And let's not forget that McCain said Fannie and Freddie, along with their Democratic allies, caused the credit crisis. This was where Obama said, "I've got to correct a little bit of Sen. McCain's history, not surprisingly."

I'm wondering why no one in the media has picked up on the parallel between Nixon's "withdrawal with honor" in Vietnam and McCain's phrase, which differs a little from time to time, of "victory with honor" in Iraq. He used that phrase or one like it at least twice last night and has used it too many times to count over the course of the campaign. What it suggests, of course, is that he learned nothing from the war where he was imprisoned for 5-1/2 years. To me, that seems like a pretty important point, that he's parroting the talking point of the last president who extended a war of choice for many years longer for the sole purpose of trying to get out without looking like a loser. At this point, I think the majority of Americans have accepted that there's no "win" for us in Iraq and they just want to stop the hemorrage of lives and resources. Meanwhile, McCain continues to channel Richard Nixon.

Good point, Jennifer. You'd think he'd at least have learned something from audience response to Palin's "white flag of surrender" jab, which caused viewers' "favorable" reactions to plunge.

Let's not forget that it was King George I that sent us to Somalia in the first place.

McCain also mentioned Kosovo, and seemed to take credit for that successful humanitarian effort. Hardly. If I remember correctly, he and his fellow republicans did everything in their power to undermine Clinton's strategy.

agree with danp, McCain's ramble early on about Fannie and Freddie and the mortgage issues was utter nonsense just on a factual basis; it was embarrassing to hear a national figure giving such a muddled account of how those institutions work, especially given the current prominence of financial issues.

bdbd: For real. An embarrassingly large number of people (egged on by that moron Malkin) think that the current housing and credit crisis was the result of illegal immigrants not paying their mortgages. It really is in the Republicans' best interest that the public not understand this issue at all.

Did anyone else catch his re-interpretation of Afghanistan? He said something to the effect of "we helped the Afghanis push out the Soviets, but then the Taliban took over"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the people you armed to "push out" the Soviets ARE the Taliban (and bin Laden)!

Did anyone else notice that Brokaw repeatedly thanked McCain after his answers but did not do the same for Obama. What's up with this?

Steve: I think that when Obama wrapped up an answer, he actually wrapped up an answer. McCain, by contrast, simply stopped rambling at an arbitrary point when his time was up. I got the sense that Brokaw was putting the missing period at the end of McCain's run-on sentences, whereas Obama didn't need him to.

Watching McCain lie through this debate was just the impetus I needed to donate 100.00 to Obama. I didn't even have to get all the way through it. I couldn't really afford the 100.00, but if it helps get Obama elected it was money well spent.

Tom Brokow is obviously in the tank for McCain.

McCain last night:

I understand what it's like to send young American's in harm's way. I say -- I was joking with a veteran -- I hate to even go into this. I was joking with an old veteran friend, who joked with me, about Iran.

Bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran

1) He knew this guy?
2) The question was: When do we send them [Iran] an airmail message.

Right on, neilt.

McCain has such a fascinatingly Forrest Gump-like view of history, where he in every case he just happens to be strolling through the Senate one day, just in time to save the world again. And each time, with victory and honor.

Did anyone notice that McCain was so pissy that he didn't stay out and schmooze with the audience afterwards. If is it true they were all undecided voters, that was a bad move on his part. Obama and Michelle really looked like they were enjoying themselves and projected "winner".

I couldn't believe that McCain kept repeating the same tired old lies. You'd think he'd come up with some fresh BS.

Shorter McCain: "I'll invade Pakistan the same way Obama would, but I won't admit it."

Sorry about my crummy post up above.

The point I wanted to make: In last night's debate McCain makes his Bomb, bomb, bomb lyrics seem like a casual joke between two war buddies accidentally caught on tape by journalists.

It's worth looking at the real venue again:

Bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran

I know how to be presidential, my friends. And I know that you don't have to tell the truth to become president.

That's political strategy we can believe in, my friends.

A small point but not without weight: The Somalia adventure was not only initiated by G W B Bush but occurred while he was a lame duck, i. e. between Clinton's election and his inauguration. Thus a dying administration committed his successor to all the ramifications of a speculative and ill-thought-out adventure and ducked (and has since continued to duck) any responsibility for it. Somehow that seems typical of the Bush style, because even GWB in his strange candor has as muhc as admitted that he wants to tie his successor's hands in Iraq.

This whole campaign suspension thing is driving me nuts. Not whether or not there was an actual suspension, but that the point is to say the Obama is ineffectual or unable to lead. It took McCain more than 30 hours after his announcement to arrive in DC. Obama was called to Washington by the president as part of McCain's charade (imagine that not happening and the outcome being what it was - even more pointless!). In the meeting with the president, McCain refused to speak, even when directly engaged by Obama, about the House Republican dissension. In the end, Obama had spent roughly the same amount of time in Washington and no one knows who might have more influential or helpful with the process.

Just Pathetic.

The hypercritical of McCain/Palin ought to consider that the typical spending patterns of New Deal democrats who hold to the Huey Long dictim "every man a king" accelerated the markets into madness. Obama has not offered any plan to get us out and will probably lead us deeper. Obama Nation will be an Abomi-nation.

The comment about Somalia is such a stupid thing for McCain to bring up, since it makes people go back and dig out the facts.

His VP nominee, Ms cafe latte millionaire, is today berating Obama for not voting funds for troops already in combat.

Yet there is McCain recallying everybody to a time when he refused to vote support for troops already on the ground

In 1993 Clinton was only just in office and had inherited a situation created by Emperor George I, who, as a lame duck President, had sent troops, without sufficient support into a vicious bloody civil war, and with no clear mission.

Starting a military action during a transition of Commanders is extraordinarily bad policy and puts troops at unnecessary risk.
It does however create a serious problem for the next Commander to have do deal with, as he is in the process of getting his own command structure and personnel into place.
The ensuing debacle was the work of Bush but since the out come happened under Clinton, the Bushies could blame him for their horrible foreign policy decision

Witness the Bay of Pigs, which was too far down the road, under Eisenhower, to be effectively scrapped. It was virtually impossible for Kennedy to stop it even though he opposed the action. But its failure gave the Republicans a chance to blame Kennedy.

Once again, today, we see the Republicans/Bushies creating havoc with American foreign and domestic policy and leaving the shit for the Democrats and the American soldier to clean up.

But Bushies are patriots who reeeealy love America. Just ask them and they will tell you so.