7:51 PM: In a twist of timing, the Senate will finish voting on President Obama’s jobs bill sometime toward the end of tonight’s debate. The vote is being left open to allow Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to return to DC from New Hampshire, the site of tonight’s debate. The bill is not close to getting the 60 votes necessary to advance, but Shaheen will give Democrats a symbolic 51st vote in favor.
7:57 PM: Tonight’s debate is sponsored by Bloomberg TV and the Washington Post. It’s taking place at Dartmouth, where Mitt Romney’s well-worn jab at the “Harvard faculty lounge” gets a different kind of applause.
8:00 PM: Bloomberg has 40,000 junior staffers fact-checking this debate.
8:01 PM: Can we just skip tonight and fast forward to SNL’s parody of Charlie Rose?
8:03 PM: Debate kicks off with the conventional wisdom that Washington is afflicted by “bipartisan dysfunction.” Sigh.
8:05 PM: Asked what he would do to end paralysis in Washington, Herman Cain said he’d call 911 999.
8:06 PM: Rick Perry: Every job at Dartmouth is a direct result of my Texas miracle. Only kinda joking.
8:08 PM: Karen Tumulty is a solid DC journalist. A good follow on Twitter.
8:10 PM: Michele Bachmann: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to blame for everything since the Norman invasion.
8:12 PM: Did Newt just threaten to jail Chris Dodd and Barney Frank for the financial crisis?
8:15 PM: Newt Gingrich comes out with guns blazing tonight: “If you wanna put people in jail, I’ll second what Michele said. You ought to start with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.”
