Should we expect McCain to go all Mavericky on Obama in a last all out swing for a knockout punch? Or will he tone it down because of the backlash against his McCarthyism and erracticness?

What should he do to get your vote?

McCrainky has already boasted that he is indeed going to whip Obama's ass in the final debate and I'm not paraphrasing all that much. Bob Schieffer has vowed to keep them on subject...good luck with that.

I'm glad it's the LAST debate that's for damn sure.

It may be a hopeless fantasy but I'd like to see both candidates focus on important longterm issues like the economy and energy, both of which are inextricably intertwined.

This interesting article on the energy portion makes an important observation:I wonder if that dichotomy between the executives and employees exists in other companies.

In my field - pharmaceuticals - I hear quite a lot of support for Obama. But I have no idea where the executives stand personally. The company's position is stated by the contributions to the candidates. Like the rest of the industry they are playing both sides of the field. Most pharmas will benefit from increased, or even universal healthcare IMO. But my suspicion is that only those with long-term profit plans will support a dramatic change in the current system they can use.

I am not as enthused for this debate as I was for the first two. From what I read, hear and know, the Independants have pretty much made up their minds and about 2/3 of them have taken Obamas' side. Who knows what to expect from McBush. If I were he, I would make my presence very, very low key, compared to his actions after the second debate.....

What the? How does this stuff "leak" out.

Oops! Obama's Spin Spilled

I just saw headlines online. The RNC is now pulling out of Wisconsin AND Maine......... AND Mr. 9/11 himself, Rudy Guiliani will not be attending tonight either, seems many in the GOP are losing faith.....

Regarding the debate, I don't think there is anything that will change much after tonight. I can't imagine that McCain hits everything that his surrogates are saying he needs to hit. If he doesn't stay focused, he will come off as "erratic". Obama needs to defend any attacks and continue transitioning to the ECONOMY, ECONOMY, ECONOMY. Its not going to look good for McCain to be talking about foolishness when the dow lost ANOTHER 700+ points today. That 900 point rally on Monday seemed to be just a fluke since its basically already gone. Most people I believe have made up their minds. Minus some outside event or some stumble from Obama, he just needs to continue being steady, focused on the economy, and allowing people one more chance to see that he can hold his own. The debates...1 on 1 with McCain have definitely helped people who may have had doubts become more at ease with him.

"Chuckie T" from MSNBC said that Obama is finally started to make headway with older voters. He said McCain is losing them rapidly and that McCain is going to focus mostly on them tonight with his economic plan targeting helping senior citizens. I just don't see it being a game changer or anything. If McCain mixes attack with economics I think he looks like being a schizophrenic again. Why he would continue to bring up Ayers or Wright when its clear from the latest poll numbers that people don't want to hear that shyt is beyond me. I don't know what to expect from McCain tonight. He's got a hell of a challenge though so we shall see what happens

Well the debate has passed the half-way mark and my bedtime after a long day. McCain is doing much better this time around. Whether it is well enough to make a change in the polls will be something we will find out.

The one thing that did stand out for me personally is the belittlement of someone in the crowd at one of his campaigns shouting out "Kill him!" or "He's a terrorist!" or "Off with his head!" regardless of whether he heard them at the time. He could have denounced it based on hearing the audiotape latter. And if they were wearing a US military uniform or paraphernalia when they said it he should make it clear that they denigrated that uniform and all that they've faught for with those inflamatory and false accusations.

And if he has a tape of someone saying equally obnoxious in inciteful things at an Obama campaign he should produce it and give Obama the opportunity to specifically disown that as well.

I know I will now miss the truly substantial portion of the debate now but I already know enough about both their positions that I don't think anything either will say will change my mind.

And if they do, I'll read or hear about it tomorrow in the press.

And I do believe that John McCain succeeded in rattling Obama in the outset. But it was on peripheral issues.

Yeah I agree...McCain is better tonight and this was the most intriguing of the 3 debates so far. Obama continues to do well playing Mr. Cool. McCain comes off cranky at times, but he has successfully steered the conversation to where Obama is playing too much defense (like the first debate) McCain is also trying to connect with voters (i.e. Joe the plumber) But ultimately, I think McCain is going to be viewed as being too negative and cranky. Obama is keeping it cool and sticking to the economy and issues.

This is not the John McCain that I like. He has been irascible, aggressive, and worst of all, predictable. Obama knew exactly what was coming and had answers at the ready for every low blow. I wish McCain would talk less about Obama and more about where he wants to take the country--it's okay to be wishy-washy and positive in between attacks. But I guess that's not in the cards when you're 10 points down.

The debate winner: Joe the Plumber! Good grief, what overuse of a metaphorical image.

McCain was ridiculous. "I have always repudiated disrespectful comments made about Obama." No, you haven't.

I thought Obama had some good moments. I watched CNN where they had the instant responses from uncommitted Ohio voters while the candidates were talking, and Obama scored major points on health care while McCain flat-lined (so to speak).

This wasn't my favorite format. I think I liked the pseudo town-hall format the best of the 3 debates.

All the instant polls again showed Obama winning over undecideds overwhelmingly.

Oh, and McCain really should avoid smiling. And it looked like he may have had a shot of botox beforehand because his eyes looked huge at times.

Not a game changer. Andrea Mitchell from MSNBC just said it best in that McCain scored points with the base, but he needed to reach outside the base. The Republican base is not going to decide this election. I think that most people have made up their minds by now. McCain tried everything to rattle Obama and the guy is just unflappable. He just doesn't get emotional or angry it seems. His facial expressions and body language are always constant. There is some youtube clip up already of McCain rolling his eyes, and most thought McCain attacked too much. Bottom line...I don't see things changing. I expect the poll numbers to stay about where they are. Obama has gotten bounces out of each debate. He may go up a point or two and McCain's negatives will probably go up again. Obama definitely played it safe. McCain figured he had to try to go at it because he's out of options. But, nothing really changed for me tonight. I know both of their policies and the stuff about Acorn and Ayers was not what I want to hear about right now. Asian markets are down big time right now and the future seems real bleak. Both candidates need to be realistic about their programs. Obama dear...I think universal healthcare is something that will have to be on the backburner in your first term if you win. If you are lucky to get a second, perhaps then make it a priority. We are neck deep in shyt right now and its going to take some serious wrangling in of spending to get back on track.

Edited to add:
Wow...the pundits are tearing into McCain's negativity throughout the night. The polls I'm seeing show another Obama victory among undecided and independent voters...2 blocks that are going to be crucial for victory. Where does McCain go from here? Negative isn't working and it seems like people have simply tuned him out. I was expecting to see polls showing a tighter decision than the first two, but once again most people thought Obama clearly outdid McCain. I think many have decided and that there's not much either can do right now to move anyone. I mean how long have we been doing this? The undecided voters have to be few and far between. This last debate will probably turn out to be nothing more than filler.

There was no way this was going to be a "game changer." McCain has remained stuck on his usual crazy-old-and-erratic-crank gear, and he should have realized after snap polls and post-debate polls showed him losing the first debate that he needed to retool. Instead, he led off almost every answer by attacking Obama, he kept snorting and sucking out that tongue like Sauron, and he not only lied several times, but couldn't even string together coherent arguments.

I mean, did he really think that blurting out his tired tirade about taxes after whining about Congressman John Lewis was going to win anyone over?
Or dismissing "spreading the wealth" (PS to McCain, most of us aren't RICH like you, and we're experiencing a recession)?
Or putting "women's health" in scare quotes? WTF??? (What wink/wing-nut cheat sheet is that explained on?)
Or admitting that his health care plan would tax people's benefits?
Or again claiming that nuclear plants were safe?

Dude, millions of people watch "The Simpsons" religiously and remember not only the Three Mile Island disaster, but Chernobyl!

All in all, it was a sorry performance and no help to his campaign. But he already struck the near fatal blow by picking Palin and then forcing her into a purdah for weeks. Her debate performance and those Couric interviews, along with the abuse of power ruling, revealed the truth of who she really is. There's no way of putting that genie back in the bottle. Whatever happens, what they've unleashed will come back to haunt them for years to come.

That's a bit of triage that is debatable.

One obvious arguement against delaying healthcare reform is that Europe and the developed asian countries have already done it - at least compared to us - and their economies are stronger for it, not weaker. Witness the relative stability of Japan during their stock market volatility. They are weathering this better than us, and the current debacle started here not there.

The agreed best solution so far to quickly stem the economic bloodshed has come from Britain. Ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is experiencing a political rebound because of his suggestion that banks have to be brought under federal control - at least partly and temporarily - throughout the western world. This effectively indirectly transfers responsibility for their behavior to the voters of each country - who are the ones who have suffered without any authority to change the system. Meanwhile Britain's healthcare system - compared to ours at least - is socialized. No Brit argues for a wholesale change in that.

The more complicated arguement against delaying the reforms is that universal healthcare - with the electronic records that it would inevitably require to proliferate - could be less expensive from the start.

The Obama camp nailed it as far as what to expect from McBush, a HYPER-aggressive McBush it was. I watched it right up to the point where the question was asked about negative campaigns and commercials, and McBush tried to explain the reason they went so negative against Obama was because Obama turned down his proposal to have 10 townhall meetings. Give me a break! And then he tears into Obama for spending more on commercials that "anyone in history", and so on and so on. McCain came acorss to me as somebody with a HUGE boulder on his shoulder........cry me a river John! Again, everything I have read and seen online so far said that while McBush performed better, may have pleased his base, the clear winner was Obama, AND there is more reason for optimism. I just read David Broders column in my newspaper, and he confirms what I have already known, that undecided voters are turning to Obama. BIGTIME!

"Joe the Plumber" was a fake and a Repuglican plant. As politico.com has reported, he is not registered to vote in the state of Ohio. McCain campaign aide Matt McDonald said this morning to a politico.com reporter, "Joe didn't know that he'd be at the center of the debate. We tried to call him during the debate, but his phone was busy," McDonald said. "We're not going to put him through media training."

So "undecided voter" Joe the Plumber goes on all the morning talk shows today and says that the debate did NOT change his mind on whom he supports. He told Katie Couric that Obama's tax plan was "very irresponsible" and "Socialism." He said his mind was made up on how he'd vote (so that begs the question... if he knows who he's voting for, but isn't registered to vote AND he wasn't swayed by the debate, then there is only one conclusion: he was always a McCain supporter and he is either lying about his name or he doesn't even live in the state of Ohio). And the fact that the McCain camp had the phone number of some ordinary plumber who appeared at an Obama rally this weekend is curious. Somehow he had every Republican talking point down pat for all the morning talk shows. Hmm.

And before this plumber has even started his business, he has determined that he will make exactly $250,000, which is the threshold where Obama's tax plan begins.

If it smells like a rat....

-- edited to add -- The Toledo Blade reports he is a registered Republican whose name was spelled incorrectly in voter rolls. He registered as a Republican in 1992 and had never voted in a primary or an election of any kind until the 2008 presidential primary. Not surprisingly, 'ol Joe doesn't even have a plumber's license, and he's had liens placed on his house by the state of Ohio for failure to pay taxes. I'm thinking Joe may end up regretting his choice to work with the McCain camp to try and make Obama look bad.

I knew Joe the plumber was a made-up story the minute it came out of McSame's mouth. When your campaign is knee-deep in sh*t like McSame's is, you always turn to a plumber.

The thing that got me was when McSame said he wanted the troops to come back from Iraq and become teachers in American schools without taking exams required to become a teacher. Are you f'ing kidding me? No one should be allowed to become a teacher without the proper credentials. Talk about reckless.

McCain's real dislike of Obama is so obvious on television. There were moments when I actually thought he was either going to explode in a temper tantrum or have a stroke live on tv.

The old boy wants to be President so bad he can taste it and yet he is seeing that dream go down the drain and doesn't know what to do or say next to reverse the landslide.

Hey FSU, the EYES have it don't they? Hilarious!!!!!!

Yeah, I was laughing so damn hard when I saw it.

I can't remember who said it, but one pundit made what I thought was a good observation. Lately it just looks like McCain DOESN'T want Obama to be President more than he WANTS to be President himself.

McCain will finally appear on Letterman tonight and he did in fact show up. Might be worth a tune in.

Joe Wurzelbacher was obviously a republican plant. the McCain campaign is desperate.

This story gets more bizarre by the minute. Did McCain know about this or was this Rovian BS that's now backfiring in their faces?

Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher not a registered plumber in Ohio; didn't earn anywhere near $200K; and he's a tax laggard to boot.



Joe the Plumber also happens to be linked to a family member of the Keating 5 scandal supercon, Charles Keating.



WTF???

WTF? You ask? WTF indeed. McCain is a habitiual, desperate liar that will do anything to hoodwink enough votes to try to skate into the White House. Imagine the bitter taste in his mouth when "Hussein" will be called "Mr. President" in a few weeks. Priceless.

Just sent the following to my sister in Cincinnati (near Milford). FWI, I live in San Diego, yet I have known the Keatings (all of them), since I was a kid. I graduated from High School with Charlie III, and briefly dated his sister Elaine in college. I knew Beth and Bob years ago, but not well. Both were a year+ older in school:

Lauretta:

Assuming you are hearing this in Ohio already about 'Joe The Plumber' Wurzelbacher, as in 'related to Charles Keating.......'

Bob and Beth live here in San Diego (Coronado Island, actually) and have kids in school there. Peggy C. sent her daughters to the same school....it's excellent. But Bob and Beth don't have a son as old, much less as large and burly as that Bozo from Toledo.

But, the media and the blogs are having a grand ole' time connecting the dots, from Joe (Wurzelbacher) to Bob to Beth to Charles Jr. and the infamous Keating Five, the Senators which included McCain.

What a wild game!

TRL

OH boy....as soon as he said it from his mouth I knew McCain was going to make an issue of it. Just like "bitter" and "cling to faith and guns"....McCain is going after Obama saying in reference to Joe the Plumber... "How many plumbers do you know who make $250,000.00 a year" I knew as soon as he said it that they were going to try and stick the elitist tag on him again. Sure enough....McCain has been drilling it at campaign rallies with huge applause. I guess this is what we are going to see from the McCain camp from now until election day...ACORN, Ayers, Joe the Plumber, etc, etc. He's trying to reach those on the fence voters who aren't sure about Obama. Question is...are there enough of them. I read that Obama's popular vote lead is slipping a bit and I agree with many analysts who say that the outcome of this race is going to be determined by Obama, not John McCain. In essence, Obama needs to watch what he says. Now I don't take issue with it, but I can see the uninformed being swayed by McCain's argument of "how many plumbers do you know who make $250,000 a year" to paint Obama as elitist.

I suspect most people's experience with plumbers is more like this editorial bogger's than the image portrayed in the Australian movie Kenny: that is to say, more adversarial than convivial.

And judging from this article from an Aussie reporting from the US they have as healthy a skepticism of politics as we do. Having been there when Rudd was elected though, I can tell you that despite their complaining they are relieved to be rid of John Howard who had become George W. Bush's Aussie poodle.

Plumbers might want to support bringing the movie to the US just to restore their image after the thrashing it's getting from Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher's tale of woe about having to pay taxes on a $250,000 personal income that he may soon actually be earning without buying that plumbing business if he works his 15 minutes of fame the right way.

People are paying attention in this campaign like never before. I doubt there are many who haven't heard enough about "Joe" to make up their own minds whether he deserves a tax break, now or later.

And when they are in that voting booth, if "Joe's" public image affects their vote, it may not be what we think.