9:00 PM … Wondering if McCain’s gotten any eye contact lessons since the other debate.
9:05 PM … Nice townhall meeting crack!
9:08 PM … I’m really curious to hear how this buyout would work.
9:09 PM … We’re told this audience was selected to be a cross-section of the local community. But is it not obvious that it’s weighted to bald men?
9:16 PM … Brokaw: Mr. Obama, are really saying that the economy is about to explode and we’re all going to lose our homes and die? Hmmm. Seems he phrased the question a bit differently for McCain.
9:18 PM … Sir, In my hand I am holding a letter, and Sen. Obama’s name is not on it.
9:21 PM … Can’t we have the angry McCain?
9:22 PM … McCain: Just go look at the ratings of some right-wing groups. They don’t like Obama at all.
9:25 PM … Think we’re having some coherence problems in this answer.
9:27 PM … (If I weren’t worried about having clever things to say, I’d say that both are doing decently. But McCain sounds kind of old and a little incoherent. And Obama’s answers are more clear and organized. Also doing better at connecting answers to families. Also Brokaw’s a bit of a whiner, no?)
9:29 PM … Except for defense, veterans affairs and “some other vital programs”. Wow, that’s pretty air tight.
9:30 PM … This debate’s so boring I don’t even know what to tell the staff to upload to youtube.
9:33 PM … $20 for whoever can grab John McCain’s notepad and let me see it.
9:37 PM … Man, McCain’s one humongous liar on tax policy.
9:37 PM … Tom’s a complete Washington insider so he basically knows Jack about Social Security. And yet, he thinks he knows a lot. So sad. What a fool. I’ll try to explain more on this front tomorrow.
9:41 PM … Wheezy. “Social Security’s not that tough.” Just phase it out and replace it with private accounts.
9:42 PM … Exactly. A Medicare Closing Commission.
9:43 PM … Why does Brokaw always cut off Obama?
9:44 PM … Why is Obama so hung up on Nuclear safety?
9:47 PM … Wow, what’s Brokaw’s deal? What a silly whiner.
9:49 PM … Can Brokaw keep the McCain love in check? Please?
9:50 PM … TPM Reader AL doesn’t think much of Brokaw’s job as moderator either: “I’ve observed better fairness by officials of the World Wrestling Federation.”
9:52 PM … When is Brokaw going to tell McCain how good a job he’s doing?
9:55 PM … That’s some of the best hair transplant debate humor I’ve heard in a while.
9:56 PM … Lucky Obama jumped in there before Brokaw said time was up.
9:59 PM … I think when you’re the only one laughing at your jokes, there’s a problem. … (ed.note: 10:06 PM … a number of readers say they heard one people laugh at this joke: Brokaw.)
10:00 PM … I didn’t realize that Brokaw would be so in the tank for McCain. I guess he’s still the emissary?
10:02 PM … Very solid turn of the question from Obama on Iraq/foreign policy. (I’m surprised Brokaw isn’t cutting him off in the middle.) On the other hand TPM Reader JG, who says he’s an Obama supporter, says I’m being too hard on Brokaw, he’s just had a hard time controlling the time, but not unfair.
10:07 PM … Is McCain suddenly running against himself? Saying we need a “cool hand at the tiller”? Someone who understands our limits?
10:09 PM … Curious what people think. But even trying to judge this from the vantage point of an undecided voter, I don’t get the sense that McCain is scoring many points in this foreign policy phase of the debate.
10:13 PM … Has Brokaw ever interrupted McCain?
10:14 PM … Green behind the ears? Guess that’s a new metaphor. (10:23 PM … Hmmm, learn something new every day. Readers are sending me links to this phrase. I thought it was ‘wet behind the ears’ and that you can be ‘green’. Didn’t know they combined.) On the other hand, saying how McCain’s a loose cannon freak is pretty good.
10:20 PM … I think McCain was just about to say, a tiny country in a tiny part of the world.
10:24 PM … I think Tom Brokaw just won the contest for most positively stupid question of the evening.
10:32 PM … Very strong conclusion by Obama. I think he served himself very well with that. Through the debate his answers have been more coherent; he’s connected them better to ordinary concerns.
10:34 PM … Really don’t know if this ‘steady hand at the tiller’ line is a winner for McCain.
10:34 PM … Okay, I’ll give Brokaw that one. He ended on a funny line.
Did McCain just refuse to shake Obama’s hand?
Late Update: We just looked at the video. There’s some room for interpretation. But it certainly looks like McCain left Obama hanging when Obama put his hand out to shake. But before you make up your mind, you should see the video. We’ll have it for you shortly.
Later Update: We’re getting conflicting reports on this handshake story. We’re getting flooded by emails. So a lot of people definitely think they saw it. But like I said, we’re going to be pulling the video shortly. So you can see for yourselves. One reader says that it was actually that moment where they were blocking the teleprompter that they were shaking their hands. The truth is, I think, that on TV it was hard to be sure quite what happened. So let’s wait to see the video. And then we’ll try to find out more about what happened.
Video shortly …
This debate struck me as a marginal victory for Obama on points, but because of the state of the race a substantial victory in terms of the overall race. Obama more than held his own. I think Obama’s answers were more coherent. And there were several exchanges where I think Obama had very strong answers, which I noted in the live blogging. That said, McCain did fine. I think his supporters will think he put in a solid performance. But the bottom line is that right now McCain is losing. He has to shake things up. But he didn’t.
You can see our initial comments on this below. And here’s the video — make your own judgments …
Late Update: A few readers say the two shook hands right after the conclusion of the debate, at that moment where Brokaw told them they were in the way of his teleprompter. Here’s what TPM Reader KP said …
Hey, i watched the video of the debate. The moment right before Tom Brokaw told them they were in his way, they clearly shook hands vigorously. Then they took a moment to stand side by side for the audience and Brokaw was like, hey move it.
The moment you showed on video was when McCain was obviously presenting his wife to shake Obama’s hand.
On the other hand, in the video above, Blitzer seemed to think they had no yet shaken hands.
Special Late Night D’oh Update: It turns out KP’s right. They did shake hands right at the end of the debate, at the point where they got in the way of Brokaw’s teleprompter. It wasn’t on CNN or NBC but we just found it on ABC. No question. They shook hands before McCain later snubbed him and then ran off in a huff.
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this when it happened. It sounded demeaning, but it happened as I was writing one of my posts. So I didn’t get a chance to listen closely enough on the first round. But you be the judge …
Late Update: Amazing how quickly they can get up new URLs these days.
Obama on McCain the hothead …
Obama: You’re Right, I Don’t Understand Your Failed Foreign Policy …