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LIVE DEBATE BLOG

October 15, 2008 9:05 PM

10:35 pm ET: Obama also closes well.  A strong debate all around -- for both candidates, Bob and Joe.  Believe it or not, the next stop for the live blog is November 4 -- Election Day.  We'll see you then -- when the polls, debates, and pundits make way for your votes.  We eagerly await your decision.

10:29 pm ET: The "long line of McCains" mark a slightly emotional, and probably effective, close.

No big slips for Obama -- measured against that standard, another great night for him.

I'm wishing we had had three debates this good -- maybe Joe the Plumber should have been called a few weeks ago . . .

10:23 pm ET: McCain gets a voucher plug in too, just for good measure.

And wow this has been a really interesting debate. If this had been the first, and not the third, I could see more impact for McCain. Plenty of distinctions drawn this evening.

10:20 pm ET: From ABC's Teddy Davis: McCain was wrong to state that small businessman "Joe the Plumber" would end up paying a fine if he refused to provide his workers with health insurance under Barack Obama's health-care plan.

Under the Obama plan, small businesses are exempted from a requirement imposed on large companies that they contribute to a national health fund if they fail to make "a meaningful contribution" to their employees' health care costs.

10:18 pm ET: The post-debate polls should be fascinating. My sense is that McCain has done much of what he needed to do tonight -- that may not matter for the race, but it's a key hurdle. If the polls show a big Obama win -- that's telling in itself.

10:12 pm ET: McCain: "I don't know how you vote present on something like that." He's painting the portrait tonight . . .

Obama's response on the "life-saving treatments" question just missed the mark, it seems to me.

10:09 pm ET: If you're curious about Joe the plumber, my ABC colleague Jake Tapper did a thorough write-up of the exchange he had with Obama yesterday.

10:06 pm ET: Almost a really interesting Roe v. Wade answer. "I would never . . . " impose a litmus test, McCain says. He didn't follow with the typical code words a conservative candidate gives. Instead, he turns to the Gang of 14.

Sen. Obama most definitely did not vote against Justice Breyer. He was not in the Senate at the time. Clearly Obama misspoke.

10 pm ET: ABC's Matt Jaffe notes that Joe Biden likes to call John McCain's healthcare plan "cockamamie." Biden has recently argued that Petraeus - despite not saying as much - has essentially implemented Biden's Iraq outline. (Which was NOT a partition of the country, for the record.)

9:57 pm ET: Noticing the eyes -- McCain looking right at the camera as he explains his plans, McCain looking at the moderator. A little thing that helps Sen. Obama look presidential. John McCain only looks at the camera when he talks to Joe the plumber (who has officially gotten way too much air time).

Sen. Obama's plan is NOT single-payer.

9:51 pm ET: Drilling is a McCain comfort zone -- and he gets at it by attacking Obama's "words."

He's painting a broad portrait, without saying the words, that you just can't trust Barack Obama -- that his promise is based on something false, or at least faulty.

9:49 pm ET: More than halfway home -- clearly McCain isn't afraid of being aggressive, seated at a table or no.

9:48 pm ET: From ABC's Bret Hovell: By bringing out Bill Ayers and ACORN, John McCain makes an effort to placate those conservative voters who are frustrated that he has not been hard enough on Barack Obama - like the ones who on Friday confronted McCain at a town hall meeting in Minnesota. This feels like it could be a direct response to the five or so people who begged McCain to "take the gloves off."

9:44 pm ET: Obama: "If we have an across-the-board spending freeze, we're not going to" be able to expand autism research.

McCain attacks Biden in a way that Obama didn't attack Palin. "Cockamamie idea"! Don't tell me John McCain wasn't ready to mix it up with lines like that.

Big Obama smile on the cutaway shot while McCain attacks on spending.

9:43 pm ET: McCain on Palin: "She's a reformer through and through." "She'll be my partner." But wasn't the question what happens if her partner, um, can't serve?

9:40 pm ET: An odd cut on the running-mate question. But Obama uses it to build up Biden -- continuing the strategy of pretending as if Sarah Palin does not exist.

9:39 pm ET: I'm still perplexed about this "all the facts need to come out" thing from the McCain campaign. Why not make it about the substance, not alleged cover-ups?

9:35 pm ET: HERE COMES AYERS -- and ACORN too. Wrapped in a Hillary Clinton mention. "All of these things need to be examined," McCain says.

The response: "Forty years ago, when I was eight years old, he engaged in despicable acts . . . I have roundly condemned those acts." Obama lays out the relationship like he typically does. And ACORN had "nothing to do with us."

I'm not sure how to score this one -- but it's a measure of the McCain campaign that so much is pinned to these two factoids.

9:33 pm ET: McCain: "I'm proud of the people that come to our rallies." (That was another Ayers opportunity he didn't take, by the way.)

This is a lot of time McCain is taking on the Lewis thing.

9:30 pm ET: "Senator Obama is spending unprecedented . . . amounts of money on negative attack ads on me," McCain says. That will not make them stop, or get him much in the way of sympathy. "I did not hear a repudiation of Congressman Lewis." (That's because there wasn't one.)

Also -- is it weird that Obama said a few times "your running mate," but didn't mention Sarah Palin? "I do think that he inappropriately drew a comparison," he says, finally, on Lewis.

9:28 pm ET: No surprise that they both use a question about tone to complain about the other side. Strikes me though that they both missed an opportunity to lower the temperature in a statesmanlike way.

And so the attacks will continue.

9:26 pm ET: Say it to his face, Schieffer says. "I regret some of the negative aspects of both campaigns," McCain said. But instead of then saying it to his face -- he attacks Rep. John Lewis, which is legit, sure. But he did NOT jump at the opening this provided to the Bill Ayers issue.

9:24 pm ET: From ABC's Teddy Davis: During tonight's debate, McCain said that Hillary Clinton proposed the same kind of mortgage buy-up plan that he did.
This is not true.
While Clinton has proposed directly helping homeowners by having the government buy and resell mortgages that are in danger of foreclosure, her proposal would force financial institutions to take a loss.
The McCain proposal, by contrast, is more generous to financial institutions and more costly for taxpayers.

9:23 pm ET: "When it comes to economic policies, essentially what you are proposing is eight more years of the same thing," Obama says.

9:20 pm ET: Obama was asked for specific cuts and he talks "new direction."

McCain: "If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run for president four years ago." Clearly he had that one ready -- a good line, easily cuttable into a soundbite.

But McCain is still saying he'd balance the budget within four years? This is silliness, and I think McCain knows it. I look forward to his campaign explaining how, exactly, he'll do this while extending the Bush tax cuts and funding bailouts.

9:17 pm ET: First mention of Hillary Clinton belongs to McCain. But then he starts talking energy independence and a whole bunch of other stuff? What does that have to do with a spending freeze (and didn't he just spend that $300 billion)? This response has the Palin problem -- lots of words, tumbling over each other. "A half a trillion dollars we owe China." Earmarks too in this answer. Over-eager tonight?

9:15 pm ET: Seems to me that the off-the-bat skirmish fell along rather predictable lines. That's all well and good -- but predictable is not great for John McCain, who needs more than Joe the plumber to un-clog the race.

9:11 pm ET: Joe the plumber wins the debate so far. McCain: "I want Joe the plumber to spread the wealth around." But then he said the whole premise of Obama's plan was "spread the wealth around"? Anyone else lost on that one?

And maybe enough of "Joe the plumber."

Also -- ABC's Jake Tapper notes that he got the last name wrong. It's Joe WurzelBACHER. Not Joe WurzelBURGER

9:08 pm ET: Think McCain had this one ready to go? Even remembered the guy's last name. "Joe was trying to realize the American Dream." McCain talking right to Joe: "I'll keep your taxes low. . . . I will not stand for a tax increase." (That's a real important distinction for him to draw -- if he loses the tax argument, he loses the election.)

9:06 pm ET: Sen. Obama also gets specific right away -- looking right to the camera with his bailout package for the middle class. And if you're looking for the first candidate to draw a distinction tonight, it's Obama, not McCain.

9:03 pm ET: "Americans are hurting right now, and they're angry." Populist tone out of the bat for McCain. "New direction." And an immediate turn to Fannie and Freddie -- obscure stuff, still, but the right gets really energized blaming Democrats for this. McCain carves out the $300 billion from the $700 billion -- that's a bit of a shift. Like the previous debates, McCain goes from broad to specific right away.

During tonight's debate, McCain said that Hillary Clinton proposed the same kind of mortgage buy-up plan that he did.
This is not true.
While Clinton has proposed directly helping homeowners by having the government buy and resell mortgages that are in danger of foreclosure, her proposal would force financial institutions to take a loss.
The McCain proposal, by contrast, is more generous to financial institutions and more costly for taxpayers.

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2224) | TrackBack (0)

Live Video Coverage of Debate

October 15, 2008 7:11 PM

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Our live coverage of the debate, with me and Sam Donaldson, starts with a preview show at 8 pm ET.

Click HERE for video via ABC NewsNOW.

And check back to this blog at debate time for running commentary. . . .

-- Rick Klein

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (97) | TrackBack (0)

Richardson: Obama Expecting 'Erratic' McCain Attacks

October 15, 2008 7:04 PM

Per ABC's Sunlen Miller, Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., offers this piece of spin (and notice the word "erratic," since you will see it again): "We're expecting that McCain is going to try to get a game changer – try to hit a homerun by being negative. And Obama is going to respond in a very positive way about the economy, about health care, about America’s role overseas. That’s the difference between the two candidates."

"Sen Obama's main challenge is to do as well as he did in the other debates, talk about the issues, be bipartisan, appear calm and knowledgeable, and not erratic like Sen McCain and talk about the economy. The economy. The economy."

"Sen Obama is not overconfident. He is working hard to get every vote. This race is not over. It looks good and we're getting great movement in battleground states. I think the American people are seeing Sen Obama as the positive candidate, the unifying candidate. The candidate that can bring the country together that is bipartisan. The candidate for change. And they are seeing Sen McCain as being the negative candidate. Who's just attacking. And that’s now working."

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)

If McCain Doesn’t Attack . . .

October 15, 2008 5:42 PM

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The setting tonight makes attacks, shall we say, uncomfortable. It will be Barack Obama and John McCain seated at a table, in close quarters, moderator Bob Schieffer across from them.

The thinking here, in Republican and Democratic circles, is that McCain is coming prepared with something dramatic. Maybe a policy proposal, like he brought out at the last debate, maybe an announcement of a Cabinet official -- or maybe, just perhaps, a real attack.

Keep in mind that if McCain doesn’t come out swinging tonight, he will disappoint many of his supporters -- up to and including his running mate.

If McCain doesn’t come out swinging -- raising, at the very least Bill Ayers -- he will have to be prepared for an evisceration in right-wink talk radio and blogs.

Maybe he’s thinking about legacies that are broader than that -- but as he thinks strategically about tonight and beyond, this has to be a consideration.

What do you expect out of McCain tonight?

-- Rick Klein

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (43) | TrackBack (0)

Hillary in the House

October 15, 2008 2:28 PM

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Since Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is so firmly committed to being “the best senator from New York that I can be,” naturally she’s showing up at tonight’s presidential debate in her home state.

She’ll be in the hall at Hofstra this evening -- which makes for some intriguing opportunities for the debate’s contestants.

Does Sen. Barack Obama recognize her in some way? Or does Sen. John McCain do so first?

Does McCain use her presence to remind viewers that Clinton was the first to raise the Obama-Bill Ayers relationship in a debate, saying at ABC’s debate in April that it is “an issue that people will be asking about” -- and predicting (rightly, it would turn out) “that this is an issue that certainly the Republicans will be raising”?

Unlike New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer, Clinton is not on the Obama campaign’s designated list of post-debate spinners.

But she will be making the TV rounds during post-debate coverage, according to a spokesman -- regardless of whether she comes up in tonight’s discussion.

-- Rick Klein

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Will Phanatics Phorget Debate in Philly?

October 15, 2008 1:58 PM

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Those hard-to-reach voters in Eastern Pennsylvania (John McCain was in the wonderful town of Blue Bell, Pa., just Tuesday) may be even harder to reach tonight.

In an unfortunate bit of timing, Game Five of the National League Championship Series starts at 8:22 pm ET Wednesday. That’s about half an hour before Bob Schieffer tosses out the first pitch here at Hofstra University.

Up 3-1 against the Los Angeles Dodges, the Philadelphia Phillies have a chance to capture their first World Series berth in 15 years this evening.

Asks the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Larry Eichel: “What if they held a presidential debate and hardly anyone watched?”

-- Rick Klein

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

This Just In: McCain is a Republican

October 15, 2008 1:43 PM

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Rick Klein here from ABC's The Note -- I'll be blogging all day from the site of the third and final presidential debate at Hofstra University on (my native) Long Island. 

Amid all the will-he-or-won't-he speculation surrounding what Sen. John McCain has to do tonight, an interesting vein is emerging in the pre-spin: McCain wants voters to know that he's a Republican.

"He's heartened by the fact that Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are planning a liberal takeover of all of the branches of government -- measuring the drapes," said McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace, on CBS Wednesday morning.

Said another senior adviser, Nancy Pfotenhauer, on MSNBC: “We just can't afford Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama with a blank check and their signature on it.”

On one level, the argument makes perfect sense: In this formulation, McCain is the last bulwark against a Democratic takeover in Washington. It gets the based revved up, and maybe scares independents about their taxes.

But doesn't this run the risk of undercutting McCain's central appeal? In a year that's terrible for Republicans, he's spent so much time trying to tell us he's a different kind of Republican -- a "maverick," if you haven't noticed -- who can, heaven forbid, work with Democrats.

After a campaign spent running against his own party (and with that 90-percent wrong-track number, who wouldn't?), is McCain now interested in advertising the fact that he's a Republican? What happened to reaching across the aisle?

If he talks tonight about the need for a Republican president to check a Democratic Congress, I'd look for the Obama campaign to use it as evidence for the tag they're trying to apply to McCain: "erratic," they'll say.

October 15, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (38) | TrackBack (0)

LIVE DEBATE BLOG

October 07, 2008 9:03 PM

That's it for tonight folks -- two down, just one to go. Check back for more analysis tomorrow morning, as always, in The Note.

9:28 pm CT: Before the dizzying spin begins -- I find it hard to declare a winner. Tie goes to the frontrunner, perhaps, in the conventional wisdom? I don't see McCain hitting things that shake it all up.

9:27 pm CT: From Ron Claiborne:  For those who care about debate style: Obama watches McCain raptly whenever McCain speaks. McCain again is having a hard time looking at Obama when he speaks.

9:25 pm CT: McCain makes actual physical contact with an actual real-life voter.

9:23 pm CT: Why do politicians like saying "petrodollars"? And who cares whether candidates think Russia is an "evil empire"? Red Sox fans think the Yankees are an evil empire -- and, as it pains me to point out, the Yanks haven't won in a while.

9:17 pm CT: I'm not seeing any big breakthrough moments -- McCain is better relating to the audience, but Obama is having what qualifies as emotional connections. Maybe it's the format -- but I'm not seeing anything that changes any trajectories so far. (Anyone else ready for this format to be retired?)

9:14 pm CT: From a colleague: No winners in this debate. But there is one loser…Tom Brokaw. What is he doing here?

My take -- he's enforcing silly rules, or trying to. Then asking follow-ups that tend toward less light, not more.

Watch for this line from GOP mouths -- this wasn't a "real" town hall, and that's why McCain didn't "win."

9:12 pm CT: Getting some e-mails on something I missed earlier -- McCain didn't really engage on the "sacrifice" question, while Obama did, evoking the post-9/11 period.

9:11 pm CT: Then McCain attacks Obama for being a hawk -- "Sen. Obama likes to talk loudly."

9:10 pm CT: "We will kill bin Laden, we will crush al Qaeda." Those were Obama's lines.

9:08 pm CT: I can't imagine a single voter caring about the debate that just played out on Iraq. Not that it's unimportant, just that it's played out.

9:06 pm CT: The word "Ayers" has not been uttered tonight. Neither has the word "Keating."

9:05 pm CT: A friend who's keeping track notes that, more than an hour in, there have been six questions from people in the auditorium. Six.

9:03 pm CT: ABC's Ron Claiborne, on the "That One" line: "Tonally, seemed dismissive, maybe even contemptuous. It could provide Obama camp with an opportunity to onsinuate more than that, even racially-charged, a version of the phrase "you people." Obama press people quickly noted it in e-mail to reporters."

They did. One Obama supporter e-mails me to call it his "get off my lawn" moment.

9:02 pm CT: Obama finds a good stride talking about McCain's "wrong judgment." This was one of his better moments at the first debate, too.

Also, John McCain is taking a lot of notes. Seems like he's scribbling something every time the camera cuts to him.

8:59 pm CT: McCain: "America is the greatest force for good . . . " I don't think many listeners would disagree. I don't know, I legitimately don't, whether people want to hear about it at this precarious time. Maybe McCain is onto something -- it reminds me of Romney at his best in the primaries. But it does muddle a bit the I'm-not-Bush message.

8:58 pm CT: Don't hate on Delaware -- that's where Biden's from . . .

8:56 pm CT: An emotional connection, by Sen. Obama, on healthcare -- talking about his mother's struggles with insurers toward the end.

8:55 pm CT: Is health care a privilege, a right, or a responsibility, Brokaw asks. And America answers: Who cares? I just want to make sure I have it, for less money.

8:53 pm CT: In the un-green race to pass out as much paper as possible, the McCain campaign is destroying the Obama campaign once again. Aides scurry about handing out paper copies of the press releases every reporter gets via e-mail, several times over, usually. No Obama paper, as in the previous debates.

8:50 pm CT: Should healthcare be treated as a commodity? Obama talks about what an important and vital issue this all is -- and then . . . waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting. "We have a moral commitment as well as an economic imperative to do something . . . " This might have been a good opportunity to score on an emotional level, not a policy one.

"Do the math," McCain says on his healthcare plan. (Because he didn't right there.)

8:48 pm CT: Who voted for it? "That one!" McCain said, pointing, with that weird smile he sometimes cracks.

8:46 pm CT: Brokaw a stickler for the rules -- how much time being wasted trying to enforce them, though? Enough for an extra question?

8:43 pm CT: Almost halfway in, it's McCain attacking -- with a smile. He's the happy warrior so far, trying to stay optimistic while drawing the distinctions he needs to. No big game-changers yet, though.

8:42 pm CT: McCain calls for an up-or-down vote on entitlement reform. Sounds like something real there.

McCain: "Sen. Obama voted 94 times" to raise taxes. "That's his record." That's a laughable charge and McCain knows it.

8:41 pm CT: From ABC's Bret Hovell: McCain continues to attack Obama in almost every answer and Obama either responds or, sometimes, doesn't. But Obama's not putting McCain on the defensive at any point.

8:39 pm CT: Meanwhile, are all these questions turning into an argument over who's going to raise your taxes?

8:38 pm CT: Obama can tell tired jokes too: "The Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one."

8:37 pm CT: Brokaw slaps down Obama's attempt at a follow-up to the follow-up.

8:35 pm CT: Obama's tax proposals "like nailing Jell-O to the wall." I haven't tried, but that would sound difficult. Cute line. Then the meat -- Obama's tax hike is a hike on small businesses. "I've got some news, Sen. Obama -- the economy is bad."

(Waiting for the oppo research that points out McCain saying the "fundamentals of our economy are strong.")

More from the rah-rah McCain: "Let's not raise anybody's taxes."

8:33 pm CT: Obama raises the "revenue side," gingerly. That means taxes. He's engaging on the issue here, to his credit on an intellectual level. This is a key bridge for him to build -- he needs voters who are hearing a whole lot about his tax hikes to think about this as leveling the playing field, not making people empty their pockets.

"Those of us like myself and Sen. McCain who don't need help" -- that's similar to a Kerry line in 2004.

8:29 pm CT: McCain doesn't get real specific on cuts either -- in fact, tonight he just proposed a new spending program inside the Treasury department at the same time he's talking about his "spending freeze." Did you feel that thaw? By the McCain campaign's own count, this new program would cost $300 billion. With a B.

"We're not rifle shots here. We're Americans!" McCain says. (Sorry, but this one seems forced.)

8:25 pm CT: "We're going to have to prioritize," Obama says. Top of the list is energy, and energy independence. "And we can do it." Health care grabs No. 2. Then No. 3 is education. But wasn't the point of the question what you can't have?

8:23 pm CT: ABC's Bret Hovell points out that that is indeed a new McCain proposal: To have the Treasury department have the ability to buy up struggling home loan mortgages and renegotiate them at the new value of the home so that people can make their payments.

An intriguing debate tactic, to have that in his hip pocket.

But, from ABC's Ron Claiborne: How is this different than his HOME program to buy up subprime mortgages taken out since 2005 by "credit worthy' homnowners facing foreclosure and give them a new loan, fixed, based on current home value? He says 400,000 people would be eligible for that. Is he saying now -- can we infer -- he's talking about ALL troubled loans, a much bigger program? If so, that would be a change from his position last spring when he said people who got in over their heads and shouldve known better and speculators shouldn't be helped.

8:20 pm CT: Again, that would be McCain saying a voter's name, instead of starting an answer, "well, look." For what it's worth. And McCain calls out for bipartisanship -- this is reaching to the center, really a key goal of his tonight. Your contrast: Obama blamed George Bush, McCain said bipartisanship. WAIT -- spoke too soon -- this was really to set up a he's-a-liberal attack.

8:19 pm CT: Obama says there's "blame to go around," and then applies it in one direction. "Sen. McCain voted for four out of five of those George Bush budgets," he says. (That was an unprovoked jab, it seems.) Then comes more laundry list out of Obama, nothing really outstanding there.

8:18 pm CT: So far, both are playing populist cards. In the early discussion on the economy, I don't see either one distinguishing himself on the big question of the moment.

8:17 pm CT: Obama says he wants to "change the culture in Washington." That and other bromides are sure to fix everything, right?

8:14 pm CT: Obama needs to correct McCain's statements, "not surprisingly." (Was that necessary?) But he's not staying above the fray -- this isn't above-it-all Obama tonight early on.

8:11 pm CT: Now both candidates are touting the bailout package. (And why is McCain still talking about how he suspended his campaign for this.)

First attack -- Senator Obama and his friends, and his cronies, who defended Fannie and Freddie. This one is a bank shot, sort of hard to explain (lots of meanwhiles). But it looks like McCain is jumping at opportunities tonight, even when they're not directly offered. "Others took a hike," McCain says.

And -- McCain right up in voters' faces. Really moving in close.

8:08 pm CT: "Not you, Tom." (What did Brokaw do to deserve that dig?) McCain drives the right NUTS by mentioning Warren Buffet for treasury secretary. (They'll be much happier about Meg Whitman.)

Obama: "Warren would be a pretty good choice." So far, the Sage of Omaha is winning the debate.

ABC's Jennifer Parker points out that McCain is mentioning voters' names -- strong connections with the audience.

8:07 pm CT: McCain is roaming the stage, playing to his strength. And comes out with a policy proposal to help people stay in their homes -- a strong lead answer, to have a meaty response to that. McCain looks confident early.

8:06 pm CT: McCain: "Sen. Obama, good to be with you at a town hall meeting." Took approximately two sentences for the first dig.

8:04 pm CT: Obama leads off -- "worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and a lot of you, Ithink are worried." He looks back from the beginning -- "final verdict" on Bush-era policies. But he was asked about what to do next -- and leads with the bailout package. (I didn't think either of them would want to tout that tonight.)

But Obama is the first to talk about tax cuts tonight -- will be interested to see how McCain hits back on that point. He also says "middle class" first.

8:02 pm CT: John McCain quick to make eye contact from the start -- he won't want that storyline to repeat itself.

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (480) | TrackBack (0)

Live Coverage of Tonight's Debate

October 07, 2008 7:42 PM

Live video coverage of tonight's debate on ABC NewsNOW is available HERE.

Our pre-debate show starts at 8 pm ET -- me and Sam Donaldson hosting. We'll carry the whole debate, then do a half-hour wrap-up.

Tune in HERE, and I'll be blogging HERE throughout the debate.

-- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (195) | TrackBack (0)

The One-Way Debate?

October 07, 2008 7:30 PM

Just like last week's vice-presidential debate was all about Sarah Palin, tonight's presidential debate is all about John McCain -- right?

That's the media's judgment, and the very real sense in Nashville. McCain -- by dint of being down in the polls, and telegraphing a newly aggressive approach to the campaign -- seems to have all the pressure on him, to deliver for his base and for the still-moveable independent voters.

A bad McCain night and the narrative could be written for the final 27 days -- not in a way he would like.

True -- to a point. I just spoke with a top Obama adviser who didn't dispute that McCain has more at stake (of course, Obamaland would argue that precise point) but also made an interesting observation: Something north of 50 million people are watching tonight.

Most of them don't care about what the media filter has to say about who has what at stake. Many of them still probably need convincing about Obama, too -- that old "commander-in-chief" threshold we seemed a tad obsessed with just two weeks ago.

Just a thought -- but don’t both candidates have everything at stake every time they debate this late in the election?

-- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (114) | TrackBack (0)

RNC Quotes Hillary, Makes Sure Reporters are Comfortable

October 07, 2008 7:14 PM

So the RNC can’t claim credit for the Obama cufflinks -- but one fun little stunt is all theirs.

RNC spokesman Alex Conant is working his way through the media area here at Belmont University handing out seat cushions to reporters.

They feature a quote: “Maybe we should ask Barack if he’s comfortable and needs another pillow.” -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, Democratic Debate, Cleveland, OH, 2/26/08

This quote of course is a call-out to the infamous "Saturday Night Live" skit that played off of the assertion that the press corps was too lenient on Obama during the contentious primary season.

(Given the build-up today -- who needs a cushion -- or other padding -- more, do you think?)

The cushion will be put to good use.

-- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (20) | TrackBack (0)

McCain Adviser: We’ll Stick to the Future if Obama Does

October 07, 2008 6:20 PM

McCain and GOP aides are putting out the word before the debate that this won’t be a night for withering attacks -- it’s not the right format, they’re saying, but expect Sen. John McCain to get in his tweaks, maybe up to and including a mention of Bill Ayers.

That said, would the McCain campaign really agree to the deal that top McCain adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin said he’d accept a little while ago?

This from MSNBC earlier this afternoon:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Would you accept a ground rule tonight in the debate that there will be no personal references to someone else’s long-past associations? In other words, no mention tonight of Charles Keating, no mention tonight of Bill Ayers, no mention of the Jeremiah Wright. Would you accept a ground rule on behalf of your candidate: No attacks on old associations, we’ll only talk about the future? Would you accept that as a deal tonight?

DOUG HOLTZ-EAKIN: Chris, sure. Look, we tried to get Barack Obama to appear in a town hall with John McCain --

MATTHEWS: Would you accept that as a deal, we’ll only talk about the future?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: Yes.

MATTHEWS: Would you accept that as a deal? Just talk about the future tonight?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: Absolutely.

-- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (60) | TrackBack (0)

Obama: The Cufflink!

October 07, 2008 5:09 PM

Mysteriously making their way into circulation in Nashville: It's Obama, The Cufflink. Complete with the long-jettisoned "presidential" seal, the "Obama for America" slogan, and even the campaign Website. On the back, the simple words, "The One." A great gift for political junkies who have everything, and don't mind putting affiliations on their sleeves.

A fun bit of mischief-making by somebody -- but still trying to figure out who's behind them. An RNC spokesman says it's not them -- and an Obama campaign official said they are definitely not (surprise!) an official campaign production.

Will update when we get to the bottom of it.

                                                                      -- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (21) | TrackBack (0)

McCain’s Choice

October 07, 2008 1:21 PM

NASHVILLE -- Rick Klein here from ABC’s The Note -- I’ll be live-blogging all day and night during Tuesday’s second presidential debate.

The big question coming into tonight is one of tone. And this is something that, almost certainly, will be controlled by Sen. John McCain, and McCain virtually alone.

Why? Well, in simple terms, McCain is down in this race. He has precisely two opportunities to reach the nation all at once -- tonight in Nashville, and at next week’s final presidential debate, on Long Island.

Every day that goes by with the current dynamic -- driven by the economy, and with Sen. Barack Obama leading in national and battleground-state polls -- is a day that brings Obama closer to the presidency.

McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been laying the groundwork for a full assault -- with Palin hammering Obama for his ties to Bill Ayers, and McCain on Monday repeating the refrain, “Who is the real Barack Obama?”

GOP aides say that will be the key question McCain will try to place in voters’ minds tonight -- the sense of not knowing enough about Obama and where he would take the country.

But how to go about it? A direct assault that brushes aside (or treats as jumping-off points) voters’ questions? Or a more nuanced approach -- one that could get derided by those in the base who want a more aggressive final 28 days/

What do you think?

-- Rick Klein

October 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (133) | TrackBack (0)

LIVE DEBATE BLOG

October 02, 2008 9:06 PM

9:33 pm CT: And just like that, it's over.  The highly anticipated debate is in the books and it seems everyone survived.  Now for all those Friday morning quarterbacks...don't forget to get our take in The Note tomorrow and every day.  Thanks for all your comments and we'll see you again on Tuesday, October 7, when John McCain and Barack Obama meet again. 

9:30 pm CT: Biden has kept good control of himself tonight -- "fundamental change," he says in closing. We have gotten some good distinctions tonight. The format limited some of the depth, and we heard too many talking points, but there we have it -- a real choice.

9:29 pm CT: "Average, everyday American family like mine," Palin says in closing. Maybe a bit more average than some others, and with a Reagan tough -- if it's going to work for her, this is the basic way it will.

9:27 pm CT: From earlier (and I didn't know it either, Gov. Palin): The commanding general in

Afghanistan

is McKiernan, not McClellan.

9:23 pm CT: Maverick, maverick. Maverick. Maverick maverick maverick.

9:21 pm CT: Biden almost loses it -- he chokes up talking about his family. Palin didn't miss a beat -- might have been a moment to say something nice about Biden. More talking points pour out.

9:19 pm CT: Palin praises American "democracy and tolerance and freedom and equal rights." Again -- you either like this stuff or you hate it.

9:16 pm CT: "Flexibility" in the vice presidency? Palin won't commit to the office being in the executive branch. Constitutional scholars are going nuts over this, somewhere.

"Bizarre notion," Biden says, "and look where it's gotten us. It has been very dangerous."

9:14 pm CT: Could this be another one of those Palin performances where you get out of it what you put in? That is -- you'll find lots to like if you're inclined to like her, and lots not to like if you're inclined in that direction?

9:11 pm CT: Palin: "So Joe, there you go again." Anyone else over that line? Couldn't it have been retired with Reagan?

Shout-out to third graders at her brother's elementary school? What world were we just in there for a few minutes?

9:10 pm CT: Biden has Union Street in Wilmington to counter Palin's Main Street.

9:09 pm CT: "Team of mavericks," Palin says, again. "He has never asked me to check my opinions at the door." "We need a little bit of reality from Wasilla, Main Street." OK, I think people get it. But remember this is (was?) the source of her strength.

9:06 pm CT: Maybe it's the format, maybe it's the participants -- but anyone feel like we're debating in circles?

9:05 pm CT: From Matt Jaffe, in the press filing center: The press is dealing with McCain staffers in orange hats swarming around the file center like bees to honey dropping off their oppo papers left and right. A few media members even asked the Orange Hat Army to stop passing out the papers because they were starting to cover up their computers.

9:03 pm CT: "It's so obvious that I'm a Washington outsider," Palin says. Again, better done than said, but undeniable. This line of attack, driving a wedge between Biden and Obama, is legit, though it can seem forced at times.

9 pm CT: Maybe she's trying a little too hard at times to show she knows her stuff, as she flashes details on Afghanistan. But maybe that works if you want to know whether she can hold her own.

8:55 pm CT: Palin is falling into meaningless platitudes now: "Change is coming." "We're going to learn from the mistakes of this and other administrations."

"I haven't heard" how policies will be different, Biden counters.

8:53 pm CT: Biden has been more aggressive than I thought he'd be -- taking it almost exclusively to John McCain, but taking it nonetheless.

8:52 pm CT: From Matt Jaffe: "By my count, Biden has uttered his favorite word "literally" only once tonight. That's gotta be a record. Literally. Not a joke."

8:48 pm CT: I'm struck by how many of both candidates' themes are similar to their running mates'. Couldn't they be coached on something fresh?

"Some of these dictators who hate America . . . " says Palin.

8:47 pm CT: Sidenote on Beau Biden, from Matt Jaffe: "Palin just brought up Biden's son's deployment to Iraq with the National Guard. Biden is flying back to Delaware tonight for Beau's deployment ceremony tomorrow morning."

8:45 pm CT: "John McCain has been dead wrong," Biden says. ("I love him," he adds.) This was similar to an exchange last week that was among Obama's strongest moments.

8:43 pm CT: Biden has to watch that smile. And a swing back: "John McCain voted to cut off funding for the troops."

That's the thing about the Senate -- you can say just about anything about a voting record.

8:40 pm CT: We knew this was coming -- attacking Obama by using Biden's own words. And the rest of the answer -- "we're getting closer and closer to victory, and it would be a travesty" to quit now -- was very well put.

"Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq," she said.

8:38 pm CT: Nearly halfway in -- where has this Sarah Palin been? She's articulate, quick, detail-oriented tonight. Sometimes less is more. She has only gotten lost in her own blizzards once, on climate change, by my count.

8:37 pm CT: "I am tolerant," Palin said.

8:36 pm CT: Biden: "Absolutely no distinction" between heterosexual and same-sex couples under an Obama-Biden administration. Coming to a conservative attack ad near you. . .

8:35 pm CT: "Clean, green natural gas." Anyone else find that phrase to be weird?

On capping carbon emissions: "I do" support them, Palin said. That's an adjustment, I believe, to McCain's position.

8:33 pm CT: I'm surprised Biden brought up coal -- that is one his more memorable recent flubs, on clean coal.

Asks ABC's John Berman: Do we need a moderator at all? If they (specifically Palin) are just gonna answer whatever question they want?

8:30 pm CT: Climate change: "I'm not one to attribute every activity of man," then "cyclical changes," then a bunch of other phrases I didn't quite follow. "I don't want to argue about the causes." Find me the answer there. This is the closest she's come to, in Charlie Gibson's description, a "blizzard of words." I'm surprised she didn't have a better answer ready. This answer was all over the place.

8:29 pm CT: Now she rails against "East Coast politicians." Midwesterner, Hawaii-born Obama surely included. This attack though is key to her appeal. People in battleground states don't like "East Coast politicians."

8:26 pm CT: Again -- "corruption and the greed on Wall Street," and a "toxic mess." Palin is leading a populist charge -- but this is tricky so long as she and McCain support the "bailout" bill.

8:26 pm CT: Fast and loose with facts on both sides. A fact-checker's dream.

8:24 pm CT: From Matt Jaffe: "The "ultimate bridge to nowhere" line is one of Biden's favorites on the stump, but I'd say it qualifies as one of those "witty, biting lines" that Plouffe predicted Palin would use."

8:23 pm CT: Whoops! Palin called it the "bailout" package. Palin says she "had to take on the oil companies." Then she said she had to "undo" the tax breaks in the Bush-Cheney energy bill?

8:22 pm CT: From the McCain campaign: "Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to raise taxes on people making $42,000/year. That’s a lie. McCain didn’t vote on either bill."

Umm -- you sure you want to brag about that, guys?

8:19 pm CT: Biden: "I don't know where to start." Echoes of "there you go again." Then come some Biden facts -- and some stretched ones. He's wrongly suggesting that McCain's healthcare plan means a tax hike on everyone -- it might be on some people. Soundbite attempt: "That's the ultimate bridge to nowhere," he said.

8:18 pm CT: Details! says Palin. A gross mischaracterization: universal, government-run healthcare Obama's plan is very much not.

8:17 pm CT: Biden with his straight-ahead discussion on taxes -- no patriotism talk this time. Palin plays the middle class card -- distorting Biden's previous statement with a wave of her hand.

8:16 pm CT: From ABC's John Berman: Biden is trying to be as boring as humanly possible….an interesting goal.

8:14 pm CT: "I'm going to talk straight to the American people," and not answer the way you want, Palin says. (Isn't that better done than said?)

8:14 pm CT: To Biden, Palin is "the governor."

ABC's Matt Jaffe, who covers Biden: "Biden as he does on the stump has already called McCain not "a bad guy" and "a good man" in two of his three answers. Always emphasizes their friendship."

8:12 pm CT: "Darn right," she says. (Who wants to count up the homespun phrases? It's going to be harder than you  might think.

"94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a tax reduction." Fire up the fact-checkers on that one -- lots of those votes were for nonbinding budget resolutions.

8:11 pm CT: Biden talks about "John" and his votes -- bet we don't hear her say "Sarah."

Biden seems subdued and intense tonight.

8:09 pm CT: "We need to stop that. . . . We need to get rid of that corruption," Palin said. Hmmmm. And a little bit of rah-rah for Joe Six-Pack.

8:08 pm CT: "Team of mavericks," says Palin. Nifty stat on Obama voting on party lines. "I do respect your years serving in the United States Senate," she said.

It's going to be hard, though, to get them to focus on each other tonight.

8:07 pm CT: Notice that Biden is attacking McCain, not Palin. Bet that keeps up.

8:06 pm CT: Palin trying to turn the campaign suspension into a positive. Might want to drop that effort at this point. But her first response was good -- talking points, but not obviously so.

8:03 pm CT: First question is on the bailout bill -- Biden immediately blames the crisis on the Bush era economic policies. And your first "betcha" from Palin. "Can I call you Joe?"

Both blaming the feds off the back.

ABC's Matt Jaffe: Notoriously close-talking Biden kept a respectable distance...

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (429) | TrackBack (0)

Watch Livestream Coverage

October 02, 2008 7:05 PM

Our pre-debate show starts at 8 pm ET -- we'll show the whole debate, and then do a half-hour wrap. Hosted by me and Sam Donaldson.

Link HERE.

-- Rick Klein

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (103) | TrackBack (0)

Wounded Warriors

October 02, 2008 6:51 PM

A side note tonight -- moderator Gwen Ifill, who broke her ankle earlier this week and has been getting around in a wheelchair, isn't the only person on stage nursing an injury.

Earlier this week, Gov. Sarah Palin slipped while jogging and injured her right palm. She'll be wearing a bandage tonight on stage, per National Journal's Matthew Berger.

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

Orrin Hatch: Palin 'Being Set Up'; Ifill 'In the Tank'

October 02, 2008 6:04 PM

Don’t think Republicans are trying to get some mileage out of this (wholly manufactured) Gwen Ifill thing?

This fundraising solicitation just went out from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, signed by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

“Watch out.

“Sarah Palin is being set up.

“The moderator of tonight's debate is in the tank for Obama -- this liberal PBS reporter is releasing a pro-Obama book . . . to debut on inauguration day.

“Joe Biden is receiving debate advice from Hillary Clinton.

“And, Barack Obama's attack machine is gearing up to launch millions of dollars in new ads against Palin.”

Wow -- Hillary Clinton plus liberal reporters? How can a good Republican not open up the money faucet?

Tune into ABC News Now's live debate coverage at 8 pm ET. HERE.

-- Rick Klein

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (653) | TrackBack (0)

Googling Sarah Palin...

October 02, 2008 5:52 PM

Google has a great feature up, in honor of its 10th anniversary, where you can Google as if it's January 2001. Results come back as they would have then.

So my colleague Tahman Bradley had an inspired thought: Google Sarah Palin. After all, she was mayor of Wasilla by then.

And the verdict is . . . nada.

Of course, not quite nothing. First reference is to a British genealogy site: "Father: Job Palin (Abt 1762-1849) Mother: Sarah Rayner (1765- ) . . . 5 F Sarah Palin."

For the record, Joe Biden's Senate Website is first up under his name. Barack Obama's state Senate site (with a quite dated photo) is first up under HIS name.

And some things don't change: Google "John McCain," and you get a link to "Straight Talk America: Main Page."

-- Rick Klein

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)

Obama Camp: Palin 'One of the Best Debaters in American Politics'

October 02, 2008 5:06 PM

More from the annals of shameless spin . . .

ABC’s Matt Jaffe reports that on Sen. Joe Biden’s plan from Delaware to St. Louis, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said the following:

"Gov. Palin is one of the best debaters in American politics," Plouffe said, prompting reporters on the plane to burst out laughing.

He went on: "She is. Her 2006 debate, she knew where she wanted to take every question, and so I think she'll be relentlessly on message tonight and I'm sure she'll have any number of biting and witty one-liners."

More Plouffe: "The truth is, Gov. Palin -- I've watched all of her debates -- she's an extremely good debater. We expect that she'll have very witty, biting lines that she'll get off tonight. All of you that are like figure-skating judges will give her some credit for that, but we think that the American people who are watching at home tonight who are economically-challenged, who are fundamentally unhappy with the direction of this country, Joe Biden will do a very good job speaking to them."

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (31) | TrackBack (0)

'The Sarah Palin Show'

October 02, 2008 4:14 PM

This debate, of course, is Sarah Palin vs. Joe Biden -- but does anyone really care about the latter half of that equation?

This is Palin’s night, for better or worse. Biden’s charge is, essentially, not to make news: If he is the headline tomorrow, it’s almost certainly because he said something ridiculous/condescending/very wrong.

My colleague from ABC News Radio, Aaron Katersky, is spending the debate with a focus group of voters in Akron, Ohio. A few comments from voters there tell the story:

Said one: “It’s the only thing I want to see in this debate. It’s the Sarah Palin show. Joe Biden can say whatever he wants -- it doesn’t matter.”

Said another: “There’s absolutely zero interest on my part to sit there and listen to the issues and their answers to the issues. I don’t care. I’m going to crack a beer and I’m going to sit and wait for her to mess up.”

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (43) | TrackBack (0)

Commission Chair: We Didn’t Know About Ifill’s Book, and We don’t Care

October 02, 2008 3:37 PM

Frank Fahrenkopf, the Republican co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, told Fox News' Carl Cameron that the commission didn’t know about Gwen Ifill's book about Obama when it named her to moderate the vice-presidential debate -- but said the commission isn't bothered by it because it's not just about Obama, and because "she hasn't even written the chapter on Obama."

Per Greta Van Susteren's blog, Fahrenkopf said: “We didn’t know when we named Gwen about the book. Although I will say this: knowing now that she hasn’t even written the chapter on Obama, it doesn’t concern us.” http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2008/10/02/the-debate-chair-said-they-did-not-know-about-ifills-book/

Fahrenkopf noted that plenty of journalists -- including Ifill’s fellow debate moderators, Bob Schieffer and Jim Lehrer -- have written books without compromising their journalistic integrity.

“Since it’s not just on Obama, it covers a whole wide expanse of new black politicians, we’re not concern about it,” he said. “We pick our moderators based upon our trust and the knowledge of their lifetime work in journalism, their integrity, their ability to be unbiased, and to do it right. So we have great confidence in Gwen.”

And he made light of the carping that always comes the commission’s way: “Those complaints in the last 24 hours have been that there’s a secret listening device in Gov. Palin’s ear and that the people are going to be giving her the answers to the questions. We get this every four years and we’ve learned to live with it.”

The commission named its moderators August 5; Time magazine mentioned Ifill’s book later that month.

-- Rick Klein

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Working the Refs

October 02, 2008 3:17 PM

ST. LOUIS -- Rick Klein here from ABC’s The Note -- I’ll be blogging all day and night from Washington University in St. Louis -- check back for updates in the run-up to and during tonight’s debate.

Pre-debate spin knows no barriers these days -- and for a striking example, witness what the McCain-Palin campaign is trying to do to Gwen Ifill, the moderator of tonight’s vice-presidential debate.

The issue, as you probably know by know, is that Ifill is writing a book, scheduled to come out on inauguration day. Its title: “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.”

At first, the McCain campaign was willing to let its allies dial up the outrage by themselves. The story “broke” on a conservative Website late Tuesday, and the Drudge Report’s linkage ensured big play on talk radio throughout the day, including Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

McCain at first demurred, praising Ifill’s journalistic credentials. Then, this morning, McCain jumped in the fray: “Frankly, I wish they had picked a moderator that isn't writing a book that is favorable to Barack Obama -- I mean let's face it,” he said on Fox & Friends.

Clearly, this is the McCain-Palin campaign trying to work the refs. Clearly, this is an attempt to create a storyline of excuses in case Gov. Sarah Palin disappoints tonight.

Just as clearly, this is silly and -- even in the age of anything-goes spin -- just not right. First, nobody knows what Ifill is going to write; Ifill herself says she hasn’t written the section on Obama yet, and the book will be about a whole generation of black leaders, not just Obama.

Second, no one seriously questions the journalistic credentials of the PBS veteran, who also did stints at NBC News and The New York Times.

Third, Ifill’s authorship of this book should have surprised precisely no one in political circles. Six weeks ago, the book merited a mention in Time magazine. Last month, The Washington Post wrote about it.

For this to suddenly become an “issue” right before the debate is a disservice to a talented journalist. It fits with the McCain campaign’s efforts to rail against the media -- but does Team McCain really think it will win an election because people think it win anger the MSM?

Both sides play an audacious spin game before debates. The Obama camp has taken to calling Palin “Cicero of the Snow” -- only half in jest.

But ultimately, won’t the perceptions of Palin have far more to do with her own performance than with a book the moderator is writing?

October 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (105) | TrackBack (0)