Live Blogging Last Debate

9:07: Both off to a good start. Obama is putting things down into numbers. He looks more presidential and is doing better right away.

9:08: John McCain is talking to a guy named Joe. Joe Six Pack? Any way, not bad Senator. Well played.

9:09: Oh sorry. It's Joe the plumber.

9:09: Watching ads from Senator McCain? Damn Gina!

9:09: Obama is getting all populist and shit. Nice.

9:10: Joe the Plumber: you gots to make sacrifices g. You been rakin' in all that shit and flushing the rest of us down the toilet.

9:11: Holy shit. My drinking game had Joe the Plumber means five shots. I'm already wasted.

9:17: We have to nuclear power? Sen McCain: answer the question bitch.
9:11: Class warfare? No you dittint. McCain is such a shit head. He's the one playing class warfare.

9:11: Obama is so cool. Joe the Plumber again. I'm so drunk I can hardly type.

9:14: Obama is the political answer to the Birth of Cool.

9:17: McCain. Your party was in charge of everything when all this shit went down. Where the fuck were you? Smoking grass? I wish you were and not showing up to vote. You were in lock stop with the bad guys every step of the way.

9:19: Nurse. Get me a scalpel.

9:19: No one likes pork. As usual, we Jews win.

9:20: Talk surplus to me B.

9:20: McCain's not President Bush? Well played again Senator. But you're still a fuck head.

9:23: Hey B, you got to stop playing into their hands. But then again, you're so good looking. Stay awake dude. We need you awake.

9:24: McCain is on the defense. He's a maverick. What's a maverick? Wasn't that a movie with that antisemetic fuck head Mel Gibson?

9:27: The question John, was about accountability for your own campaign.

9:30: Joe the Plumber again. I am so drunk.

9:32: McCain, you stepped into a fucking trap by talking about John Lewis. Obama got you.

9:33: McCain. You messed up by bringing up John Lewis.

9:37: Obama is point blank winning this debate right now.

9:46: Live blogging sucks. I just want to just watch this now.

9:52: Senator Obama has never traveled south of the border? What? Governor Palin has never traveled any where.

10:00: Jon Stewart is going to have so much fun with Joe the Plumber.

10:03: Joe you're rich? What does he even mean? Joe is rich. Joe is rich. I'm not a plumber. My name is not Joe. Not Joe Sixpack. Not Joe the Pumbler. Not Mario the Plumber. Not even Luigi the Plumber.

10:05: Senator Government? That wasn't bad.

10:09: McCain says no litmus test than says litmus test.

10:10: Lily. Bring it back to the economy B. Nice.

10:13: Obama is balancing the abortion debate pretty well. I hope.

10:15: Obama: say "safe, legal, and rare." Geez. I fear that McCain beat you on one of the most delicate issues in this country.

10:17: Okay, okay. Andrew Sullivan thinks Obama wins on abortion. That calmed me down.

10:23: America's youth are not an interest. They are our future. Too true.

10:31: Obama wins this debate.

Wrap Up Thoughts:

Look, I think McCain did pretty well. He did. He tried. He annoyed the shit out of me but on a political level he didn't do terribly. But Obama did better. Way way better. Obama had so many moments when he could have attacked McCain. And what's amazing is, I think he knew those moments were there and he didn't seize them. Instead of taking the quick win he went for the long win. Instead of making a whiny jab by correcting McCain on a point, he just accepted it and moved on because he recognizes that his warmth and tone are more important than the merits of tit for tat exchanges. McCain did just the opposite. Everything was an attack with barely any warmth or empathy. He was trying to deliver some kind of knock out punch, but too desperately. To bring this to dating, you don't "go all the way" with someone or "score a date" with someone if you're that desperate. Attraction is about being a warm human being with lots to give, lots of empathy and cleverness and interest and not being too needy and desperate. While McCain did well on some of the tit for tats, if these two fellas we're courting a lady, the lady is going to go for Obama unless she has a weird complex where she feels like she needs to take care of a needy desperate guy. So McCain did well on arguing but he didn't come off as human. Obama did fine on the arguing but what was remarkable was the moments where he didn't argue--where he nodded, where he smiled, where he said "congratulations" on McCain's baseball team winning.

Then we get to the places where Obama did argue. And he slammed McCain. Slammed him. And did so with a deft cool demeanor. McCain stood there shocked when Obama said that his fine for not having health insurance was zero. McCain looked like he wanted to be a member of that health care plan.

And then there was the closing arguments. McCain basically said he's a decent guy who is a good senator and wants to do more. There was a sadness and a desperation that I feel for, but really Senator, what you showed by saying how much you love serving is that you should stay senator. You did a really decent job at proving to the American people that you are a good senator.

Obama on the other hand showed that he's not only running cause he wants to serve and be president. He showed that he wants to elevate this country to a new level.

Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com just ended the debate by saying, "Congratulations, President Obama."

I don't want to commit hubris here, but it was really nice to see that from Nate. And at the moment, each time I hear Senator Obama speak I no longer see a candidate for president of the United States. I see the President of the United States. Well done Senator Obama. Well done.