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but but but I love her!!!

Really fun feature! The Weiner story is pretty topical, and it's been a creative feeding frenzy as a result, so I see why you couldn't resist.

Yeah - I've always enjoyed political cartoons. Can you believe the cartoonist Pat Bagley has cranked out more than 10,000 cartoons? That's mind blowing.

Ha! When talking about Katniss in this book, I say that she pulled a Bella at the end. I'm so glad to see you agree.

This behemoth still
sits on my nightstand, untouched.
Sigh. Thanks for the guilt.

lol I can do both at the same time.

Um, yeah, the "health" of the mother moment was sickening. Truly. I was offended.

But I walked away from this debate (which was more interesting, which did have more substance) with a 'stick a fork in him-he's done' feeling. I hope I'm right :)

Hi Pam! Thanks for blogging about this! I've been so political in my last few posts I thought I better give it a rest on my own blog. Man, McCain looked like Nasty McCrankerson last night. At one point, it looked like he wanted to bite Obama. The whole Joe Plumber thing is ridiculous. Some of the Air America hosts this morning are saying what Obama might have said, that if he's making over $250,000/year, he's not a plumber, he's a business owner, a small-time venture capitolist. And Obama will only be raising his taxes back to what they would have been in the Clinton years, which I think we can all agree were good economic times. Also, apparently Joe the Plumber is actually related to Charles Keating AND when Katie Couric asked him about Obama today, he said something like "he didn't answer my question; he tapdances like Sammy Davis Jr." Oy.

I thought Obama was great on the Roe v Wade question, and made McCain look like a fool and a liar, and I thought it was a bit weird they got so off on school vouchers for so long. And I kind of need to rewatch to get a handle on some of the bizarro things McCain said. Something about making returning Iraq vets teachers without any further training? I kind of missed it.

Oh, and Obama missed a great opportunity to mention reading with kids, when he was talking about parents' responsibility when it comes to education. Really wanted him to say it! Oh well.

One insight I took away was the blurring of the line between a "negative" ad and an "attack" ad. Technically, you could call any ad that criticizes an opponent's position or policy as a "negative" ad (and, in fact, that was the way they used to be categorized by the media). An "attack" ad, in contrast, would be an ad that goes after the opponent personally, or panders particularly to fear of what will happen if the opponent wins, without regard to any specific policies.

All of McCain's recent ads are of the latter variety. That's not to imply that the Obama campaign isn't running similar ads (by one count, they make up about a third), but by lumping them all together as simply "negative" ads as opposed to singling out "attack" ads, the distinction is disappearing in the public consciousness.

Which plays directly into the strategy of Karl Rove (and his devotees) — if you can't win by going "all attack, all the time," make damned sure that your opponent is so damaged that he cannot govern.* Which, in turn, helps your chances in the next election. (And yes, they're already planning for "Palin 2012." Seriously.)

I initially found it reprehensible that McCain would decry the negative tone of the campaign (falsely accusing Obama of running a equally sleazy campaign) and then turn around and launch directly into one of the same attack ads, live.

But then, I remembered what Bob Schieffer's actual question was: Would you be willing to make the same personal attacks against your opponent directly to his face?

And for McCain, apparently the answer was, "Yes."

* Or, you know, you can hope that one of the extreme nuts speaking out at your rallies does something more... direct. That solves your problem a lot more quickly.

Thank you for opening up a safe dialogue!

Has anyone ever noticed the way McCain slurps like a snake when he gets to talking?

I took notes last night, one column for McCain and one for Obama, and as I look over them today, I'm noticing a lot of ??? on McCain's side during the times he went off on tangents, didn't make sense, etc.

I love the way Obama stayed calm and smiled when McCain was ranting about things.

Obama was the clear winner and I went to sleep thinking, "Whew! McCain can't win the election."

Thanks for your post. I missed the debate, was at my writing critique group but I listened to the re-run on the way home and then watched Hardball. Who does McCain think he is with the finger quotes and "health" of a mother, my word. I wondered why the whole autism thing came up. I mean I foudn myself thinking, "wait, doesn't Pailn's son have Down's?" Thank you for your humor. I love it on the otherwise dreary northwest day.

Just imagine a meeting of world leaders ... Sarkozy or Merkel or Brown says something about say, terrorism, that "President" McCain doesn't agree with and what do they all get as a response? A rude grimace and some eye-rolling.

Yeah, that doesn't work for me. I want a president with some dignity.

Thanks for the rant space again!

I didn't watch. Frankly, I've had more than enough. I'm going to be very happy when this whole thing is OVER (or, this being America, starts gearing up again the day after the election for the NEXT four years. WHy can't we borrow the Canadian attitude about this - hey, folks, here's an election, we campaign for a few weeks, we're done, g'bye till next time... really...)

It doesn't matter anyway, for me, because I'm not voting for either of them. I cannot stomach the Maverick/Wolf Killer team, and Obama lost my vote when he picked Biden for VP. I'll vote for someone else, even though everyone might consider that a wasted vote. But my principles are my principles, and there it is.

Are there any more debates? Please tell me there aren't...

Good call, as in laugh-outloud funny, on the feisty kid point. I also caught the autism/Down's thing. My husband and I both turned to each other and said, "huh? Doesn't her son have Down's?" But maybe he means largely that she is a supporter of all special needs.

Not that I'm arguing on her behalf -- hardly.

Obama was the perfect gentleman. As always.

And I was hoping and hoping beyond ALL HOPE that he'd point out that pro-choice people are NOT NOT NOT "pro-abortion." Thank goodness he threw that in at the very, very end, like, after a drink of water or something. Whew. In the nick of time.

"Palin 2012"? I'll move to Canada if that happens. No, really.

I'm curious to Alma why she hates Biden so much she'd throw away an Obama vote. Genuinely curious. What do you hate so much about him?

Also, Jules, I wrote a long post the other day about choice and addressed that issue -- I was really glad Obama made that point too.

There's a real Joe the plumber? Is he also Joe Six-pack, or is this a whole Joe voting block I don't know about? Good thing I'm not a politician. Dang. I thought Obama did a great job last night. Very cool, on the ball and composed. I liked how he corrected and redirected the fear-mongering digressions with facts, briefly and clearly, and then brought the discussion back to the current situation, what needs to be done now. I liked what he said about education, and health, making sensible investments that save big in the future. A good moment I haven't seen mentioned here; that he expected the campaign to be tough, for things to get ugly in the next few weeks. But that he thought his (or their) hurt feelings were less important than doing what needed to be done to get things back on track, and moving forward.

I liked McCain better before this campaign. My respect is dwindling.

Hey, MotherReader. Thanks for blogging about this. I don't talk about politics on my blog because it doesn't fit into the scope of my blog, not because of any high ground.

As far as the debate goes, I didn't get to see it live (no tv), but I've been reading the transcripts. It does seem as if McCain is appealing more to people's emotions (i.e. the reiteration of the American people being "hurt" and "angry") whereas Obama talked more about the issues themselves and what he planned to do about them. In response to all of the negative campaigning, he said, "And, now, I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings during the course of the campaign than addressing the issues that matter to them so deeply."

I've been reading Drew Westen and thinking about how partisan our brains are wired (no matter what side we're on). FactCheck.org is helping me to be critical, even when all I want to do is sing Obama's praises. There's so much to think about, but I'm still incredulous that there are still undecided voters.

I liked the guy from CNN who referred to John McCain as "Grumpy McNasty". Cracked me the hell up. And I needed it, too, after him trying to be all pro-life (a recent switch for him, part of his soul-selling deal with the devil for this election season) and calling pro-choice folks "pro-abortion", plus trying to drag Bill Ayers into things. Pa-the-tic.

Even Fox News's online poll shows Obama winning the debate by a landslide, and I thought Obama's continued efforts to address the issues while batting down the bullshit was well-handled.

The split screen thing kinda made it seem like McCain was actually looking at Obama, but based on the desk set up, he was still not looking at him. So disrespectful.

And I've heard on another board from folks who knew people at a Palin rally that the N-word was tossed around freely by the audience (and loudly), along with "terrorist" and "kill him." So McCain trying to defend his supporters as the finest people in the country doesn't wash with me. Nor did Obama disrespect them as a whole, so McCain's "righteous indignation" came off as misguided.

And don't get me started on the actual or implied air quotes that went with the "health" of the mother. As if mothers don't matter. While I hope Kelly H's read was right, I was actually inclined to stick a fork in him last night. Literally.

I didn't get to watch the whole thing due to meetings, but from what I did see, I have to say, I was getting annoyed by *both* of them looking into the camera and addressing whoever the heck this "Joe" person is. I am not Joe, I am not a plumber. Whoever is in charge of the plumber's lobby is doing an awesome job because plumbers (plumbers called Joe?) seem to be who they both care most about.

If they wanted to impress me, they should have looked into the camera and address Shannan the Librarian.

;)

Kelly H, I believe the CNN dials went way down on that "health" moment too.

And Kelly F. (not that you were arguing), they were actual air quotes. For a minute there I wondered myself if maybe I had imagined it, but no. It's there on YouTube.

Lani, "he wanted to bite Obama." LOL. I also was up in my chair at that last section thinking that he was going to say something about reading... and then he didn't. Oh, so close.

Bill, thanks for the clarity on "negative" vs. "attack" ads. The Palin thing makes me shudder.

CO Writer and Kristin, I saw some YouTube mash-up of the McCain eyerolls, head shakes, and yes, snake-tongue thing. Not good. Not good for anybody.

Jone and Jules, someone called the autism/Down's syndrome thing a "senior moment." And that only makes the point for us.

Alma, that was the last debate. Whew. Like Laini, I'm curious about your strong opposition to Biden. The only strong feeling I've had about it so far is that he's not a great speaker.

Alkelda, oh you sound so sane and unstressed about this. I do love that. I read that people who listened to the debate or even didn't see the split screen didn't have nearly as strong a negative reaction to McCain. His body language counted for a lot - but it also showed a lot. (Oh, and the "high ground" thing was just tossed off. I had never considered politics in the scope of my blog, until I couldn't stand not writing about it anymore. Other people have better discipline. Or aren't as mouthy.)

Carolyn and Shannan, there is a real Joe the plumber who is all over the news media today, but I think Shannan the Librarian would have served much better. And it made me laugh.

MR: Sane and unstressed! Thank you. I do wish that's how I felt. When I watch debates or conventions, I tend to shout at the screen and shake my fist.

Alkelda, when I'm feeling particularly insane or very stressed, you're always the sane and unstressed friend there to help ground me and steer me away from the strait jacket.

Laini, thanks. I'll go read that!

Also, Laini, for what it's worth, I saw part of an Obama campaign stop in VA, I think it was, months ago, and a teacher stood up and told Obama that his pre-K funding something or other part of some budget of his something or other didn't have enough money in it for technology. And he basically told her that, especially for that age, books will do. Books can come first (which is so true -- before they have their fine motor skills down pat, can we read to them first instead of plunking them in front of computers?), and he talked about reading with his daughters at a young, young age and the good he think it did them.

Hi! Had to come out of the cave to chime in here.

I live in Arizona, so McCain has been my senator for a long time. I used to admire the man--liked his independence, thought he was honorable.

And then he turned whore. Hate to say it that way, but I don't know how else to put it. Seeing him embrace Bush--a man who had completely smeared him, attacked his family, run a despicable campaign against him--was really hard to watch. Suddenly McCain became just one more politician pandering to whomever needed pandering, because he wanted this so badly.

And then in this campaign, he's turned into this horrible creature, in no way resembling his former honorable self. Is this what power and greed does to someone? I've heard a lot of people compare him to Gollum, and I think that works. He's become desperate and ugly and dishonest and weird.

Whereas Obama has presented himself over and over as calm, measured, thoughtful, peaceful--exactly the qualities I want in a president after nearly eight years of bullying cowboy behavior. Bush has done us no favors in the world. I look forward to having a president who will mend our relationships and will choose peace and reasoning over brash "kick their a**!" tactics. Or is that strategy?

Thanks for letting us get it all out, Mother Reader. Blessings on you.

I'm not a McCain fan. Not a Palin fan, either. But Palin has one or two people in her extended family who are autistic and one or two who have Asperger's syndrome, which is on the autistic spectrum. I believe it's something that both she and McCain have mentioned before.

During the debate, I actually thought McCain looked unwell.

Please, please, please vote--to the people who say they're not going to vote. Chicken Spaghetti is begging you!

Robin, glad to hear from you. Little angry, huh? ;^) Don't worry, me too.

Susan, thanks for the info about Palin's connection with autism. Even though I joked about it, I felt embarrassed for McCain in a way that he was getting that basic thing wrong. I don't like having to feel bad for him. And the unwell thing? Yeah, I hear you. I would swear that during the town hall debate that he sounded like he was out of breath. It was unnerving.

I think McCain looked a little frantic at times trying to get his jabs in. They were deflected by Obama's calmness. I watched it on the PBS channel so there were not many of the reaction shots. I gather that CNN had a split screen throughout and that's where you really saw the Captain Grumpy action.

I must disagree with Susan about voting. (Hi Susan!) I used to think that everyone should get out there and vote no matter what, but the last two elections and a horribly disastrous Illinois senate election many years ago changed my mind. Voting is truly one of the most amazing and important duties/responsibilities/rights a citizen has. But if a person can't be bothered to get informed and can't figure out the major (and they are MAJOR) differences between these two candidates, they should just stay home. The stakes are far too great. Vote responsibly.
Andrea B

There are a lot of people proposing that voting be made mandatory, as it is in some other nations. But while I would encourage people to vote, at its core, the freedom to do something is worthless without the freedom not to do so.

And, of course, there's the fundamental assumption that voting matters. Which is an open question, given everything from the vagaries of the electoral college system to rampant corruption and election-rigging. That's not to say that those factors definitively negate the value of voting, but someone could readily believe that they do. Were we to force someone to participate in what they believe to be a corrupt system, where would that place us morally?

Just a random thought.

I actually heard Molly Ivins use that phrase, "Joe Six-Pack" back in 2004 -- and it interests me that it's been adopted by just about everybody now... Huh.

I had a library patron ask me "Who IS 'Joe Six-Pack'?" the other day, and I was tempted to gaze searchingly across the library and point: "THAT guy".

Montgomery Burns used the term on the Simpsons, it must have been before 2001 because that's when I stopped watching TV regularly.

But what I REALLY came here to say was that as long as Sarah Palin didn't actually soil herself during the debate, she was performing at or above expectations.

Isn't it wonderful to have a woman standing smack-dab in the center of the political arena? Wouldn't it be nice if she weren't a jackass? I swear, she's putting women back 20 years every time she parades her children around. Or opens her mouth.

The first time I heard "Joe Six-Pack" I wondered if it referred to a guy drinking a six-pack of beer or a guy with a six-pack torso and a washboard stomach. (All I need is one more metaphor and maybe this imaginary guy can be a one-man skiffle band.)

ROFLMAO Oh my Lord. Please. Sheesh. This is my favorite Friday Poetry post so far. Who knew she was such a poet? Somebody needs to publish her anthology right here now. You Betcha!

I read these aloud from Slate the other day, and then... kind of shuddered.

I know that I'm not good right off the block, you know? Sometimes, if you ask me something, my brain has to actually turn on and warm up, like a Xerox machine. So, I try really hard not to be too hard on those whose mouths aren't well connected to their brains...

On the other hand, I'm not running for public office.

*sigh*

What do I think about the Poetry of Palin??? I couldn't give you an opinion right now--but I'll think about it and get back to you.

I like it! You betcha.

I was going to watch the interview on YouTube, but I read that very passage quoted by Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek (I highly recommend his article) and couldn't make myself watch it. Maybe after I find someway to steel my mind...

Could we do worse than the Bush-isms? I guess the answer is YES!

*wink*

Sad... aggravating... hilarious... true. Thanks for that!

Oh, oi.

That was really funny. Thanks for posting it, Pam!

I almost fell off the couch on Saturday night when Tina Fey pulled the rifle pose. Awesome!

Absolutely spot-on perfect. I had a coworker walk by the other day and ask what I'd been laughing at earlier; before I could get out more than “Saturday..." he immediately said, "Tina Fey as Sarah Palin!" This thing is big. (And here's hoping it gets seen by the right audience.)