The Hockey Mother of All Bad Ideas

Perhaps Wonkette doesn't quite imagine this future event correctly, but I do think that somebody in the McCain campaign miscalculated badly when they signed Palin up to drop the puck for the Flyers opener. She'll be lucky if my fellow Philadelphians simply boo her off of the ice but the prospect of what will really happen made me giggle out loud as I read the story. Who wants to start a list of things most likely to end up thrown on the ice?

Summing it up

Nice piece of summary from Will Wilkinson, caught by Andrew Sullivan:

Gut read. Obama owned it. This election’s over unless he murders and eats the flesh of a child on live television.

Appologies if this freaks you out!

Ok... so before the intro for this bizarre and scary picture, let me just say that live blogging was yet again a ton of fun tonight... I hope everybody else enjoyed it. I think Matt did a great job, and I think you all agree, based on the fact that we had some nice comments all along the way. Meanwhile, the debate was strange, dynamic and sporadic. Overall, I agree with Matt that perhaps one of the few revelations of the evening is the clear fact that McCain basically despises Obama... funny to see that in one candidate's eyes, while his opponent is cool, calm and collected.

Anyway, meanwhile, out here in CT, I was playing softball earlier this evening, and while I planned a calm return home from my 6pm game to watch the debate and blog, instead I was hit square on the chin by a fly ball (yup... it simply missed my glove) and spent a couple hours in the ER getting 4 stitches in my chin... hence the picture you see below, where I look like a complete psychopath. Kim snapped this one while she was sitting next to me just prior to the stitching. All in all, it was a very eventful evening!

Live Bloggage

A quick update on the live-blog situation. Our regular host, the legendary John, is currently on the Disabled List, having suffered what is known in medical circles as gettin'-smacked-by-a-softball. As he is recovering, I will do my best to fill in. Mostly I just want to open the thread to the insightful and witty comments that we all enjoyed last time. I will also add my own thoughts as well. Let's all begin by wishing John a speedy and complete recovery. Hooray for baseball! Hooray for debates! Hooray for live-blogging!

9:02 McCain's tie is red and Obama's is blue. Did they plan this?

9:05 I'm not sure how much of this financial mess is really Bush's fault, but what an effective line of attack!

9:10 Ebay versus Warren Buffet: would either of these people actually take the job? For Warren that is certainly a demotion!

9:15 This is the problem ofr McCain. He does have a long history of fighting for deregulation. Whatever one thinks about the economic argument, the fact is that people are not receptive to this message right now. In fact, they're downright terrified of it. Hence, his efforts to remake himself.

9:18 I would like to extend a warm welcome to a 3rd Matt, who will be posting comments tonight! Well come! May the Giant Bee be with you.

9:20 Obama is very effective in talking about the middle class. That's probably the single greatest asset you could have in this election.

9:23 Earmarks and pork-barrel spending are still the only economic issues that get McCain excited. Unfortunately for him, I don't think those are all that high on anyone's list.

9:25 And Welcome back to John Four-Stiches!

9:27 Obama actually talks about cutting earmarks as effectively as McCain. But is that really a game-changer for anyone right now?

9:29 I'm actually watching this on a local network without benefit of the CNN Happy Line graph thingy. I feel left out. Time to switch.

9:32 It's notable that the energy Policy Obama is talking about would have been considered very left wing not long ago. Now, the lines seem to love it! (yes, I went back to CNN)

9:34 "High on the hog?" Sure you aren't talking about lipstick on a pig? Obama you sexist bastard!

9:36 From the Comments: Matt says:
Here's something I've been noticing on CNN throughout all the debates: nobody really likes John McCain when he gets negative. It's really striking. Everybody likes the positive stuff though.

9:38 Talking about Social Security has to be one of the hardest tasks in modern American politics. Talking about cutting taxes is much easier. I would have liked a more serious answer on this, but I can't say I'm surprised.

9:41 McCain does have a point there. He does have a much longer record of working across party lines than Obama. McCain has fought with people in his own party before. I'm not sure if Obama has. But now that Mccain has cozied up with the far-right, can he still do this effectively? Also, did he seriously say that fixing Social Security would be easy?

9:44 McCain should have just picked Lieberman as his running mate. They love each other. It's touching actually. If Joe were a Republican, he might actually be pretty popular.

9:46 Obama is effective in pointing out that McCain has been in Washington for about 3 decades and hasn't worked towards some of the things he claims to care about. It was always absurd for him to run as an agent of change.

9:48 Wow, they just both got chewed out by Tom! I liked his scolding, very professorial.

9:49 Typewriters baby typewriters (Hat Tip: Alabama Matt)

9:51 "Shoot, a cat on my lap is making posting hard." Let's keep this clean folks, okay? There might be kids reading this.

9:52 John says: "I was on Navy ships that had nuclear power," so it must be clean??? Not sure I follow that line of reasoning.
Me neither. I bet a fair amount of stuff went on in the Navy that is not exactly clean, or safe.

9:54 Is the hair-plugs thing a crack about Biden?

9:55 The lines like Obama on healthcare. And so do I.

9:58 Nice effort at tying banking in with heathcare! And women especially LOVE Obama on health care. But they apparently don't like McCain's question about the size of the fine.

10:01 You can tell McCain is relieved to be talking about foreign policy again. If this were still 2004, he would probably win.

10:02 But if you want proof that it is NOT still 2004, just look at the Lines reaction to Obama's comments about the war. I am not sure this would have been a very crowd pleasing vignette back then.

10:03 I love America times infinity.

10:06 Perhaps the most vital issue of the night: "Kim's concern, however, is that Brokaw's tie is telling of media bias. She believes that Brokaw is in the tank for Johnny Mac."

10:08 Corinne says: "delaware has loose laws. hilarious." Sounds like song. I'm going down to Delaware to get some fresh crabs and loose laws.
Is that even true anymore? I don't know that Delaware is actually any looser than anywhere else, but I can't claim to know much about it.

10:11 Dude, is McCain seriously claiming that Obama is responsible for anti-Americanism in Pakistan? The flak that Obama has taken for his stance about Pakistance is absurd. I feel like McCain would have said the same thing and now he doesn't just to be able to call Obama "naive." Also, the happy lines don't seem impressed.

10:14 Matt says "If McCain gets elected, the new special word will be "Tolleebahn"" I like the way he says it. Hey Mr. Tolleebahn, tollee me banana..."

10:16 Did McCain just use the word "Telegraph?" he's really up on the latest technology. His aides help him. Originally the line was " I won't Pony Express my punches." That's right. I went there.

10:19 Matt says "Yes Venice, that's exactly the song I was singing in my head!" Excellent! Great minds and all that.

10:21 McCain is vastly more effective on Russia than he is on domestic policy. So far he seems to be getting a better reaction on the subject than Obama. But I think in this cycle, at least, domestic issues will be paramount which gives the edge to Obama. I don't know, BTW, if us buying less Russian oil will matter much. I suspect China will be more than happy to pick up the slack.

10:26 Much as I care about this subject, I expect the responses to be very cookie-cutter. Could anyone seriously running for president say that he would wait for UN approval to defend Israel?

10:29 The Happy Lines like Obama on this subject more than I would have expected. BTW which is better: The Community of Nations or the League of Democracies?

10:30 NO! The last question is from my neighborhood and it's totally stupid! It sounds like something from a cheap self-help book.

10:34 John: "I think somebody needs to make a game pitting the League of Extraordinary Democracies vs. the Community of Nations or whatever the hell they are called... it would kick butt." The Community of Nations have more hit points but the League has a lower armour class and better spells.

10:35 I think Obama was much stronger tonight but neither hit it out of the park. Since Obama is way ahead, I think he should be counted as the decided winner tonight. On another note, I feel like McCain really despises Obama.

10:38 John: ""What I don't know is what the unexpected will be" says McCain? Not sure either one of them could do well with this final bizarro world question... but that line struck me as particularly um... awkward." You took the words out of my mouth, or off my keyboard. Basically, he said he didn't know what he didn't know. But what should he have said? stupid New Hampshire.

10:41 Once again, this was loads of fun! Thanks to everyone who contributed. John, we're all glad that you've made it through your injuries and are back on the roster!

Who's rocks the house?

Live-blogination rocks the house.

Cause when live-blogination rocks the house, we rock it all the way downs.

Join in tonight, as we post random thoughts, insightful commentary (on occasion) and general knee-jerk reactions while John McCain attempts to distract America into thinking Barack Obama is a scary and unpredictable liberal nutjob, all while trying to um... convince America he's not an aging, scary and unpredictable um... formerly moderate nutjob.

Sweet!

Should be fun.

Need some distracting debate prep? Why not play the Mortal Kombat-style web based game, "Kung-Fun Election" here? It's tons of fun.

Attacks are a distraction, Obama, don't take the bait!!!

Jason Zengerle over at the New Republic makes a strong argument for team Obama ignoring the McCain Campaign's attempt to "turn the page" on discussions of the economic crisis facing America. Zengerle's (to my eye good) advice is simply:

Obama could cut one of those one- or two-minute ads that show him speaking directly to the camera and saying something like, "On a day when we appear to be teetering on the brink of a global recession and people are worried about their economic futures, John McCain wants to 'turn the page' and talk about the 40-year-old actions of a man whom I barely know and whose actions I've deemed despicable. . ." and then pivot to a discussion of his economic plan.

Not Just Dirty, Dangerous

John over at AmericaBlog makes a good and important point today in a post today, and I'd like to do my small part to echo and hopefully amplify the outrage around an idea they've brought up. The idea is basically that McCain's choice to start attacking Barack Obama in certain ways this week is not simply dirty, it is dangerous. The accusations being tossed around by Palin and McCain today are the kind of ideas that stand some chance of riling up the craziest of the lunatic fringe on the borders of the right wing in America, the kind of folks who yell, "terrorist" at McCain rallies or, "kill him!" while Sarah Palin talks about Obama.

By suggesting Obama likes to hang out with terrorists and that we don't know who Obama really is they are playing the classic Republican, those who disagree with us are unpatriotic card, but with some ugly and new racial, ethnic and geopolitically tinged undertones. In essence, they are saying something that will sound to the craziest on the right like, "Obama is a terrorist," and in so doing I think they have truly crossed a line that has everything to do with decency.

Now, I know and am not surprised (nor should you be) that politics is ugly. However, the two-faced talk about bipartisanship, McCain's ability to reach across the isle, and building a better future, all while smearing their opponents in the ugliest possible way strikes me as something more people should speak out about. The larger pattern already established has been outrageous long before this week's increased intensity. What is new, is the dangerous and tantalizing possibility McCain's camp keeps spreading, the clearly implied endorsement of all those ugly forwarded emails that have been circulating since long before the Democratic primaries were over.

This world of lies and disinformation, these whispered notions about Obama being a secret Muslim and a friend of terrorists do absolutely nothing to move our discourse forward, nothing to benefit America or strengthen our nation. They take the exact the opposite tack from the dignified tone Biden took in the VP debate when he discussed his belief that you should never question other peoples' motives, simply their tactics, choices, perspective, etc.

I am not worried about the fact that today was simply an uglier day in a race that is likely to get a bit more dirty as the week wears on, but what worries me is that all of a sudden the McCain camp has put this campaign back in a place where it seems rational and reasonable to worry about what the lunatic fringe might do if Obama wins the election. I, for one, am angry that this kind of concern seems rational again. Angry and disappointed.

Keeping Tabs

So Gizmodo nicely picks up a story today about Jeffrey Toobin tracking the Cubs while taking his seat at the pundit blah blah blah-fest on CNN after the VP debate last week. Complete with pics to prove it, we find that Toobin was using a real-time feature provided by MLB.com to keep tabs on the Cubs epic collapse, timed perfectly to celebrate exactly 100 yrs since the last time they oh... actually won a World Series.

Perhaps the Cubs lost because Toobin was not allowed to bring his goat to the Situation Room , then again perhaps they just lost cause the Dodgers are pretty good this year. Not good enough to beat the Phils though... here we go PHILLIES! (nice segue, right?)

How Does this Picture Go With This Quote?

You see, Barney Frank -represented by a hapless Cubbie- is trying to steal the second base that is middle class wealth while George Bush -represented by Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Black Sox- is attempting to tag him out with the old "Hidden ball of Socialism" trick. And by ball, I mean bailout bill. Andy by middle class, I mean executives for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack! So you see, it really does make sense. Or somebody over at Time.com just got a little happy with the tags on this photo.

The Palin Effect: New Hampshire Edition

Whatever else Palin has going for her, I have always thought she would be a liability in my home state of New Hampshire. Turns out that a couple of polls today have proven me right. At first blush, this might seem a little surprising. Palin is a moose-hunting maverick, right? And New Hampshire is much beloved of both moose and mavericosity. She's a former small town mayor and there are plenty of small towns. But once you go past the superficial appeal, there isn't much left. She's a strong christian conservative in what is ulitimatly a pretty secular state.

She is an obvious gimmick in a state that tends to prefer 'straight-talk" (even if it comes from xenophobic idiots like Pat Buchanan). And while I much enjoy watching moose I have never heard of a mooseburger (and I could have lived quite happily without, thanks). Moose here are mainly something to avoid hitting with your car. I think McCain made a real mistake choosing Palin, but I do look forward to a new generation in which Trig and Piper are popular names.

Politico Gives Stark Rundown of Debate Performances

Politico writers John F. Harris and Mike Allen pop up today with a solid piece of post debate analysis under the heading, "Palin clears bar, still falls short." In the piece they discuss how Palin managed to disappoint all those who watched the debate wishing for real blatant blunders, delivering a performance that steered clear of anything extreme on the gaffe front. Still, they go further into what we all saw, describing Palin as being both on defense basically the whole time, and struggling to go on the offensive as McCain's advisers, no doubt, wanted her to against Biden. Their critique is smart and to the point:

Washington power lawyer Robert Barnett, who helped Biden prepare, said viewers would come away with the sense that Palin "is a nice person, an interesting person but not a qualified-to-be-the-president-of-the-United-States person."

They do give each VP candidate credit for having their moments, saying:

From the moment she blew a kiss as she walked onstage, the Alaska governor was folksy and spunky, dropping a “bless their hearts” here, a “God bless ‘er” there and “darn right” — twice. She showed a cheerful confidence that must have been hard to muster after the humiliating coverage of her amateurish interviews...

Biden offered a fluent, self-assured performance of the sort that cannot be especially hard for him after two presidential campaigns, 35 years in the Senate and countless appearances on Sunday morning programs...

Still, all in all, our friends at the Politico came around to the point well summarized in their title, that last night's debate while it wasn't a debacle also didn't change basically anything about the larger trends in the race.

The debate did nothing to arrest — and may even have helped cement — a gradual but unmistakable turnabout in the race, with Barack Obama gaining in polls and momentum and McCain losing ground in must-win states. The financial meltdown has put a new premium on competence, and Palin did nothing to show she is ready to be in charge...

In many ways, Obama-Biden has taken ownership of the play-it-safe vote, and McCain-Palin have become the more unpredictable and potentially risky choice.

The Foreclosure "Crisis" Put Into Stark Detail

It's not that I've doubted the existence of the wave of foreclosures but sometimes it's hard to comprehend this as really being a crisis what with life seeming to go along as usual. The places we hear about being hard hit are far from my home and friends, so I don't see or hear about it first-hand. Aside from a couple of developments on which construction has seemed to freeze, there are no local signs of a problem.

This depressing news report (hat tip to Wonkette via Andrew Sullivan and others) and its images of foreclosed houses' contents being trashed really made it hit home for me. The video is worth watching, but not if you are having a bad day or want to cruise into the weekend on a high note.