US presidential and VP debates

With the first debate this Friday, it looks like we’ll be needing a thread on this, and I thought I’d start by posting the information on the debate schedule:

[quote]Friday, Sept. 26: Presidential debate on foreign policy and national security, moderated by Jim Lehrer of PBS…

Thursday, Oct. 2: Vice-presidential debate, moderated by Gwen Ifill of PBS…

Tuesday, Oct. 7 Presidential debate with questions on any topic from those in attendance and from the Internet, moderated by Tom Brokaw of NBC News…in a town hall-style format.

Wednesday, Oct. 15 Presidential debate on domestic and economic policy, moderated by Bob Schieffer of CBS News…

All four debates will last 90 minutes. They will be carried live by CNN International and BBC World and will begin at 1 a.m. the following day, Coordinated Universal Time. CNN will also replay the debates 8 and 18 hours later, starting at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. UTC.

Sample starting times for the first debate:
New York, 9 p.m. Friday
Paris, 3 a.m. Saturday
Hong Kong, 9 a.m. Saturday[/quote]

EDIT: Here are the US Eastern times (Taibei add 12 hours, right?) for the CNN broadcasts:
Presidential-Friday-9.26-9:00pm - 10:30pm ET-Oxford, MS
Presidential Replay-Saturday-9.27-12:00am – 1:30am ET-Oxford, MS
Presidential Replay-Saturday-9.27-3:00am – 4:30am ET-Oxford, MS
Vice Presidential-Thursday-10.2-9:00pm - 10:30pm ET-St. Louis, MO
Vice Presidential Replay-Friday-10.3-12:00am – 1:30am ET-St. Louis, MO
Vice Presidential Replay-Friday-10.3-3:00am – 4:30am ET-St. Louis, MO
Presidential-Tuesday-10.7-9:00pm - 10:30pm ET-Nashville, TN
Presidential Replay-Wednesday-10.8-12:00am – 1:30am ET-Nashville, TN
Presidential Replay-Wednesday-10.8-3:00am – 4:30am ET-Nashville, TN
Presidential-Wednesday-10.15-9:00pm - 10:30pm ET-Hempstead, NY
Presidential Replay-Thursday-10.16-12:00am – 1:30am ET-Hempstead, NY
Presidential Replay-Thursday-10.16-3:00am – 4:30am ET-Hempstead, NY
source: cnnobservations.blogspot.com/

Public opinion on whether the debates should be held is crystal clear:

Sure. Just ask the red states only.

Looks like its 06 Nov already!

So–one of the debates will be accepting questions from the internet. Where do we submit them?

I would like the candidates to answer a factual (as opposed to opinion-based question): Name the major political parties in Iraq, along with their leaders and political goals. Juan Cole can judge their answers.

As the title says.

In the first 30 mins, McSame got some good zingers in on Obama. Here’s one…

“He’s one of the most liberal senators. It’s hard to reach across the aisle when you’re that far to the left.”

Otherwise, McCain got off to a really poor start.

The audience reaction “heartbeat” at the bottom of the screen is kind of funny. The Republican speaks, and the Republican audience goes wild. The Democrat speaks, and the Dem audience goes nuts.

I’m sure after the debate, both sides will claim victory.

At least both of these guys are better public speakers than Bush.

The only thing I’ve really learned so far is that these two don’t like each other much. Suprised that Obama didn’t hold McCain to explaining what he got done at the bail out talks so that he felt like he could participate in the debates. Makes me wonder.

Obama says he favors communicating with leaders of Iran (and N. Korea) to try to negotiate solutions to their nuclear build-up and so forth.

McCain says no way. They must meet certain pre-conditions first if he would talk with them.

McCain’s wrong. Can’t hurt to talk. Doesn’t mean we accept their actions or approve of their statements. It simply means we want to sit down and negotiate, including making demands, setting deadlines, talking of sanctions and so forth. Negotiations almost always start off with the two sides strongly opposed to each other. The idea of refusing to even talk to them until they first cave in to our demands is childish and counterproductive.

From what I was able to view, and I will try to find a repeat to watch, a humble sincere McCain smoked Obama.

I look forward to watching the whole thing.

Thanks again MT for the heads-up.

Sure, no problem, though I disagree with your assessment. From the portion I saw it was fairly even, no killer blows either way. Just warming up and getting their feet wet to the process.

I believe McCain did well concerning Russia and Georgia. He seems to understand that region of the world well and I appreciate that he stands up and accuses Putin of being a KGB thug, which is clearly the truth and something our government has pussyfooted around about for too long.

On the other hand, contrary to what some Repubs claim, McCain most definitely refers to his Vietnam war service, repeatedly, to try to bolster his image as a hero and someone who will better look after the troops. Whatever. Campaign rhetoric as far as I’m concerned. I care more than you do because I suffered firsthand, blah, blah, blah.

I regret having missed the first portion of the debate, because I heard nothing about the terrible state of the economy and the massive bailout plan. That’s to most voters, including myself, the overwhelming number 1 issue, so I wish I’d seen that.

[quote=“zender”]The audience reaction “heartbeat” at the bottom of the screen is kind of funny. The Republican speaks, and the Republican audience goes wild. The Democrat speaks, and the Dem audience goes nuts.

I’m sure after the debate, both sides will claim victory.

At least both of these guys are better public speakers than Bush.[/quote]

Oh I thought that was an EKG hooked up to McCain :blush:

What CNN. We know what he got done. Z-I-P.

Amazing, McCain actually showed up…
only to have Obama rip him a new one.

“Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day.”
-Time gives win to Obama: tinyurl.com/43vjjt

Overall: McCain was McCain — evocative, intense, and at times emotional, but also vague, elliptical, and atonal. Failed to deliver his “country first versus Obama first” message cleanly, even when offered several opportunities. Surprisingly, did not talk much about “change,” virtually ceding the dominant issue of the race.

Overall grade: B-

Overall: Obama Went for a solid, consistent performance to introduce himself to the country. He did not seem nervous, tentative, or intimidated by the event, and avoided mistakes from his weak debate performances during nomination season (a professorial tone and long winded answers). Standing comfortably on the stage with his rival, he showed he belonged — evocative of Reagan, circa 1980. He was so confident by the end that he reminded his biggest audience yet that his father was from Kenya. Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day.

Overall grade: A-

Toe Tag, I pretty much agree with the analysis from Time, i was going to post that article myself. I caught the second half earlier and then went back and watched the rest, there’s a youtube link here which has it broken into 10 segments. youtube.com/profile_videos?u … TheTruth08

I thought McCain at times went off on tangents, was not as focused as Obama and while Obama would state “differences” or that they “disagree” more than a few times McCain would say “What senator Obama doesn’t understand…” . This I found disingenuous to suggest that alternate views were indicative of a lack of understanding of ones own position. That and his repeated “Let me tall ya…” didn’t endear me to him that much.

Mick, you said it, and polls are showing up showing sensible Americans agree with us…

Here’s the CNN poll, conducted among debate-watchers:

Regardless of which candidate you happen to support, who do you think did the best job in the debate -- Barack Obama or John McCain?
Obama 51%
McCain 38%

Did _______ do a better or worse job than you expected?
Obama: Better 57%, Worse 20%, Same 23%
McCain: Better 60%, Worse 20%, Same 18%

Next, regardless of which presidential candidate you support, please tell me if you think Barack Obama or John McCain would better handle each of the following issues:

• The war in Iraq: Obama 52%, McCain 47%

• Terrorism: McCain 49%, Obama 45%

• The economy: Obama 58%, McCain 37%

• The current financial crisis: Obama 54%, McCain 36%

Thinking about the following characteristics and qualities, please say whether you think each one better described Barack Obama or John McCain during tonight's debate:

• Was more intelligent: Obama 55%, McCain 30%

• Expressed his views more clearly: Obama 53%, McCain 36%

• Spent more time attacking his opponent: McCain 60%, Obama 23%

• Was more sincere and authentic: Obama 46%, McCain 38%

• Seemed to be the stronger leader: Obama 49%, McCain 43%

• Was more likeable: Obama 61%, McCain 26%

• Was more in touch with the needs and problems of people like you: Obama 62%, McCain 32%

I’d call that a straight up ass kicking. The VP debate is going to be better than Borat…

Obama:" I’ve got a bracelet too."

Yeah Obama, you got it in February right? And you still don’t know the name of the Soldier on it? Your handlers score 0 on prepping you for this moment.

Wearing the bracelet but not knowing the man’s name means he never actually thought about the man at all. Never once contemplated the meaning of the man’s sacrifice, but is only using the tragedy of the soldier’s passing to further his own political ambitions.

And everybody saw you Obama.

Obama performed as expected. McCain did better than expected.

Did he have a lapel pin?

Which doesn’t say much. Obama was expected to do very well; McCain was expected not to do so well.

Anyway, I have yet to see it, so I will reserve judgment until theb.