Complete debate transcript
protein wisdom — Complete debate transcript Available here , courtesy LA Times blog. Posted by Jeff G. @ 11:33 pm | Trackback

Where McCain Lost It
FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right — Tonight's debate is not going to do John McCain any favors. On the contrary, it was the most lopsided of the four events in the post-debate snap polls. McCain was winning the debate early on, responding with surprising vigor and detail on the economy. But then came this: SCHIEFFER: All right. We're going to move to another question and the topic is leadership in this campaign. Both of you pledged to take the high road in this campaign yet it has turned very nasty. Senator Obama, your campaign has used words like "erratic," ...

That debate wasn’t about Joe the Plumber
pandagon.net - we are the public option — ... Despite being mentioned 27 times during Wednesday’s debate, Joe The Plumber Wurzelbacher wasn’t the big news of the head-to-head between Barack Obama and John McCain. IMHO, it was the final, no-mistakes-about-it repudiation of the presidency of George W. Bush by the man topping the ticket of the Republican party in 2008: ...

Hey, Joe
Power Line — ... Not you, Joe Biden. You, Joe the Plumber -- Joe Wurzelbacher. You were the center of attention in last night's debate last night. Both Barack Obama and John McCain invoked your authority and sought your approval. You proved yourself to be a very powerful man. ...

McCain 'Air Quotes' Blow It With Women
Politics Daily — ... against abortion rights), and without any serious discussion of his and Sarah Palin's terrible record and positions on women's issues. Just as he was about to tiptoe past the women's vote (and the men-who-love-women's vote), he tripped on his shoelaces and dropped the tray of fine porcelain misogyny he'd been carrying. I can hardly stand to watch it. On top of that, Bob Schieffer outed McCain's "no litmus test "lie: (Transcript via LA Times) SCHIEFFER: But even if it was someone -- even someone who ...

Final debate: game changer?
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... Last evening at the debate party at Trocadero, I heard one comment over and over again after the conclusion of the event: Who was that man on stage with Barack Obama and where has he been the last few weeks? Earlier, I had written that John McCain had to assert himself, attack Obama’s positions, and let it fly.  Last night he delivered, in a big way. Unlike the first debate, McCain started strong and finally moved away (somewhat) from the idea that he could out-populist Obama.  He made clear that the financial collapse started with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but even more ...

Analyze this
Power Line — ... on last night's debate, Barack Obama made a number of mystifying comments about his own record. He seems to have denied that he launched his political career in Bill Ayers's living room: ...

Debate: Difference of principles on judiciary
Hot Air » Top Picks — ... Occasionally, and not nearly enought to justify them, presidential debates highlight actual and honest differences in principle between candidates so clearly that voters cannot miss the difference between them.  One such moment occurred last night in the exchange on the judiciary.  Bob Schieffer’s question on judicial appointments produced honest answers from both John McCain and Barack Obama.  McCain believes in judges applying the law, while Obama believes in judges creating the law. McCain gave a clear answer in favor of strict constructionism: They should be judged on ...

The Rude Pundit — ... Last night's debate was something of a critical wounding of the Atwater/Rove school of political evisceration. Simply put, Obama's attitude to all the lawn darts McCain brought - the Ayers nonsense, the ACORN stupidity, the Obama-kills-babies lie, the "present" vote bullshit, and more - was to react and behave like it was all nonsensical, stupid, lying bullshit. He answered every accusation directly, but with a near-mournful attitude, as if to say, "Really, John? This is really what you want to talk about?" What Barack Obama did last night was to school John McCain in the ...

lol your reaction
Shakesville — A truly hilarious moment in last night's debate was when Obama told "Joe the Plumber" that he would be fined nothing if his small business did not adopt Obama's proposed healthcare plan, and McCain's exclaimed, "ZERO?!" with an incredulous look of "Zuh?" on his face. ...

Why should a committee be in charge of a woman's body?
Corrente — Obama’s abortion formula* drives me nuts. From the debate transcript: [OBAMA] What ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision. Because I can’t see the logic of it. Either the woman is in the “best position,” or a sort of committee, composed of the woman (indeed, we’ve come a long way), her family, and various religious and medical experts is in the “best position.” ...

Debate: Did Bob Schieffer demonstrate bias?
Hot Air » Top Picks — ...   Bob Schieffer of CBS moderated the debate last night and appeared to do well, at least in getting the two men to argue with each other.  There did not appear to be any significant time differentials or “last word” issues.  In fact, the only time I thought about Schieffer’s peformance last night was when he asked about abortion — a topic inexplicably avoided by the three previous debate moderators. In the previous debates, the bias demonstrated itself in the questions.  According to Andrew Malcom’s transcript , here are Schieffer’s questions: On the new economics plans this ...

Obama on Ayers: Hey, Everybody Was Doing It
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... Here is what Barack Obama said last night about Bill Ayers and Obama's role in handing over millions of dollars to "education" programs designed by Ayers, long an advocate of using education for purposes of left-wing indoctrination: ...

POLITICS: Obama on Ayers: Hey, Everybody Was Doing It
Baseball Crank — ... Here is what Barack Obama said last night about Bill Ayers and Obama's role in handing over millions of dollars to "education" programs designed by Ayers, long an advocate of using education for purposes of left-wing indoctrination: ...

Why isn't McCain a "proud conservative" anymore?
Althouse — ... Now, I'm checking the transcript from last night. The word "conservative" appears exactly once.. It's said by McCain, but he's quoting Obama: ...

What McCain said about buying up bad mortgages.
Althouse — ... to this [McCain's proposal that the government buy up bad home-loan mortgages and reset the value of the loan]. I heard it last night, but couldn't understand how it would deal with the crisis. It seems like a massive government benefit going out to people who overextended themselves taking loans. Why not give money to all the frugal people who believed they couldn't afford to buy a house? I don't understand the theory, other than as political pandering.During last night's debate, I felt like I was getting a personal response from McCain: Now, ...

McCain Doesn’t Really Know ‘The Criticism’ Of His Mortgage Plan
Wonk Room — During the third and final presidential debate last night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked about his plans for the economy. In response, McCain outlined his Homeownership Resurgence Plan, which he said will help “put the homeowners first.” McCain also addressed what he called “the criticism” of his plan: Now, I know the criticism of this. ‘Well, what about the citizen that stayed in their homes? That paid their mortgage payments?’ It doesn’t help that person in their home if the next door ...

The Extreme Position
Eschaton — John McCain last night: That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, "health." Complete with air quotes.

Mainstreaming the despicable
Classical Values — ... issue is spun alternately as: No one cares what Ayers did and it was a long time ago so it doesn't matter Barack Obama was a child when the bombs went off so it doesn't matter Obama's contacts with him involved working for "educational reform" The economy is more important, so HOW DARE McCain even mention Ayers? Finally McCain mentioned Ayers. Barely. When he did last night (after Bob Schieffer brought up Sarah Palin's "palled around with terrorists" remark), here were Obama's words in response : In fact, Mr. Ayers has become the centerpiece of Senator McCain's campaign ...

Economists: The Next Administration Should ‘Open Its Wallet, Not Tighten its Belt’
Wonk Room — ... But it’s not only media types who have bought the neo-Hooverist line. During the third presidential debate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) proclaimed that “Americans are hurting tonight and they’re angry and I understand that, and they want a new direction. I can bring them in that direction by eliminating spending.” McCain has also advocated a ...

Obamises, Obamises: Are His Tax And Spending Plans Real, or Not?
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... he's proposing a whole bunch of new spending, but actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut. Pretty unambiguous: he has promised the American people a net reduction in federal spending. Even if we assume that Obama (silently) excludes spending on existing entitlements from that calculation, it's another read-my-lips promise he can be held to, and that he is 100% certain to break if elected. Now here is Obama in the third debate - watch carefully: OBAMA: Well, first of all, I think ...

John McCain Is Proud Of G. Gordon Liddy
Daily Kos — ... Several weeks ago, seeing his last chance for the presidency slipping away, a desperate John McCain chose to focus of his entire campaign on William Ayers. In television ads, in stump speeches and through his surrogates, McCain, unable to run on the issues, decided that his only chance was to turn Barack Obama's time on a school reform board with Ayers into "palling around with terrorists," and during the last presidential debate, McCain said that "we need to know the full extent of that relationship." And McCain is right. We do need to know the full extent of a presidential ...

McCain: Obama Campaign Has ‘Savaged’ Joe The Plumber
Think Progress — ... The idea that Obama has been “savaging” Joe is ludicrous. It was McCain who brought up Joe the Plumber — 21 times — in the final presidential debate. In fact, Joe himself said after the debate, “To be honest with you, I’m sure Obama didn’t want my name mentioned. … ...

McCain Campaign Backtracks On Balanced Budget Pledge, Admits It Might ‘Take Longer’ Than End Of First Term
Think Progress — ... Furthermore, in the third presidential debate, McCain promised an “across-the-board spending freeze” in order to reduce the deficit, while still sticking to his ...

Palin: ‘Women Need Equal Pay For Equal Work,’ Not Just ‘A Talking Point’
Think Progress — ... to court — and said women just need more “education and training.” (In fact, over half of all Americans with bachelor’s or graduate degrees are women.) McCain dismisses concerns about women’s pay by throwing out conservative buzzwords. He explained his opposition to the Fair Pay Act by claiming it “opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems.” In the last presidential debate, he mocked the bill as “a trial lawyer’s dream.”

Krauthammer Pile-On
democracyarsenal.org — ... However, it's not enough to end at the McCain-Bush comparison.  Faced with that criticism, McCain supporters like Krauthammer are likely to respond in the same way as their candidate - by whining that if Obama wanted to run against George W. Bush, he should have done so in 2004.  And in responding that way, they would have a point.  That's why it's equally important to look at John McCain's own positions and statements to see how he would respond to Krauthammer's compendium of calamities.  And doing that leaves you with some worrisome impressions.  ...

Obama: Billions for Pork Barrel Earmarks
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... Barack Obama made clear during the campaign -- notably in the Hofstra debate -- that he would bring about a net federal spending cut. That will be particularly hard to achieve if he starts his administration with $300 billion in deficit spending. ...

Obamanomics not to include free trade
SCSUScholars — ... on trade uninformative. And in the October 15 debate with McCain, all you got from Obama was Bill Clinton's rhetoric from the 1992 campaign before Ross Perot pushed Clinton into a free trader. ...

News Flash: Obama to Fulfill Campaign Promises!
Angry Bear — ... As far as I can tell from the Journal's reporting, the main tax elements are largely indistinguishable from what Obama was promoting in the fall. Here, for instance, is a snippet of the third debate: ...

POLITICS: Barack Obama Thinks You Can't Count
Baseball Crank — ... ...[W]hat I've done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut. I haven't made a promise about... SCHIEFFER: But you're going to have to cut some of these programs, certainly. OBAMA: Absolutely. So let me get to that. What I want to emphasize, though, is that I have been a strong proponent of pay-as- you-go. Every dollar that I've proposed, I've proposed an additional cut so that it matches. -Barack Obama, Third Presidential Debate, October 15, 2008. If ever a public policy proposal ...

Barack Obama Thinks You Can’t Count
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut. I haven’t made a promise about… SCHIEFFER: But you’re going to have to cut some of these programs, certainly. OBAMA: Absolutely. So let me get to that. What I want to emphasize, though, is that I have been a strong proponent of pay-as- you-go. Every dollar that I’ve proposed, I’ve proposed an additional cut so that it matches. -Barack Obama, Third Presidential Debate, October 15, 2008. If ever a public policy proposal ...

Morning Briefing for April 22, 2009
RedState: Conservative News and Community — ... done throughout this campaign is to propose a net spending cut. I haven’t made a promise about… SCHIEFFER: But you’re going to have to cut some of these programs, certainly. OBAMA: Absolutely. So let me get to that. What I want to emphasize, though, is that I have been a strong proponent of pay-as- you-go. Every dollar that I’ve proposed, I’ve proposed an additional cut so that it matches. -Barack Obama, Third Presidential Debate, October 15, 2008. If ever a public policy proposal ...

Obama’s Qualifications: Someone Like Souter, Believes In ‘Right To Privacy,’ Empathizes With The Weak
Think Progress — ... facts? They believe in fidelity to the text of the Constitution, but they also think you have to look at what is going on around you and not just ignore real life. Several weeks later, Obama said in a debate with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that he "will look for those judges who have an outstanding judicial record, who have the intellect, and who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are going through." Using the example of Lilly Ledbetter, Obama elaborated: OBAMA: For years, she had been getting paid less than a man ...

More "Keep Your Plan"
The Corner on National Review Online — ... got health care already, and probably the majority of you do, then you can keep your plan if you are satisfied with it. You can keep your choice of doctor. We're going to work with your employer to lower the cost of your premiums by up to $2,500 a year." ... "Number one, let me just repeat, if you've got a health care plan that you like, you can keep it. All I'm going to do is help you to lower the premiums on it. You'll still have choice of doctor. There's no mandate involved." 3rd debate : "The only thing we're going to try to do is lower costs so that those cost savings are ...

Obama’s Health Care Promises
Patterico's Pontifications — ... At the third and final 2008 Presidential debate, here’s what candidate Obama promised he would do about health care if he were elected President: ...

Another Mao Lover in the White House?
Flopping Aces — Birds of a feather flock together! Remember this? From the October 15, 2008 debate between John McCain and Barack Hussein Obama mmm…mmm..mmm! OBAMA: Senator McCain has continually made is that somehow my associations are troubling. Let me tell you who I associate with. On economic policy, I associate with Warren Buffett and former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. If I’m interested in figuring out my foreign policy, I associate myself with my running mate, Joe Biden, or with Dick Lugar, the Republican ranking member on the ...