ho-ho. A-hee-hee-hee. A-ha.

Oh man, that's a good one.

With all due respect, if your vote is for vote Obama, your vote is for higher taxes, bigger government, increased spending, a liberal agenda, not to mention tax increases on major corporations, a guaranteed increasing towards the left in the entire judicial system, as well as a message of weakness that will prove to be a source of empowerment to our enemies overseas and abroad. In addition to this, it is a vote to a politician who has his roots squarely in the politically corrupt Chicago Democratic Machine, which means more of the same political corruption that has leached its way through all of Illinois politics could make its way into the Federal Government as a whole.

This is why I sincerely wish people would take the time to look closely at Obama’s political record before deciding to cast their vote for the man. There is more to this man than the flowery speeches of hope and change he makes. And a lot of it is not good.

Wow! I have never seen such a pile drivel put in one place. I think they need a "crunchy con" over at Kos or maybe the Atlantic. You and Andi Sullivan can figure out the mysteries of Gov. Palin's womb. There is a future for you somewhere, just leave the "con's" out of it.

Rod, say thank you to Hotair.com for my stop at you blog. Let me tell you it my first and last visit. Your analysis is pathetic. What McCain did masterfully yesterday, that he brought Joe the Plumber and showed clearly what Obama will do to small bussines.
As Bides said three letter word - J-O-B-S, Obama will kill jobs.
Thank you and chao.

Rod,

I watched the debate and live-blogged with a bunch of other veterans. I think you missed the mark here. A lot of people, myself included, think Senator McCain either tied or edged in over Senator Obama.

Yes, there were times he could have, and should have, hammered Senator Obama and he didn't. However, considering his overall performance, I (as well as many others) think he rattled Senator Obama's cage a few times.

I haven't given up the election quite yet.

Paul

To all those commentators calling out Mr. Dreher for treason: not agreeing with your party is not a sin in a democracy; if anything, it's a "maverick trait" (how many times does McCain refer to the times he broke away from his party??).

Also, rewind to the question about the attacks; watch again Senator Obama's collected response to what we should be talking about; then watch Senator McCain snicker, roll his eyes, and go on a rampage against Ayers, ACORN (who now has the power to unravel our democracy?!), etc. I mean come on. Are we still in middle school or what here?

These commenters who linked from Hotair are pretty damn funny, I must say. Sorry to see that y'all won't be sticking around.

Hi Lynn

I read quite a bit of feminist ethics in college. I am familiar with the pro-choice justification for women's right to their body (privacy). That is why I was pro-choice for most of my adult life. I never considered the rights of the other human involved because I considered it only a blob of cells. I glossed over the sticky arguments about when that blob of cells magically became a person.

Abortion is not the point of my comment. As I matured, I see that people don't really evolve past the Hobbesian level of ethical judgement. When we allow something like abortion to exist it opens all types of opportunity to redefine humaness. A right to life is no longer intrinsic. It is arbitrary and can be defined by the state. The task for the average person becomes to stay in the fully human category. It's an old problem that still is not solved. I am not trying convince anyone that I am right, or prove you wrong. I no longer care. I can't convince you. What I am saying is that I no longer have common cause with you. We have an irreconcilable difference. I am scared to live with people who can hold a pro-choice pro-euthanasia materialist views. I am not safe in a society where rights can be arbitrarily dictated. Since the "people" seem to want a "strong leader", the government is broken, the currently (biz/pol) elites are feckless, cultural institutions are being disassembled what should we do if we don't have common cause?

[[[ Which one of these men would I want in the White House when the 3 a.m. phone call comes in? ]]]

Hmmmm what about the **other** 3,559 minutes in the day?

First visit to this site, and I have to say I'm disappointed.

I find your "analysis" to be immature and obviously driven by some pre-existing agenda. You seem to think that this election is a junior high school popularity contest deserving of the same breathless, gossipy commentary; it isn't. There are substantive issues at stake, and Obama has done his best to hide his true positions on nearly all of them. The debates have never been the "make or break, high drama, action-packed thrill-fests" that the media childishly wants and endlessly predicts, and that you were foolishly holding up as the standard by which you would render your judgment.

McCain probably made up some lost ground last night. The race continues to tighten in Rasmussen, Zogby, and "traditional" Gallup, and two weeks is a long time in politics. So we'll see what happens.

To reiterate, your commentary was hysterical and worthless, and I won't be back. If you are trying to build a brand here, you are in a very crowded space, which makes for good fun at cocktail parties but not very much sense as a market strategy. Good luck with that.

All in all, I think Teddy Roosevelt's memorable quote regarding critics fits you very well. Here's a hint: it isn't complimentary.

Golly, I love reading the comments of all the really, really smart people who speak with such disdain of Sarah Palin. She's such a dummy, how can we let her anywhere near Washington? Course, she was the mayor of her town, and then was elected governor of Alaska, but we all know the really smart people are the ones who post on blogs all day.

"There is a huge number a democrats that have moved into McCain's corner. ... Just expect the backflash [sic] in the votes. It's coming, and its a tidal wave."

Ha. Ha. A-ha. A-ha. A-ho-ho. A-hee-hee-hee. A-ha. Oh man, that's a good one.

The last laugh will be on those who think McCain is down for the count. The mainstream media and the pollsters are going to be surprised how conservative and "racist" Americans really are come November 4, despite all the ballot-stuffing and false-voter-registrations Obama's supporters engage in.

McCain will win. Whether or not that's a good thing is something we'll learn over the next four years.

This was Senator McAmnesty's best effort yet, but it's far too little, too late. I think all Obama had to do to win the debate was to show up. At least McAmnesty didn't belabor and tout his "bipartisanship." The ONLY reason for the Senator to ever reach across the aisle, is to slap the crap out of a liberal!

IMO Obama is an empty suit of questionable character, with no record of accomplishment, who displays far left marxist leanings, and I fear he will indeed be our next President. The Republicans couldn't win this one even if they stuffed every ballot box in the country.

If McAmnesty, a RINO IMO, and Obama a far left liberal, are the best this country can put up for President, it is really a very sad commentary on the state of this union. I want to puke! After 45 years as a registered Republican, I am no more as I am a conserv ative, and the Republican party no longer is.

The MOST accurate poll in 2004 was the IBD poll, which was within 4/10 of 1 % of the actual outcome, ie – they had it right the WHOLE time.

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/PollsMain.aspx

They currently have Obama ahead by only 3 points, with 13% undecided.

If we fight for every vote – we will win, and so will the military, taxpayers, and millions of unborn babies.

Go McCain - Palin!

Rod and other "crunchy cons":

Didn't get a chance to see the debate last night. Read all your comments including Rod's analysis. Good stuff! It appears to me, though, that last night's debate didn't change the minds of the usual posters here. Didn't expect it would :-)

BTW, I think the post by Rod, "Does conservatism need God," was the most interesing one from yesterday. Substantive, deep stuff like that is what keeps me coming back. Thanks, Rod!

This is the first time I have been to this site. What a waste of my time.If Obama is the man you want in a crisis God Help You. The door missed me.I won't be back.

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Man, the number of kool-aid drinking delusional right wing hacks is staggering. I might have to check out this hotair.com site sometime for a good laugh.

Your "belief" must be solely in what you see and understand for yourself. I guess God has left the building and the U.S. and is leaving us to our own devices. The 2 Chronicles verse - IF MY people -apparently doesn't apply to anyone at Beliefnet. "Inspiration, Spirituality and Faith" I guess you can get those from anything - but I recommend you check your Source.

Don't believe the polls. Why would the polling be unbiased toward John McCain when everything else is so blatantly slanted in favor of Obama. Think about this as well. After Obama told his supporters to "get in their faces, argue with them", and seeing these thugs from Acorn just who in their right mind would tell a stranger on a phone interview who they were voting for? Get real, the polls are way, way off. McCain is, if the truth be known, is probably up my 12 - 14 points up, and the Obama camp knows it. After lat night the American people heard the key character issues raised, and Obama was "caught" several times in lies and cover ups. What do you think all those goofy grins were about when he got called out! He looked like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. It's real simple. Two great mistakes that would usher in a depression (1)tax and (2) spend. So, who will tax you more, and who will spend more in this economic crisis?

steve (11:40 AM): "To all the Hot Air visitors who say they won't be back...Thank you and don't let the door hit you on the way out"

Why would you want to keep the visitors from Hot Air away? I don't agree with Rod's analysis of the current campaign, but I enjoy reading his views and would hope others would drop in when they get the chance.

The more (who comment here), the merrier.

I don't get it. You wrote what you felt. I thought that was what people were supposed to do. I think its over too. And honestly, it will be a good thing in the long run. Although I do not believe Obama is the right answer for this country....I don't think McCain is either.

As for Hotair.com....its actually a really good site that Michelle Malkin started. It isn't a problem at all. It doesn't criticize you, it simply links to you. It is some of the idiots that are saying bad things, not hotair.com.

My apologies to you for a rude HotAir poster. We're not all that obnoxious. I am a McCain supporter but, unfortunatly, I have to admit that you are right. I disagree with almost everything Obama says but he was the better communicator in all three debates and will probably win the election because of it.

Obama knows that if you repeat a lie enough times people will start to believe it. This he learned from his communist mentors, including his mother, his 'uncle' Frank, Ayers, the Chicago thug machine, Wright, Farrakhan. His ghost-written books lay it out plainly if anyone cares to read and understand thier content. Look it up on the internet - he has been surrounded by and influenced by Marxists his entire life.
McCain gets frustrated because he tells the truth and Obama shoots back with a lie that is so smooth the gullible public drinks it up.
If Obama is our next president, we will take a giant leap toward socialism, the system that has failed many European countries and is sure to fail us too.

Hi Dix, care to disclose the source of your "data"?

Well, Dix.

I'm none of the above.

I'm not rich, don't live in HOllywood, not a member of any of those organizations (including Hezbollah), not a hippie, living on handouts...

Wow, given we're talking about millions of people (on both sides, but still), you seem to think approximately half (give or take a percentage point or two) of the US are members of those groups.

Hey Dix you forgot me! I've been a supporter of Obama's since the beginning and I don't fit into ANY of your categories. Neither do any of the women in my "mommy posse" here in north New Jersey. We all get up early to bring our kids to school, then head off to part-time or full-time jobs, volunteer our time at our children's schools, and take care of our families in our "spare time". What do we all have in common? A dream for a better future for our kids, a bit of financial security for ourselves, a leader who can inspire Americans to reach our collective potential, and last but not least we all have an educated brain to think with.

As to education, will anyone ever ask why college costs have increased at a rate way beyond inflation forever?

Good question. I can tell you for a fact that the money is NOT going towards faculty salaries, except maybe for a few "superstars".

I'm not so sure McCain is done. Elections are won, as a rule, by getting one's own base out rather than by knocking the other guy's base down.

But by admitting that he wouldn't hold judicial nomination to a pro-life litmus test, didn't McCain essentially alienate a good chunk of his base last night?

"Turn the other cheek"
vs.
"These people are pure evil."

Being agnostic, I feel like a guest here at Beliefnet and wish to respect people that I probably disagree with on many subjects including politics. I am passionate and at times angry about what has happened to our country, and blog comment threads have tempted me into the occasional flamewar. It isn't helpful or persuasive or nice, and it seems especially inappropriate on a site populated by many Christians.

Being agnostic doesn't mean one can't learn some wisdom and moral principles from religion, and ironically enough I am finally understanding what "turn the other cheek" is all about from this political campaign. Its about respect. It isn't about appeasement or surrender. It is about respect.

Posts calling Obama a Marxist and his supporters as likely to be environmental nuts, people who don't want to work, or Hamas isn't just ill-informed. It is emotional and disrespectful.

One thing I respect about Obama is that he doesn't get down in the mud. He respects John McCain and he has a record of respecting (some) Republicans and (some) Republican ideas. He declined to critique Sarah Palin's thin qualifications for the Presidency. This is a theme going back to his DNC convention speech 4 years ago as well as his tenure as a liberal teacher at a conservative law school.

As a country, we face many challenges, and we are all going to pay a price for mistakes that only some of us made and supported.

If a good % of the country thinks another good % of the country is evil, then we are totally f&^%ed as a country. Pardon my french, there is no other way to put it.

The far right is angry right now, in denial about losing this election, and maybe they'll get over it after a while, and maybe they won't. I hope they will, for all our sake's. The demonization of each other has to end. We cannot have a successful nation with a constant undercurrent of hatred and disrespect. The left wing is also guilty of this, but the left wing is very likely to stand down as Obama continues to set a good example. Has Obama run a few truthy ads? Yes, especially at a local level where it might not be noticed. He's not perfect. But he is fundamentally a more respectful politician than I've ever seen, and I would think that Christians would recognize and respect (but not necessarily vote for) someone who understands the lesson of turning the other cheek.

To the commenter who thinks McCain is up by 12 points: get out of your bubble. Your disrespect for the opposition is causing you not to understand them and therefore you've ended up in denial about what is happening in this country right now. Times are changing. They will change a little bit whether you like it or not. If you want to end up like the liberal Democrats in the 1980s, a whiny opposition party that didn't understand why Reagan was an effective leader because they didn't respect him, his ideas, or his followers, keep doing what you are doing, and the country will be poorer for it. If you want to have some influence the new Democratic majority and go back to the days of the loyal opposition, please get out of the bubble and talk with some non-angry, well-educated progressives.

We aren't evil. But we will be in power, and eventually that power will be corrupting. An honest opposition party and free press have important roles to play in containing the majority party and holding them accountable.

"These people are pure evil." Wow. I bet he thinks he's patriotic, too. You can't be patriotic while calling more than half the country stupid and evil. The people make up the nation. We've got a lot of work to do.

* * * * * * * * *
==> The debates are over. Sen. McCain's mudslide continues to be transformed into Sen. Obama's soon-to-be landslide victory.
* * * * * * * * *

Most voters, with families,(I learned never to say "All voters") vote on the basis of what they perceive to be good for their families. The problem for Republicans is that what is good for the families are not always Republican policies. Obviously each family makes their own determinations. To say that the Republican Party is best for families is not correct. To say that only politically conservative policies are best for families is also not correct.

There are many issues that confront families. It is not just abortion, not just same-sex marriage. It is also, how can I provide healthcare for my family, for now and the future? how can I put food on the table for my family? how can I provide a good education for my children and grandchildren? how can I provide a safe environment from hate and violence for my family? It is all these issues that a family must consider when casting votes, and unfortunately for the Republican Party, not all the answers equate with Republican policies. Not only that, the familily-oriented voter has to judge between family-issues that are not concordant with just one political party; What is more important for my family, a pro-life abortion position or universal healthcare? Families have to weigh all these issues, and unfortunately for McCain, not all the answers are pointing the McCain way.

Let's face it the people who think McCain won are right in their own minds. They wanted McCain to come out swinging whether it made him look like a grumpy crazy old man & he did. They do NOT realize what a turnoff this is to the "average" person who is an independent. I voted for W twice & I regret it every minute of the day. I will NOT make the same mistake again. Obama gets my vote with no hesitation.

Gee Rod, it looks like you better watch your back man. Once you become a "traitor" you are in big trouble.

Erin has given me a great idea. Let's dissolve this marriage before we kill one another.

Nice strategy
“One thing I respect about Obama is that he doesn't get down in the mud. He respects John McCain and he has a record of respecting (some) Republicans and (some) Republican ideas.”

Nice strategy, I don’t believe that Obama respects McCain. I believe that he realizes that he does not have common cause with McCain, and hence he realizes that their differences are irreconcilable. No point in becoming emotional or showing disrespect to his position. Just point out the difference and move on.

“The demonization of each other has to end. We cannot have a successful nation with a constant undercurrent of hatred and disrespect.”

You are correct. But the materialist (leftist) solutions proposed by politicians destroy our culture. The processes that support our magical, non-quantifiable, "delusional", unscientific belief in faith and family is our culture. Undermine it, and you undermine our children, attack it, and you attack our children, kill it, and you kill our children. We can’t just let that happen.

I don’t think materialists are stupid and I don’t hate them. They have a world view and it is merciless. They think they are doing good, but they are not. I simply have no common cause with them. Why argue. It is best to simply clear your mind, be at peace, and stay focused on God. You said it best. It is about power. The power for them comes from the state, and they wield it arbitrarily.

After hiring a plumber recently, I can attest that they do indeed make significantly more than other non college graduates. One of the candidates should have mentioned that plumbing is one skill that can't be off-shored and no college loans are required. What's not to like?

I just love it when persons I disagree with speak truth. It restores my faith in my fellow man.

"Republicans: Stop saying a vote for Obama is a vote for Socialism. It's not."

Uh, yes it is. Make no mistake -- Obama is a socialist. He is in favor of a deeply progressive income tax, and of massive wealth redistribution by government fiat, i.e., entitlements, and he is a radical egalitarian. Behold! if it walketh like unto a duck, and quacketh like unto a duck...

The morons who scream 'soak the rich!' don't know enough about basic economics to realize that attempts to soak the supposed rich always and without fail redound to the middle class (the underclass isn't affected because they get their entitlements anyways). If you vote for Obama, you're voting for a shift in the country towards a European-type socialist state. If that's what you want, fine -- vote for him. But you middle class wage earners and small business owners shouldn't let yourselves be duped by this redistributionist claptrap. And I'm saying this as a middle class wage earner myself (and I make considerably less than Joe the plumber).

Rob, if what you say is true; there is no more middle class.

Also we have to recognize the difference between balancing policy (value/utility/wealth/power) and subsidizing it via the government - they are not the same thing.

I think a vote for Barry has a better chance at returning our country towards true capitalism than a vote to Johnny; but that will be up to us, the American people to make happen. One man can't do it alone and left to his ("socialist") devices - that shift towards the bureaucratic social welfare state could happen, but is unlikely if we do our jobs by electing competent reps and maintaining interest in the political process.

Voting a socialist into executive office doesn't guarantee socialism. A filibuster proof majority in congress does :-)

If I have to choose; I'm for a democratic president and a republican congress and its about time we had one.

Let me know what you think

There is still a middle class, but its interests are being squeezed out by the interests of the elites (of both parties) above it, and their allies in the underclass. The elites collect and distribute the wealth, thus ensuring their status, the underclass receives the benefits in the form of entitlements, and the middle class pretty much gets dick.

"that shift towards the bureaucratic social welfare state could happen"

Well that's the rub -- it's already happening. An Obama presidency has the potential to grease the skids big time. And the average voter doesn't get it, so he's not likely to stay informed and involved. For anyone who was listening last night, if there's one thing McCain managed to do well, it was to get Obama to display how much of a redistributionist he really is.

I don't like either party right now, so I wouldn't see a Democratic presidency with a GOP House and Senate (or vice-versa) as being much good (although they would tend to frustrate each other -- that might stop one or the other from doing much damage!)

Regarding all the wild-eyed cries of "socialism" -- I don't think anyone running for office is proposing anything of the kind. But considering the abject failure of unfettered capitalism, maybe a little socialism would be a good thing. Especially where health care is concerned. It might get the US out of third-world territory in terms of our ability to provide health care to our citizens -- all our citizens, not just those fortunate enough to be able to afford it. Tens of millions uninsured is a disgrace for a so-called first-world country. The cynical, callous disregard for the plight of these individuals is just one of the many reasons that the moderate majority of this country is helping bring about the demise of the far-right, and putting a stop to their siphoning of the wealth of the middle class to the top one percent -- the religious, middle-class right that has gone along with this has simply been taken for a ride by the Bush/Cheney/Rove criminals, who manipulated the gullible with fears of terrorism and simplistic, patriotic jingoism. That sound you hear is the right emitting its final primal scream as it thrashes about in its death throes. The sound of that primal scream is, predictably, "socialism!"

Not me, I don't condone people wearing nasty tee-shirts about Sarah Palin or anyone else. However, if you really want your admonitions to be taken seriously, perhaps you should not post anonymously.

The "McCaniac's" post you removed confirmed the validity of the decision I made back in the year 2000 -- I returned back to the Democratic party after a 10 year stint as a Republican (being a Reagan Democrat initially) and after McCain lost to Bush (I voted for McCain in the primary but Nader as a protest vote in the general). I finally recognized (in my opinion) how the once rational Republican party leadership had become taken over by those who would use and cultivate anti-intellectualism, religious bigotry, homophobia, xenophobia, division, demonetization of opponents, appeals to theocracy, and general themes of the right-wing lunatic fringe and John Birch Society all for the sake of power without regard to what it does to our society.

The McCain of 2000 rejected that approach but the New McCain of 2008 seems to have embraced it and is paying the price. I think his uncomfortable body language and awkward demeanor on the debate stage is the physical manifestation of his inner goodness and conscience showing his discomfort with the path he's on. Perhaps he had no other choice due to the corner the party had painted him into with the "base". But (to borrow a phrase), for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the White House, and lose his own soul?

I saw his inner goodness come out when he called down the crowds at his rallies (where cries of "kill him" had been yelled) and said Obama wasn't a terrorist but was a decent fellow citizen and family man with which he just had policy disagreements. At that point his face had a look of shame and regret and I actually felt deep sorrow for him like one feels for the fall of a once great man.

I believe we are now seeing a massive political realignment where the US public is rejecting that brand of social and economic "conservatism" and returning to the "classic liberalism" of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt variety. And how ironic that we may be entering a second Great Depression as we do so!

Peace be with you.

"But considering the abject failure of unfettered capitalism, maybe a little socialism would be a good thing."

If you think we've had anything like 'unfettered capitalism' in the U.S. you need a serious economics lesson, as well as new glasses. The problem is not only over-regulation, but over-regulation that favors big business. Big gummint and big bizness have been shacking up together for lo these many years, and the progeny from that union ain't purty. And guess what? That's not 'unfettered capitalism.'

"the religious, middle-class right that has gone along with this has simply been taken for a ride by the Bush/Cheney/Rove criminals, who manipulated the gullible with fears of terrorism and simplistic, patriotic jingoism."

There is a certain amount of truth to this, but the cure for it is not Obama's redistributionist tax-and-handouts plan. That cure will end up being worse than the disease. There is never such a thing as 'a little socialism.' The government never gives back what it takes, and never stops taking once it starts. They've got their hand in your pocket from the minute you wake up in the morning till you go to bed each night. The answer isn't to allow them to start using both hands.

What we need here is a middle class revolt against both parties -- the big government 'answers' of the Dems, and the big business 'answers' of the GOP.