February 21, 2008

Live-blogging the big Hillary-Obama debate.

8:00 ET: Let's get started!

8:04: So get started already! How long can they stand there at attention in gray — hopefully not empty — suits?

8:05: No rules! But try to keep it short — and have real conversation. We see Obama taking careful notes — left-handed. The little desks in front of them make them look like oversized grammar school kids. Hillary is making her opening statement. She's done a lot and she has so much more to do.

8:08: Obama opens. He says he and Hillary are friends. She smiles a fixed smile at him. How hard this must be for her. He quickly glides from health care to NAFTA to Iraq. "What's lacking right now is not good ideas" — a jab at her emphasis on "solutions." The problem is that good ideas "go to Washington to die." So it's all about "bringing this country together." She's still gazing and smiling.

8:13: Jorge Ramos begins the first question in Spanish and switches to English: Will you meet with the new leader of Cuba? Hillary will be ready to "reach out" to the new government
after it demonstrates that it is ready to change. She sounds very relaxed and articulate. Campbell Brown reminds Obama that he's already said he would meet the the leader of Cuba, so he has to say yes to this. He says he will meet without preconditions — but he does want "preparation" with some matters of rights on the agenda. He stresses that it's important for us to meet with our enemies. Clinton gets rebuttal time, and she distinguishes herself from him: She wants preconditions. Obama seems to be making a conscious effort to hold his chin up, which makes him look a tad arrogant as he looks down his nose at her.

8:22: What's the difference between the two of them on the economy? Obama says everyone knows the economy is "in trouble." "People have been struggling." We need to "restore balance" to the economy. He's against lead paint in toys. Hillary seems to plug in a prepared speech: "We need a President who works for
you." She too comes out firmly against lead paint in toys. She wants a moratorium on foreclosures — and I can't even understand how someone would think that's a good idea. I wish Obama would say she's woefully misguided. Hillary seems a little manic with eyebrows grouchoing up and down as she exclaims about "innovation!"

8:31: Immigration: Hillary is passionately, desperately in favor of it. (They're in Texas.) Obama tells us "we're a nation of laws" and mentions border security and "cracking down" on employers (but in a way that doesn't burden workers with Spanish surnames). Illegal immigrants need to get to "the back of the line." I think I see Hillary glowing. Clearly, she came across as the more generous one.

8:36: About that fence. Hillary speaks clearly, elaborately, and incomprehensibly about the fence. The message is: I'm a sophisticated policy geek.

8:43: Is there any problem with the U.S. becoming bilingual? English must be our "common, unifying language," says Hillary. Obama too thinks everyone needs to learn English — to "bind us together." And let the English-speaking kids learn a foreign language. He segues into criticizing No Child Left Behind: It pushes out the study of foreign language.

8:50: Hillary is asked if she's saying that Obama is "all hat and no cattle." It's little awkward to invite her to call him a nothing while sitting right next to him. She refers to that famous video clip of the state senator who couldn't name any of Obama's accomplishments. That gets almost no response from the big University of Texas audience. Maybe people aren't watching YouTube that much. By contrast, Obama gets a huge cheer when he says every major newspaper in Texas has endorsed him. Score 1 for mainstream media. His point is: She has to be saying that everyone who supports him must be delusional.

8:57: About that "plagiarism." Obama defends his use of a couple lines given him by his associate Duval Patrick. "This is where we start getting into the silly season in politics." People want to hear about the real issues. "What I've been talking about in these speeches, and I've gotta admit: Some of 'em are pretty good..." Ha ha. We should be lifting the country up, he says, not tearing each other down. Now, it's Hillary's turn, and it gets a little ugly. "Well, I think that if your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words. That's a very simple, uh, proposition. And you know, lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox." Cute, but obviously prepared. "And I just don't think..." Obama: "No, that's not..." Hillary: "No, but Barack, it is, because if you look..." [boos from the audience] "if you look at the YouTube of these videos, it does raise questions." It's fine to want to unite the country, but, she says we need to "unite it for a purpose around very specific goals." That sound silly at first, but it actually defines an important difference between them, though I think she's wrong. The presidential candidate doesn't need to be all that specific.

9:03: Obama's emphasizing discussing issues and he's parsing their competing health insurance plans.

9:10: Is Hillary saying that Obama is not ready to be Commander in Chief? Her answer is that she's going to let the voters decide and she's going back to the subject of health insurance. What's that old Woody Allen movie where he's in a prison camp and the torture is being locked in a sweatbox with an insurance salesman? They're finally at the point where both of them are admitting they are going to force you to buy insurance. The difference is that Hillary is promising she will force
everyone to buy insurance.

9:15: The Commander in Chief question is re-asked. Hillary falls back on asserting that she's ready to be Commander in Chief. She declines to attack him here. Obama's turn. Of course, he's ready too. He points to his opposition to the Iraq war.

9:21: Unless this campaign takes a "wacky, unpredictable turn," John King says, one of you is going to face John McCain. That's a none too subtle reference to today's NYT story. How are they going to look standing next to a war hero? Hillary tells a story of a mother grabbing her arm for the second time tonight. Both ramble on about war policy, and I don't think either of them talked about John McCain.

9:31: Ugh. I'm bored with this. I see Stephen Green is drunkblogging. I'm blogging on Get Some ZZZ's tea. ("Brew a pot of our caffeine-free herbal blend and breathe a sigh of sweet relief as the bouquet of organic rooibos, soothing chamomile, passionflower and the mellowing properties of valerian gently lulls you toward blissful effects.") Now there's some talk of the superdelegates, and Hillary says well, you know there are these rules, but she's confident that there will be a united party in the end. Barack smirks.

9:38: At what "moment" in life were you most "tested"? Obama plugs in his life story — born to a teenaged mother, etc. He doesn't come up with a specific moment, and that annoys me, and you know one charge against him is that he lacks specificity. Hillary says that we all know she's had some challenging moments, and that gets a big audience response. "But... people often ask me... how do you do it... how do you keep going?" What the hell! She's reliving the crying moment in New Hampshire!

9:42: "No matter what happens in this contest — and I am honored, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama, I am absolutely honored," Hillary says, and I think we hear a tinge of farewell. Obama reaches over and shakes her hand and pats her on the shoulder. She takes a deep breath as she shakes her head and then says: "Whatever happens, we're gonna be fine." Big cheers. It's over. Obama stands up quickly, and he must feel confident. No slips. No shakeups. He pulls out Hillary's chair, which is an odd gesture when a person is sitting down. It seems like he is rushing her to get up. He strides over to the moderators' table, and Hillary wanders off in the other direction. She's off screen. I guess the camera people expected a thanking of the moderators ritual. Another camera catches her. She's with Chelsea. Hillary's eyes are cast down and Chelsea has an impenetrable smile. The two of them walk downstage in front of the desks, over toward the moderator, and Chelsea is holding her mother's hand and gripping her arm. Are we supposed to feel a stirring of emotion? Was this mother-daughter encounter planned? Hillary repeatedly referred to mothers throughout the night and at least twice told a story of a mother grabbing her arm, and now here is Chelsea grabbing her arm. Bill isn't there. Nor is Michelle. It's just a Chelsea moment.

10:16: So, to recap. Not much happened, therefore Obama won. Hillary did fine sitting there, saying rational-sounding things most of the time. The closest she came to making something happen was on the plagiarism question: "I think that if your candidacy is going to be about words, then they should be your own words.... Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox." But that's just a wisecrack, and when we're sitting here listening to Obama spout policy all night, the premise of the wisecrack — that his candidacy is "about words" — just doesn't fit. By the end, Hillary seemed to let it show that she knew her dream was over and that the important thing now was to glide to a graceful defeat. Or is that what they carefully planned to make us think, so we'd reengage emotionally with her? You know, Obama can be a rather cool character. Midway through the debate, I found myself practicing an impersonation of him. Not his speech, but his clasped hands on the table, his head turned sideways, chin up, lips pursed in a grin, his eyes looking down onto the hapless soul who imagines she could unsettle him in the slightest degree.

142 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm watching the other Survivor game.

Rocker 419 said...

Hillary has to deliver a knock out punch (or close to it) tonight...otherwise she's toast.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

What a good make up job on Hillary. Really.

tituslalala said...

hilary looks good, i like her suit.

nice trim on the collar

LonewackoDotCom said...

I thought the previous ones were bad*, but this is even worse: one of the questioners is JorgeRamos, an admitted CulturalSeparatist who - despite living here for over a decade - refuses to become a citizen of the U.S.

Yes, that's right: a Mexican citizen is one of CNN's questioners. Let me know when CNN mentions that minor fact.

* Examples of how bad CNN is:
youtube.com/watch?v=nIbDAVQMKGM
youtube.com/watch?v=wm0uWz2BS9M
youtube.com/watch?v=TpqKogu9bzA

tituslalala said...

i don't give a shit about cuba but i would love to go to havana for a weekend for some hog.

i heard the underground gay scene is hot and i loved the movie Strawberry and Chocolate.

Also, Before night Falls is one my favorites. johnny depp in drag was hot.
mmm, cuban hog.

tituslalala said...

When you look at her looking at him all i see is her hating him and wondering how the fuck am i getting beat by this guy.

Peter V. Bella said...

Hillary looks like she has to run to the bathroom. She keeps moving in her seat and rocking.

tituslalala said...

i also don't give a shit about people making under 75k a year. Who are these losers/

i want to keep my tax cuts.

Rocker 419 said...

Gawd CNN sux sooo bad. Whats with the Mexican dude? They couldn't find enough U.S. citizens to ask questions?! Com'on Hillary, lets see you lose it for once like a real human being. Just run over and punch Obama, right in the head. The damage will do you both good...

tituslalala said...

i love the fact that social security is not taken out of my check beginning in september because i make a lot of money.

Peter V. Bella said...

This is not a debate. This is an interview.

tituslalala said...

campbell brown is fat.

didn't she just pop up out a kid/

shes married to dan senor, former bush butt boy.

tituslalala said...

i'm bored.

i want to see hilary punch obama.

tituslalala said...

george bush's war on science.

i like that.

AllenS said...

I don't have cable, and it's not on regular tv. Does Hillary look pissed?

tituslalala said...

i hate the spic who is one of the moderators.

also, he is not hot.

tituslalala said...

no she doesn't look pissed.

i think she looks pretty good.

i want her to get pissed though-i like that.

why i am the only one live blogging with annie.

Come on fellow republicans, get with it.

tituslalala said...

i also don't give a shit about mexican immigrants unless they are cleaning my toilet

Peter Blogdanovich said...

It's hard to something about nothing.

Rocker 419 said...

Maybe the immigration thing will work in Texas, I dunno. Certainly not in Ohio. She's doing ok but I doubt if shes changing anyones mind here...

LonewackoDotCom said...

This isn't even a real job interview. It's the type of job interview someone would give to their nephew.

CNN's Mexican citizen questioner just asked an extremely lightweight question about immigration that simply generated the same things they've said over and over.

The solution to the CNN problem is for regular citizens to go to campaign appearances and ask the questions they're too corrupt to ask.

tituslalala said...

i would do john king-he is from boston.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

Ok. I'm not voting for George Bush.
She's convinced me.

tituslalala said...

immigration may be a hot topic in texas but i think all this pandering will not help in the general election.

i am all for mexicans cleaning my house and washing my car but i just don't want to hear this much about them.

Rocker 419 said...

One of them should confront jorge ramos about why he refuses to become a U.S. citizen even though he enjoys all the fruits of citizenship here. That would take more balls than are up there tonight...

tituslalala said...

stop speaking spanish jorge-it is driving me crazy.

2050 there will be 150 million spanish in this country

oh god, that sounds awful

Peter Blogdanovich said...

This is not a debate. It's an infomercial.

Rocker 419 said...

I wonder if Hillary feels it slipping away from her, every time she opens her mouth...? OMG I think I'm starting to feel sorry for her...

tituslalala said...

shes not scoring any points.

she needs to attack him.

i want to see him punched for some reason and i voted for him.

I'm Full of Soup said...

It's not Spanish he is speaking. It is that faux Hispanic accent TV talking heads use to emphasize there ethnicity.

We have at least two on the local news here in the Philly market and it amuses me to hear how much more ethnic they pronounce their own names these days. It must be an unconscious form of job security.

For instance one news-reader calls himself ...Rob Ceeeejjjoonezz. I bet he pronunced it Bob Cijones when he was in high school.

tituslalala said...

i'm sounding like rush limbaugh tonight while i watch this debate.

whats happening to me

I'm Full of Soup said...

If a fight did break out, would their respective Secret Service teams start battling each other too?

You know like in a tag-team wrestling bout.

Trumpit said...

Titus,

You are a loser and you suck. Who asked you to do a lousy running commentary? You make me want to retch. I also don't believe you are gay. Because you are such a loser. At least Middle Class Guy sticks his cigarettes in his mouth. Disgusting creature that you are!!

Anonymous said...

Great Survivor tonight. I didn't know Ami is one of the "favorites." I wonder if she'll get all the women and Chet under her estrogen spell?

Now, LOST.

Rocker 419 said...

Obama is on his game and he looks and sounds good. Hillary is sitting there, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Her handlers must be freaking out behind the scenes...unless she gets mad, after tonight, she's nothing more than a historical footnote.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

Oh, I get it. This is like dueling banjo's. A slow start builds to a furious exchange of insults.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Barack will give you $4,000 for college if you agree to work for one year in a faux job.

Althouse asked the other day - why would a student do that when they could get a real job and earn $4,000.

I like Hillary's jab- "Barack uses an Xerox machine to prepare his speeches".

Hillary brings up a failed task in her past _1993's national hlth care fiasco.

Anyone else here ever bring up a past job on which you sucked during a job interview?

John Kerry was the last candidate to promise everyone would be covered under the Senate's health plan- did Obama just promise the same thing??

Does Obama know the internet has improved the average voter's memory.

Peter V. Bella said...

AllenS said...
I don't have cable, and it's not on regular tv. Does Hillary look pissed?


I thought she always looked that way.


Hillary is giving campaign speeches. I wish Obama would tell her that speeches are not solutions and do not put fresh game on the table. They don't keep one in cigars and booze either.

Time for Iron Chef. That is a real fight.

tituslalala said...

obama is destroying her.

trumpit you have quite a bit of anger. take a deep breath and say namaste. you should feel better.

Peter V. Bella said...

If Hillary gets the nod, we will all be living a subsistence existence. Glad I know how to garden, hunt and fish. Now, if I only knew how to grow tobacco.

Rocker 419 said...

It's fascinating that Hillary is getting stepped on, that Obama is hogging all the time. The audience (by applause) is certainly on his side. She seems hesitant to "mix it up." It's almost sexist in a way...

Peter V. Bella said...

It's Morimoto and some guy in a cowboy hat.

Peter V. Bella said...

That's a very simple, uh, proposition...


What is it with all the P words during this campaign. Pimping, pandering, prostituting, propositioning?

Oh, silly me, they're all whores.

Peter V. Bella said...

The challenge tonight is Chilis. The cowboys are getting smashed on tequila. Morimoto is just plodding along as usual. No pressure.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

I'll see your pander and raise you two panders.

tituslalala said...

Shes done.

the fat lady has sung.

she is getting destroyed by him.

tituslalala said...

mmmm chilis. i love chilis.

tituslalala said...

obama is much more substance tonight.

he doesn't sound like an empty suit.

i think he is uncut but i would still do him.

tituslalala said...

i bet john king has a big hog.

he is engaged to dana bash though.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Clinton is really playing defense. She needed to be on offense. Bad game plan or just plain bad candidate?

AllenS said...

I haven't heard about the Mexican for a while. Did someone send him to Chili's for food?

Peter V. Bella said...

Obama should blow his nose, hand Hillary the tissue, and ask her to throw it out for him. Tell her it is her health care program.

Peter V. Bella said...

Commercials are over. Back to the Chili challenge. Hot, hot, hot. I think the Jap has it all over the shit kickers.

I'm Full of Soup said...

AllenS:

The Mexican was a movie starring Brad Pitt, I think. It is not PC to use that phrase "the Mexican" under any other circumstances.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Hillary has a look on her face that says she may be about to lose it. Any chance she has a carry permit?

Peter V. Bella said...

lynch,

Is there a difference between the Mexican and a Mexican?

Oh Oh, gotta go. More tequila is coming out on Iron Chef. Booze, knives, fire. Good thing these guys don't shoot.

Rocker 419 said...

I am SOOOO looking forward to the McCain-Obama debate. Both Obama & Hillary are pitiful...They would walk right out of Iraq and give it up to al-quida, even though we've already kicked their ass...

I'm Full of Soup said...

Obama said we are spending $12 Billion a month on Iraq and using the old Guns vs. Butter argument, Obama would take that money and spend it on other important stuff.

Therefore deficits no longer matter (I made this last sentence up - Obama did not say this out loud).

Rocker 419 said...

Hillary looks like she is in denial, like she doesn't have a clue she's losing...doesn't she read the polls anymore? Doesn't anyone on her staff read the papers/blogs?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Middle class:

No you can't say A Mexican or The The Mexican.

Just like you can' say the Irishman or The Drunken Irishman or The Irishman appeared drunk again. Or what happendd to my booze cabinet, where is that Irishman?

Not PC - recommend you avoid usage.

Peter Blogdanovich said...

She's in a situation she can make worse, but can't make it better. No matter how much She'd like to whack him over the head with her chair.

Unknown said...

snarky comments all predicrable and mostly lame.

The play by play summary is The Debates for Dummies for those without
cable connection to the debates.

English is not the legal language of the land and to say it binds us together etc is nice (and true) but demographics may down the road decide some other language to be the legal language.

McCain versus Obama? Other than the stay the course in Iraq,which you may or may not believe in, what will he offer for health plan, pulling us out of the recession, huge deficit, housing disaster etc etc?

tituslalala said...

uh oh, is she going to cry/

Rocker 419 said...

"I'm honored to be sitting next to Barack Obama...and no matter what happens..." Is this Hillary's resignation speech?

TheShaz said...

Hillary lost it tonite.....

She just sat there and let the guy talk, and talk, and talk, and talk.

Now the million dollar question....will she concede after Texas and Ohio or will the Hillary Machine in their rage at what happened to their "enivitable" election.

But from my opinion....she's TEXAS TOAST

Jamie Irons said...

Ms Althouse queried (probably rhetorically):

What's that old Woody Allen movie where he's in a prison camp and the torture is being locked in a sweatbox with an insurance salesman?

"Take the Money and Run"

Jamie Irons

Lindsay said...

At the end there, it felt like she was conceding.

Peter V. Bella said...

AJ Lynch said...
Hillary has a look on her face that says she may be about to lose it.


I thought it was a look of distress. Maybe she drank the water.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Nathan:

Huge deficit is old news buddy . It has been around for decades.

Housing problem means annual foreclosure rate will go from about 1% to 1.5% a year. That is a shame to those losing their homes but is not as big a crisis as MSM and pols would have you believe. You won't hear much about it after the election if a Dem should win.

They will never fix hlth insurance in next 50 years - just continue to add more and more marginal earners.

The working American never get the free or subsidixed day care, the free breakfasts, the paid PRE-K because they don't want it and they make too much.

The dilemma for the big libs is the pie is only so big- Americans with the help of the internet will tamp down on great amount of govt waste and start to demand real change NOT bigger progams and higher taxes.

tituslalala said...

i agree, she is done.

she seems resigned to the fact that she is over.

barack was good and better than her.

Rocker 419 said...

Nathan: The dividing line between Democrats and Republicans is well defined. Personally I believe Democrats are delusional and have been duped by the media, etc. I know you believe the same about me. The Obama-McCain debate will be much more interesting than this dog & pony show tonight. I love it when Democrats shoot themselves in the foot, because they do this little funny dance...

Peter V. Bella said...

It ain't over til the fat lady sings.



Some one said they heard Hillary singing.

Rocker 419 said...

I hear the fat lady taking a deep breath...and...it's over. Hillary is done. Texas toast indeed. I really thought she'd be the one the Dems woould choose but I was wrong again.

Rocker 419 said...

Fat Lady: Na na na na, na na na na, hey Hil-lary, good-bye..."

AllenS said...

But, wait! Isn't there one more debate planned? Don't give up Hillary!

Meade said...

"What the hell! She's reliving the crying moment in New Hampshire!"

Whoa, now... easy, girl. What happened to those blissful effects you were being gently lulled toward?

I'm Full of Soup said...

AllenS:

Who started this Hillary! (with the exclamanation point)?

Do you know where it started _ I crack when I see so many commenters use it.

tituslalala said...

now lets get back to john mccain porking the 32 year old lobbyist.

Peter V. Bella said...

The vote is in in the chile pepper contest. The chairman is going to hand out the verdict. Whose cuisine reins supreme?

It's the drunken cowboy! More shots all around.

Maybe if Hillary learned how to cook, she could have been on Iron Chef.

AllenS said...

Don't know. Lately, I've been using Hillary? or Hillary!?

Automatic_Wing said...

Predictable, boring debate. Hill is just as much of an empty shell as Obama but without the charisma.

I couldn't believe the guy with cowboy hat beat Morimoto, though.

Shocking.

tituslalala said...

i am watching henry/portrait of a serial killer now on ifc.

who is this trumpit poster on this site. he is full of anger

LoafingOaf said...

I tuned in to this debate because I had heard this was one of the last two shots she had to turn the tide. Normally I avoid these sorts of debates like the plague.

She completely failed. The most memorable moment was Hillary trying that pathetic line about "change you can Xerox." That was her big jab of the night? What a loser Hillary is! One questioner tried to set her up to go off on Obama's qualifications to be Commander In Chief and she instead changed the subject back to health care.

My conclusion is that Hillary knows she has lost, although she's praying for some sort of miracle before she officially concedes(perhaps Obama will do something in the next week to hurt himself, or some real dirt will come out on him).

Basically, you can stick a fork in Hillary. I never understood why anyone thought she was a good candidate to begin with, since the only reason she's even in the running is because she married Bill.

I'd like to congratulate the Democratic Party for finally picking a really good candidate. He'll be hard to beat, and he's almost impossible to dislike on a personal level.

Meade said...

tituslalala said...
now lets get back to john mccain porking the 32 year old lobbyist.

Porking? Allegedly that's not even the half of it. Some observers are saying the NY Times will come out tomorrow with the story of how he murdered and mutilated her youthful body and dumped it in the Potomac.

Allegedly.

LoafingOaf said...

But, wait! Isn't there one more debate planned?

Yup, and it's here in my home town, Cleveland. It's pretty cool that Cleveland will be Hillary's goodbye debate and the Ohio primary will be where she's officially kicked to the curb. I'm voting in the Democratic Party's primary on March 4th to help make it happen. (I guess this will make me a registered DEMOCRATIC :o )

At last! The crooked Clintons go down! :)

former law student said...

Did Hillary ever play sports? Doesn't she know you have to play your own game, not get sucked into playing your opponent's game?

They had a Mexican guy because this was a joint CNN-Univision debate. Univision will play it one hour after it ended.

When will these debates show up on a broadcast network, or does everybody have $600 to spend on cable every year?

LoafingOaf said...

Registered Democrat, I meant.

JohnAnnArbor said...

how he murdered and mutilated her youthful body and dumped it in the Potomac.

Don't you mean, dumped her body in Rock Creek Park?

LoafingOaf said...

When will these debates show up on a broadcast network, or does everybody have $600 to spend on cable every year?

They probably showed it on Texas' local TV stations on the public airwaves, no? They're doing that in Ohio for the Ohio debate next week, that's all I know.

Meade said...

Of course, he'll deny it. Rock Creek Park... Potomac... Like we're gonna believe HIS biased story. Sure. What kind of gullible rubes does he take us for? We read the New York Times ON LINE, Mr. Senator.
Hell-LO!!

Peter V. Bella said...

He patted her shoulder. How patronizing. He pulled her chair out. How chauvanistic. Chelsea guided her by the arm. A great senior moment. If she would have fell, she would get the sympathy vote.


In the mean time Bill is begging Texans to vote for Hillary. Oh, oh. Begging. Pandering, pimping, prostituting...

LoafingOaf said...

McCain better hope Obama picks a real stinker with all kinds of dirt and ethical probs for VP. You know the Clintonoids went over Obama with a fine-toothed comb...and the best they came up with was a B.S. charge of plagiarism.

AllenS said...

I want to thank Ann, and the other commenters for providing me with the visuals. I had a great time.

Paddy O said...

"how he murdered and mutilated her youthful body and dumped it in the Potomac"

Fortunately Obama was around to raise raise her from the dead and make her whole again. He would not allow her to remain dead and mutilated.

Peter V. Bella said...

tituslalala said...
now lets get back to john mccain porking the 32 year old lobbyist.


Another P word! Porking! This campaign is full of P words. Porking, pimping, prostituting, pandering...


Don't worry yourself about Trumpit Titus. He has been locked in his mother's basement since he was a child. I think he did something horrible and unspeakable. Something that defies forgiveness. They feed him gruel through a slot in the door. He can't help himself. You remember that tale of the boy in the bubble? He is the boy in the basement.

Peter V. Bella said...

former law student said...
They had a Mexican guy because this was a joint CNN-Univision debate. Univision will play it one hour after it ended.


You mean they could not find a Puerto Rican, you know, a US Citizen?

I'm Full of Soup said...

Titus:

John McCain is against pork; heck he practially invented Porkbusters. It's salami to him or nothing. Maybe he is a Muslim?

Unknown said...

My Time Warner online TV guide says that tonight's post-debate coverage is supposed to be "Dwarfs: Not A Fairy Tale" ("stories reveal the triumphs and provlems of people born dwarfs").

Meade said...

"It's just a Chelsea moment"

Woke up, it was a Chelsea moment
and the first arm that she grabbed...

I'm Full of Soup said...

Ann :

Was Obama cool or cold? Big difference.

Peter V. Bella said...

former law student said...
When will these debates show up on a broadcast network, or does everybody have $600 to spend on cable every year?


It is part of the Vast Cable Left Wing Conspiracy. They want mandatory Universal Cable for everyone. If you do not buy cable, they will garnish your wages and set the IRS on you; criminal investigation, no less.

Swifty Quick said...

When you look at her looking at him all i see is her hating him and wondering how the fuck am i getting beat by this guy.

Surely the same thought crossed George Herbert Walker Bush's mind in 1992.

Lou Minatti said...

I was busy watching Lost. Looks like I didn't miss anything.

Lou Minatti said...

When you look at her looking at him all i see is her hating him and wondering how the fuck am i getting beat by this guy.

SNL, 1988. Jon Lovitz as "Tank" Dukakis, Dana Carvey as Bush Sr. Lovitz looks at the camera and says "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy."

Peter V. Bella said...

Publius said...
My Time Warner online TV guide says that tonight's post-debate coverage is supposed to be "Dwarfs: Not A Fairy Tale" ("stories reveal the triumphs and provlems of people born dwarfs").


Hey, Trooper and I were thinking of sponsoring a dwarf throwing contest. Cool. Gotta see if I can get some of these to participate.

George M. Spencer said...

Got bored, watched the end of Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the 2007 Cate Blanchett movie about, among other things, the destruction of the Spanish Armada.

This is the speech that Elizabeth gave to her army, which was awaiting Spanish troops to land up the Thames...

"My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that we are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefs' strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all - to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust... I myself will take up arms - I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarded of every one of your virtues in the field... by your obedience to my General, by your concord in the camp, and your valor in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over these enemies of my God, of my kingdom and of my people."

Imagine the unctuous Clinton or the oleaginous Obama saying those words....

Meade said...

"Midway through the debate, I found myself practicing an impersonation of him."

Like Chauncey Gardener?

Peter V. Bella said...

Hillary reminds me of John Lovett as the Thespain.



Acccting! Or is it Actuung?

caplight said...

tituslalala

Campbell Brown is married to Jay caney of Time magazine. O saw them and their kids and au pair this summer in the airport. She was a little slip of a thing. I was surprised at how slight she was.

Interesting to watch a Washington power couple navigate customs with their kids just like everybody else. Seemed like really nice people actually.

Peter V. Bella said...

I just watched a rerun of the part where she said she was honored to be sitting with Barak Obama. Blah, Blah, Blah, if you don't make me your vice president, I will destroy you!

Meade said...

6:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlpl-fS1nD4&NR=1

Revenant said...

does everybody have $600 to spend on cable every year

Given that 62% of people below the poverty line have cable TV, I think it is safe to answer that question with a "pretty much, yeah".

Peter V. Bella said...

Lou Minatti said...
When you look at her looking at him all i see is her hating him and wondering how the fuck am i getting beat by this guy.



Oh, I don't know. I sort of got the impression that she was thinking how am I going to fuck this guy? Will he beat me?

I'm Full of Soup said...

I can't see Obama choosing her for VP? It adds nothing to his ticket unless he wants to get it punched.

Eli Blake said...

It is truly ironic that Hillary Clinton, who lived through the sixties and really remembers the anti-war movement, and the husband of Bill Clinton who demonstrated against the war, should be undone by not being anti-war enough.

It is my honest belief (and I am a Democratic activist and know many, many others) that had she voted against the Iraq war, or even if she had voted for it but done like John Edwards and said she was wrong to do it and regretted the vote, she would likely have been the nominee of our party. But instead, she became the LBJ of our day-- a Democrat who represented the establishment and who many, many of us who are sick of the Iraq war took out our frustration on and denied her a nomination.

It tells me how out of touch she and Bill had become, concentrating on focus groups and pollsters and political consultants instead of talking to ordinary people on the street, failing to comprehend how deeply most within her own party feel angry about Mr. Bush's war.

Peter V. Bella said...

Eli Blake said...
It tells me how out of touch she and Bill had become, concentrating on focus groups and pollsters and political consultants instead of talking to ordinary people on the street, failing to comprehend how deeply most within her own party feel angry about Mr. Bush's war.


You left out while making over fifty million dollars.

Tim said...

Eli Blake said...
"It tells me how out of touch she and Bill had become, concentrating on focus groups and pollsters and political consultants instead of talking to ordinary people on the street, failing to comprehend how deeply most within her own party feel angry about Mr. Bush's war."

Hmmm.

1. It's America's war, like it or not.

2. While it's an endlessly self-confessed fact too many Democrats would gratefully lose America's war in Iraq, Hillary! has always understood that position is most likely a loser in November. So she gambled she could win the nomination without compromising her general election prospects by adopting the exceedingly foolish "lose now, by any and all means" Democrat fantasy for the U.S. in Iraq; she obviously underestimated the deep contempt primary voting Democrats have for the U.S. winning its wars.

So Obama wins now, loses in November, and the Republic survives another four years. Toss in the Clintons not having Republicans to blame for them not re-occupying the White House, and it shakes out as a pretty good deal.

David said...

It was so obvious - the extraordinary vs. the ordinary.

For Hillary it's back to business as usual in the Senate - for Barack, selecting a running mate.

For the rest of us, embracing or rejecting Socialism.

Jason said...

Every time I see some libtard refer to the war in Iraq as 'Mr. Bush's war,' it's pretty much confirmation to me that they're morons.

News flash, Eli: It's your Army fighting it, and your Marine Corps. So it's your war, too.

Ron said...

I wonder if Christopher Hitchens takes valerian...not only is it a soothing herb, it's named after one of the better church-purging Roman emperors, so he may find that soothing as well...

note to self: do not take any herb named after Commodus or Elagabalus.
Take the Caligula herb only before parties. With Red Bull.

Flash Gordon said...

Hillary can still get the nomination if Bill helps her. All he has to do is get caught in flagrante with a very young girl. Then Hillary can play the sympathy card and be back on top with Democrat voters.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

All her exasperated smirks of jealousy remind me of when Dana Carvey would imitate the First George Bush panting with excitement on SNL back in the nineties.

tituslalala said...

Wait a minute i read campbell brown married dan senor not jay carney.

Someone,anyone please clarify this.

this is incredibly important.

tituslalala said...

Caplight you stated

...
tituslalala

Campbell Brown is married to Jay caney of Time magazine. O saw them and their kids and au pair this summer in the airport. She was a little slip of a thing. I was surprised at how slight she was.

Interesting to watch a Washington power couple navigate customs with their kids just like everybody else. Seemed like really nice people actually.

you are actually wrong, now retract and bow down to the titus;

Anonymous said...

and so shall it be that the presidency will be more about image and the legislature branch will be left to do substantive work?

She's not as good at PR. I read today she doesn't get it. Get what? What schmoozzzing like web 2.0 PR machine "let's all be positive, yea, yea, yea) is built for?

I caught a split second look between you and Chelsea at one point. It was a mother/child moment. I saw it. i know those grown up glances between mother and kid that are irreplaceable. Go home and even if you don't bake well, do the easy bake from your grocer's dairy section with Chelsea. I saw that moment where you did each other good this evening. If that was your defining moment be glad. It was human and not of the political machine variety.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

I think they both admire each other, but he is clearly less contemptuous of her than she is jealous of him. How could he not be given their respective standings at this point?

tituslalala said...

Althouse writes

'You know, Obama can be a rather cool character. Midway through the debate, I found myself practicing an impersonation of him. Not his speech, but his clasped hands on the table, his head turned sideways, chin up, lips pursed in a grin, his eyes looking down onto the hapless soul who imagines she could unsettle him in the slightest degree.'

Completely agree and when he does that it makes me totally horny.

tituslalala said...

althouse and i want to thank you for joining us in our live blogging of the democrat debate.

please check in daily with us regarding our postings over the weekend.

you have been great and we appreciate you joining our blog tonight.

rhhardin said...

When the curtain closes and the rainbow runs away
I will bring you incense owls by night
By candlelight
By jewel-light
If only you will stay
Pretty baby, wont you
Wake up, its a chelsea morning


Judy Collins

rhhardin said...

English official language

I hope they don't take away Spanish from the Kroger U-Scan. I hate listening to the put-it-in-the-bag woman.

Spanish has a guy that you can't understand. That's acceptable. It's just machine noise then.

When the machine halts with some complaint, both the cashier and I can stare at it dumbly in a moment of political bonding.

rhhardin said...

Hillary, to win now, has to club the baby seal of hope.

HT Monica Crowley

caplight said...

tituslalala

Campbell Brown is married to Jay caney of Time magazine. O saw them and their kids and au pair this summer in the airport. She was a little slip of a thing. I was surprised at how slight she was.

Interesting to watch a Washington power couple navigate customs with their kids just like everybody else. Seemed like really nice people actually.

you are actually wrong, now retract and bow down to the titus;

OK. It was Claire Shipman who is married to Jay Carney.
Bow down? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Nah.

MadisonMan said...

How are they going to look standing next to a war hero?

Taller.

Palladian said...

"Completely agree and when he does that it makes me totally horny."

A pigeon shitting on a mailbox would make you totally horny.

rhhardin said...

Good fighter pilots tend to be short guys with thick necks.

Roger J. said...

Eli: are you suggesting that Hillary is Hubert Humphrey to Obama's Gene McCarthy? I do like your analysis, BTW, and I think it helped Obama outflank Hillary on the democratic left. The question is can he tack back far enough to the center to win the general?

Original Mike said...

Hillary is asked if she's saying that Obama is "all hat and no cattle."

She should have said: "Yes. And I know cattle!"

Bruce Hayden said...

She too comes out firmly against lead paint in toys. She wants a moratorium on foreclosures — and I can't even understand how someone would think that's a good idea. I wish Obama would say she's woefully misguided.

She not only shows how economically illiterate she is here, but also why it is good that she isn't practicing law. Did she really graduate from Yale LS? I did hear that she failed the bar the first time around. Maybe this is why.

The legal problem is a minor complication called the "Takings" clause in the Constitution. To the extent that those under foreclosure don't eventually pay up, and a lot won't, she is effectively taking money from the lenders and giving it to the borrowers. Fine, except that it requires just compensation. That means that most, if not all, if the missing mortgage payments will likely have to be made up by the Federal govt.

Essentially invalidating one patent to the expected tune of a billion dollars is tying up patent "reform" right now. Just think of the tens, maybe hundreds, of billions of dollars that she is talking about giving away. Paid for by your and my taxes. This is starting to make her health care plans look affordable.

Original Mike said...

Bruce - When Hillary said "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." you gotta know she meant it.

former law student said...

bruce: here's a good starting point for your research. 21 states had such statutes:

Constitutional Law: Mortgage Foreclosure Moratorium Statutes
D. P. K.
Michigan Law Review, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Nov., 1933), pp. 71-80

Emmy said...

Hillary Will Continue Campaigning Against Obama

Senator Hillary Clinton's camp has shot down all talk of moving out of the Presidential trail after the pivotal March 4 nominating contests in Ohio and Texas, where competitor Senator Barack Obama is expected to land a knockout. Clinton's decision followed talks by prominent politicians that she reexamine her contest prospects at this primary.