While I'm Thinking About It

As close to a live blog as I'm ever likely to produce

I'm getting ready for the big Vice Presidential Debate here, and will be recording my thoughts as I go on my laptop. Then posting everything after the fact because I don't have net access where I watch TV. Neither fair nor balanced, but given the title of the moderator's upcoming book, that's about par for the course.

I'm typing as I go.

Yay! She started right out saying that McCain was talking about Freddie and Fannie two years ago.

Joe Biden is the third-most liberal member of Congress. His running mate is number one. How does that equate to reaching across the aisle?

Y'know, the government was telling banks they had to make riskier loans. "Predatory" lenders were following the law. Customers were taking advantage of what was offered.

I'd like to see or hear footage of Obama saying there was a looming sub-prime mortgage crisis.

You know, every time Biden talks about what McCain's done, I mentally add [citation needed] Wikipedia tags.

Nobody's talking about what they and their running mates are planning to do, just what their opponent wants to do. Blech.

How is it that ExxonMobil's become Biden's boogeyman?

Twenty minutes in, Palin does seem to be more positive and upbeat. Still, answer the bloody question!

And there's the windfall profits bugaboo. nevermind that, currently, Microsoft has higher profit margins than any of the oil companies.

If you're not sure about something, don't bring it up unless you want to get shot down in your opponent's next sentence.

When Biden talks about McCain, it's always "John". When he talks about his running mate, it's always "Barack Obama." It's subtle, but it bugs me.

It's not global warming anymore. It's climate change. Anyway, Biden proves himself to be part of the extreme green movement. Of course there's a natural cyclical component to global warming. The ice age ended without a single drop of gasoline being burned.

Are marriage rights defined in the Constitution?

The exit strategy in Iraq should be a simple one: a smooth withdrawal as soon as the Iraqi government asks for it. End of discussion.

The problem with a timeline is that it gives the enemy a day to look forward to. But at least they're not arguing about if it was a good idea to go in in the first place.

Halfway through, and she just nailed him hard on his primary statements about Obama.

Does Biden really expect to pin an anti-military stance on McCain? He's sure trying to.

Thank you Palin, for mentioning who called Iraq the central front in the War on Terror.

If Bin Laden's smart, he wasn't anywhere near Afghanistan or Pakistan when the invasion started. Lots of unmonitored wilderness out there.

Biden is right about the Iranian theocracy. Just because you're a former secretary of state, doesn't necessarily mean you're right about anything today.

Does Spain still have troops in Afghanistan? Need to check that.

W. talked about building an embassy in Jerusalem eight years ago. It still hasn't happened.

What's the name of the country directly to the north of Israel? Biden apparently blanked.

"Huge blunders in every administration." "Learn from the mistakes." Good phrases, but I wonder if anyone'll notice. And, of course, the Obama campaign continues to run against Bush.

We haven't really heard much from Obama about how his policies will be different. Just that there will be change.

Palin's mentioned North Korea multiple times tonight. It's interesting that someone seems to recall the third leg of the Axis of Evil.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Been long enough since I've heard that phrase I don't remember anything beyond the name.

He didn't have a good response to her clarification of the Afghani general's statement.

Okay, there we go. We did not go into Iraq alone, despite what Biden says today.

Why in the world does the world need to wait for US leadership before doing anything about Darfur?

Ifull's being fairer than I thought she'd be able to be.

I remember the pictures. We were greeted as liberators when the military rolled into Bagdhad. And we got caught in the middle of fighting between Shite and Sunni forces, so Biden's half right there.

"A national tragedy of historic proportions." The only way Biden would become president is if Obama were assassinated? That's painting a bleak picture.

I keep thinking back to the Geena Davis show "Commander-In-Chief." I'm not entirely sure why.

Back to running against Bush.

I still want to know how education ever became a federal issue.

I thought the audience wasn't supposed to laugh tonight. I wonder what it says that they lost it at Palin's "lame joke" line.

And he's calling his running mate "Barack" now. I'd like a bit more formality.

She seems a bit nervous here about the role of the VP.

The most dangerous VP in history?

"What is your greatest weakness?" ?!? This is a debate, not a job interview.

Yay for "City on a hilll" optimism! Interesting which side that comes from.

Fake tears. How Clintonian. Sigh.

I'm on page three here, according to AbiWord's pagination. This may be the longest post I've ever made.

It seems to me, at this point, it is being a maverick to resist further nationalization of health care.

Seems like most of the questions have gone to Biden first.

He admits to having led the charge against Bork. There's a blog post there. I agree it's important to know the judicial temperament of potential judges, but I get the feeling we would disagree on what viewpoint is more desirable.

Remember 2000? Bush ran as "A uniter, not a divider." I don't think that it's possible for anyone in the current political climate to do so.

How did McCain vote on the Bush and Clinton tax increases? There's his record as much as his stance on the Bush tax cuts.

Biden got both the first word and the last word. That intrigues me.

Two more debates to go. Im not sure if I'm going to do this again, though.