Jonathan Chait Is In Love

Obama Crushes McCain

Live Debate Blogging… With Cocktails by Dressedtogo

UPDATE: CNN poll Obama 54, McCain 30

Yep. That’s right.

8:51 EST: im ready. here with my white wine and my liberal sensibilities. let’s play ball!

8:52 EST: T Boone Pickens is the only logical, old white man in this campaign. and thats sayin’ somethin’

8:56 EST: ive been removed from the internet and the tv all day today. just tuning in now, im even MORE disgusted by what the mccain is up to. obama… ayers… terrorists. disgusting. cheap. and the tactics of losers. obama needs to stay steady, and be call mccain on his shit at the same time.

8:58 EST: wait, how do i blog live and eat ice cream at the same time?

9:02 EST: tom brokow’s verbal inflection is astounding.

9:03 EST: both mccain and obama are left handed. rock on.

9:03 EST: mccain looks old. torn and tattered. obama seems calm….. but he needs a bill clinton moment… he needs to feel our pain.

9:06 EST: mccain mentiones “energy independence”? really? is good in this setting. for the same reason bush was… he plays to our lowest common denominator… not our best. “my friends.”

9:10 EST: i know im biased… but obama seems much more in command… more focused…. much more so than in the last debate.

9:18 EST: mccain has mentioned “cronyism” and “special interests” twice. whatever, john. we all know that rick david is your campaign manager. and the cronyism = chicago hint. and meg whitman?

9:19 EST: did liza minelli just ask a question?

9:21 EST: you know, mccain makes some legit points… but you know, this guy decided to pick SARAH PALIN to be his running mate… every time he says something that is valid, i think of sarah palin. and it undermines everything.

9:30: i can not even follow mccain’s logic.

9:31: obama’s 9/11 / sacrifice spiel was emotional and effective. a few dudes in the audience turned their heads…. “young people in america”…. calling upon our generation to sacrifice…. holla back.

9:34: obama is ON tonight! clear, crisp, effective… presidential. i strongly recommend him for president, and i strongly recommend haagan dazs chocolate chip cookie dough.

9:42: mccain has been learin’ from sarah palin’. he is dropping g’s all over the place! obama got a little off path on taxes, but maintained the authority.

9:48: obama’s energy answer was muddled…

9:49; mccain just referred to obama as “that one.” whoa. dude. “sit down, boy”?

9:54: mccan is wandering aimlessly (even when obama talks) and is making no sense. this is weird. gold cadillacs? hair plugs?

9:58: im worried obama is attacking mccain too much. especially considering that the polls from the last debate reflected his conciliatory nature.

10:01: there mccain goes again with the “he does not understand.” obama hits back! “there are some things i dont understand… i dont understand why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11…” BOOM!

10:06: obama gives a lucid answer on human rights intervention. but i think he missed the chance to say, “how can we protect human rights abroad if we can not protect them at home? our country has legalized TORTURE. and john mccain voted for that bill.” missed opportunity if you ask me.

andrew sullivan: “It would have been a strong moment for McCain when he cited “no on the job training” in the White House. And then he picked Palin! She can’t even hold a press conference and he thinks she can be trusted with national security at a moment’s notice. It makes no sense.”

obama said he would “kill bin laden.” damn.

10:13: “carry a big stick.” i am really sick of men using this expression. come on, we NEED a woman up in here! no more stick carrying. shut up, dudes.

ta-nehisi coates is my hero: ‘Man, everytime Obama talks the bar for women just shoot up. I don’t want to be sexist, but come on ladies, you ain’t heard a word he said! Admit it! Your just thinking “He’s soooooo dreammmyyyy…” ‘

10:21: mccain is getting more comfortable. national security is his zone. but he is just so aggressive.

10:26: again with the “sit down without preconditions.” stylistically, mccain is AWKWARD.

10:30: there she is – michelle in the house! holla girl!

obama’s closer: i may have had too much vino, but obama’s story gets me every time. yeah, such an elitist. john mccain and his 7 houses should eat his words.

mccain’s closer: john mccain co-opting the message of “Hope.” good luck, johnny.

10:35: 60-40 obama. obama was in total control. crisp, fluid, youthful, smart, quick. authoritative. calm. presidential. sullivan thinks its a wipe-out. seriously though, “that one”?? and why was he picking on tom brokow? and “country first” when he picked palin? poppycock. and buy up bad mortgages?

The Verdict: Win for Biden

Early snap polls give the debate to Joe Biden by a large margin. TPM has a good write up on it here. To sum it up:

CBS polled 473 uncommitted debate-watchers, and found that 46% say Biden won, 21% say Palin won, and 33% say it was a tie.

While most people didn’t see the blathering confusing rants of the Couric interviews, They still do not see her as qualified.

And here’s a really key number from CNN. While a startling 84% said Palin did better than expected, it still wasn’t enough for her to clear her basic hurdle tonight: Only 46% said she’s qualified to serve as president, up only four points from before the debate. And a clear majority, 53%, say she is not qualified.

Places Please

Democratic Presidential Nominee, Senator Barack Obama participates in the first presidential debate with Senator McCain at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS on Friday, September 26, 2008. (David Katz/Obama for America)