Why not some real-time commentary....
9:07 PM: McCain off to a good start. A detailed answer on the crisis, including mention of longer-term reforms and debt.
9:10 PM: Obama does a me-too; Warren Buffett for Treasury. Would Buffett's huge assets go into a blind trust?
9:12 PM: McCain emphasizes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and ties them to Democrats. About time.
9:15 PM: Obama attacks McCain as a deregulator. Tell that to the Ultimate Fighting people.
9:17 PM: McCain talks directly to Obama, something he didn't like to do last time.
9:19 PM: Obama starts answer with "Well, look...." and advises woman to "remember just a little bit of history."
9:20 PM: Obama says he's for a "net spending cut." I'm highly interested in how that will be fact-checked.
9:21 PM: McCain mentions a few of the things--campaign finance reform, climate change legislation--conservatives hate about him.
9:23 PM: The CNN focus group audience loves "energy independence." I'd prefer "energy security" but subtlety is hard to do on national TV.
9:25 PM: Obama's "In 10 years time we are free of dependence on Mideast oil" is much more vague than JFK's moon speech. Most U.S. consumption not from Mideast now, but oil is fungible.
9:30 PM: I wonder how many people know what "earmarks" are.
9:32 PM: Another Obama bad opening: "You know, a lot of you remember 9/11."
9:35 PM: "Nailing jello to the wall." Focus group didn't like that.
9:37 PM: Obama wants to respond, but Brokaw won't let him.
9:39 PM: Obama repeats his "tax cut for 95 percent of Americans" nonsense. About a third of Americans don't pay income taxes as is.
9:42 PM: I wonder if the focus group that responds negatively to anything negative said is (a) telling the truth and (b) representative of anyone else.
9:45 PM: "Nuclear power" is fine. But I'd love to hear McCain say "and we have to explore more long-term possibilities like space solar power."
9:46 PM: Obama just confused "the computer" with "the Internet." He should call Al Gore for clarification.
More to come in another post, maybe.
