Things kick off at 9:00pm, but feel free to weigh in with thoughts and other comments on what you are expecting and what is happening in real time in the comments section below. You can also follow along on Twitter by using the #fhqdebate hashtag.
Showing posts with label first debate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first debate. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
2012 Debates: 1st Presidential Debate Open Thread
Tonight's debate from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado will focus on issues from the domestic front. The forum will be divided into six 15 minute segments with pre-defined topic areas (the economy for three segments, health care, the role of government and governing) chosen by moderator Jim Lehrer.
Things kick off at 9:00pm, but feel free to weigh in with thoughts and other comments on what you are expecting and what is happening in real time in the comments section below. You can also follow along on Twitter by using the #fhqdebate hashtag.
Things kick off at 9:00pm, but feel free to weigh in with thoughts and other comments on what you are expecting and what is happening in real time in the comments section below. You can also follow along on Twitter by using the #fhqdebate hashtag.
The Links (10/3/12): 2012 Debate Season
A couple of things to set the proper context for tonight's opening to debate season:
1) Tom Holbrook, indispensable as always, on the (limited) impact of debates over time.
1a) John Sides and Jon Bernstein also throw cold water on the idea of debates as game changing events in the campaign.
2) Emma Roller at NPR has another take.
[Eh, I'll side with the political scientist on this one.]
3) Alex Speigel had a nice story on question dodging in debates on Morning Edition this morning.
4) If you have the time before the debate tonight, the PBS documentary, Debating Our Destiny, is always a worthwhile view.
NOTE: FHQ will try to embed a Twitter conversation in a post for the debate this evening. I'll be most active over there, but will try to pull double duty and respond to any comments that may come up over here in response. If you are on Twitter either reply directly to one of my tweets and/or use the #fhqdebate hashtag to insure that your comment/response is included in the feed.
1) Tom Holbrook, indispensable as always, on the (limited) impact of debates over time.
1a) John Sides and Jon Bernstein also throw cold water on the idea of debates as game changing events in the campaign.
2) Emma Roller at NPR has another take.
[Eh, I'll side with the political scientist on this one.]
3) Alex Speigel had a nice story on question dodging in debates on Morning Edition this morning.
4) If you have the time before the debate tonight, the PBS documentary, Debating Our Destiny, is always a worthwhile view.
NOTE: FHQ will try to embed a Twitter conversation in a post for the debate this evening. I'll be most active over there, but will try to pull double duty and respond to any comments that may come up over here in response. If you are on Twitter either reply directly to one of my tweets and/or use the #fhqdebate hashtag to insure that your comment/response is included in the feed.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Is McCain Right? Does a Tie Go to the Runner?
"I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie, but I think that means when they call it a tie that means we win."
--John McCain
I may be a little late on this, but I thought I'd gauge the perceptions out there on this quotation. If you assume that a runner is an underdog and/or someone having to play offense, is that a win for the Arizona senator?
Here's what we know:
1) Last week was bad for McCain.
Effect: potentially lowered expectations
2) Foreign policy is supposed to be McCain's area.
Effect: Expectations were relatively high.
3) McCain played the experience/understanding card all night, but Obama was able to counter that by simply holding his own on the debate stage.
Effect: Well, that's where the tie comes in.
So, does McCain win in a draw scenario? More importantly, what happens if the McCain-Obama debates continue to be draws? That last one may or may not be obvious, but feel free to discuss while I update the electoral college map to reflect the changes brought about by yesterday's handful of polls.
Recent Posts:
The Electoral College Map (9/28/08)
The Electoral College Map (9/27/08)
Open Thread: First 2008 Presidential Debate
Friday, September 26, 2008
Open Thread: First 2008 Presidential Debate
10:39pm: Alright, I'm retreating to the Electoral College lair to think about this one for a while.
10:37pm: And there's the handshake. That's a wrap.
10:34pm: McCain: Obama's stubbornness on the surge is akin to the Bush administration on other issues. I'm surprised that "he doesn't get it" hasn't made an appearance tonight...from either side.
10:33pm: Obama: Economic crisis is a national security issue.
10:32pm: Ooh, extra time.
10:31pm: I've been thinking about calling this a forgettable debate, but the Obama doesn't understand stuff proves that if you say something enough...
10:27pm: I'm not sure about this "reaching across the aisle" stuff from McCain. Have the last few days taught us nothing? What will he be able to reach across the aisle to do if he's elected?
10:25pm: Last question. Let's put it this way: There won't be a lot of back and forth on this one.
10:22pm: Obama from Russian oil fueling their government to alternative energy here in the US.
10:18pm: McCain continues to play the experience card. Now on Russia. Again, "I've been there," on Georgia.
10:12pm: "I'm not going to set the White House schedule. I don't even have a seal yet." Good one.
10:09pm: Is Obama's ability to pronounce these foreign names a good thing or a bad thing? Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc. It is an interesting contrast between the two candidates, especially after McCain's issues getting Ahmadinejad out. How does that play into the Obama is a Muslim narrative.
10:08pm: Sitting down with leaders without pre-conditions. There's a blast from the past.
10:03pm: On to Iran.
10:00pm: Ugh, if you are going to add a personal story, you better know the name. McCain nailed his. Sure, it was the same one he's brought up in his acceptance speech, but still. Obama did not.
9:57pm: I think this not understanding thing has been talked about within the McCain campaign. Now on Pakistan, pre-Musharraf.
9:54pm: More on Obama not understanding from McCain. This time on Waziristan and Al Qeada.
9:45pm: McCain: "Obama doesn't understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy." That one could bring some fireworks along the way.
9:40pm: McCain's on firmer ground on the surge.
9:38pm: On Guantanamo Bay? Mr. McCain, John Kerry is on the phone. He was against torture, before he wasagainst for it.
9:34pm: Jim Lehrer is winning this debate so far. He's by far the most animated.
...trying to get either candidate to answer a question on scaled back spending in the face of the current economic climate.
9:33pm: "Using a hatchet where a scalpel is needed." A good line from Obama on a government spending freeze.
9:29pm: Ah, there's the first "most liberal senator" mention.
9:26pm: They've both warmed to this format now.
9:21pm: A lot of hand-raising from Obama on these McCain points on earmarks. Not Horshack-style hand-raising, but there's a pattern here on these split screens.
9:16 pm: Ooh, there's the first split screen (...on NBC). No sighing, no eye-rolling, just McCain writing at the moment.
9:13pm: Jim Lehrer is trying to turn this into a town hall meeting-lite. This is kind of weird. But the difference from four years ago is stark.
9:08pm: Shredding regulations. We may be hearing that lot from Obama. That's twice.
8:41pm: We are about fifteen minutes from go-time everyone. Elton John would have us believe that Saturday night's alright for fighting. We'll Friday night is fine by me, actually. And given the events of this week, we could see a real good one tonight.
First a quick review:
1) First debates are the most watched debates of any cycle.
2)Sit down debates are typically boring, highlighted by muted body language. Think Cheney-Lieberman. Well, that's an exaggeration.
Those look like podiums. I stand corrected.
3) If we can, let's try to get a variety to mediums represented here. Someone on C-SPAN, someone on the one of the major networks, someone online, etc. The first debate in 2004 had some different feeds floating around. C-SPAN had the non-speaking candidate's reactions at times, while most of the networks kept the camera trained on the speaker. The result was that people took away different impressions of the debate. Let's try to keep tabs on that tonight. I think I'm going to be on C-SPAN.
So we should have a lot of bored people watching tonight. I won't be one of them. So, turn on the set, open up a comment box and off we go.
Recent Posts:
Who You Callin' Underpolled?
Nothing to see here, folks.
The Electoral College Map (9/26/08)
10:37pm: And there's the handshake. That's a wrap.
10:34pm: McCain: Obama's stubbornness on the surge is akin to the Bush administration on other issues. I'm surprised that "he doesn't get it" hasn't made an appearance tonight...from either side.
10:33pm: Obama: Economic crisis is a national security issue.
10:32pm: Ooh, extra time.
10:31pm: I've been thinking about calling this a forgettable debate, but the Obama doesn't understand stuff proves that if you say something enough...
10:27pm: I'm not sure about this "reaching across the aisle" stuff from McCain. Have the last few days taught us nothing? What will he be able to reach across the aisle to do if he's elected?
10:25pm: Last question. Let's put it this way: There won't be a lot of back and forth on this one.
10:22pm: Obama from Russian oil fueling their government to alternative energy here in the US.
10:18pm: McCain continues to play the experience card. Now on Russia. Again, "I've been there," on Georgia.
10:12pm: "I'm not going to set the White House schedule. I don't even have a seal yet." Good one.
10:09pm: Is Obama's ability to pronounce these foreign names a good thing or a bad thing? Ahmadinejad, Hezbollah, Hamas, etc. It is an interesting contrast between the two candidates, especially after McCain's issues getting Ahmadinejad out. How does that play into the Obama is a Muslim narrative.
10:08pm: Sitting down with leaders without pre-conditions. There's a blast from the past.
10:03pm: On to Iran.
10:00pm: Ugh, if you are going to add a personal story, you better know the name. McCain nailed his. Sure, it was the same one he's brought up in his acceptance speech, but still. Obama did not.
9:57pm: I think this not understanding thing has been talked about within the McCain campaign. Now on Pakistan, pre-Musharraf.
9:54pm: More on Obama not understanding from McCain. This time on Waziristan and Al Qeada.
9:45pm: McCain: "Obama doesn't understand the difference between a tactic and a strategy." That one could bring some fireworks along the way.
9:40pm: McCain's on firmer ground on the surge.
9:38pm: On Guantanamo Bay? Mr. McCain, John Kerry is on the phone. He was against torture, before he was
9:34pm: Jim Lehrer is winning this debate so far. He's by far the most animated.
...trying to get either candidate to answer a question on scaled back spending in the face of the current economic climate.
9:33pm: "Using a hatchet where a scalpel is needed." A good line from Obama on a government spending freeze.
9:29pm: Ah, there's the first "most liberal senator" mention.
9:26pm: They've both warmed to this format now.
9:21pm: A lot of hand-raising from Obama on these McCain points on earmarks. Not Horshack-style hand-raising, but there's a pattern here on these split screens.
9:16 pm: Ooh, there's the first split screen (...on NBC). No sighing, no eye-rolling, just McCain writing at the moment.
9:13pm: Jim Lehrer is trying to turn this into a town hall meeting-lite. This is kind of weird. But the difference from four years ago is stark.
9:08pm: Shredding regulations. We may be hearing that lot from Obama. That's twice.
8:41pm: We are about fifteen minutes from go-time everyone. Elton John would have us believe that Saturday night's alright for fighting. We'll Friday night is fine by me, actually. And given the events of this week, we could see a real good one tonight.
First a quick review:
1) First debates are the most watched debates of any cycle.
2)
Those look like podiums. I stand corrected.
3) If we can, let's try to get a variety to mediums represented here. Someone on C-SPAN, someone on the one of the major networks, someone online, etc. The first debate in 2004 had some different feeds floating around. C-SPAN had the non-speaking candidate's reactions at times, while most of the networks kept the camera trained on the speaker. The result was that people took away different impressions of the debate. Let's try to keep tabs on that tonight. I think I'm going to be on C-SPAN.
So we should have a lot of bored people watching tonight. I won't be one of them. So, turn on the set, open up a comment box and off we go.
Recent Posts:
Who You Callin' Underpolled?
Nothing to see here, folks.
The Electoral College Map (9/26/08)
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