Remember the Overhead Projector Slam?

From Talking Point Memo:

It turns out that that overhead projector John McCain claimed Barack Obama tried to get a $3 million earmark for was actually money to rebuild Chicago's Adler Planetarium, the oldest planetarium in the United States.

McCain's "overhead projector" is the apparatus that runs the planetarium, which is a bit like calling the Palomar Observatory a new set of glasses. 

McCain the Comedian?

John McCain's jokes fell flat during the debate. He came off condescending and even bully-like. His jokes didn't resonate with voters either. MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell charted independent voters and Democrats watching the debate and it showed that they soured on McCain when he said that figuring out Obama's tax policy was like nailing Jell-O to a wall.

McCain Has Left the Building

So I thought it was odd that after the debate the camera kept focusing on Obama and his wife chatting with the crowd. Why weren't they showing McCain? Well I just heard on Countdown with Keith Olbermann that McCain pretty much left as soon as the debate ended. Isn't the purpose of a town hall so candidates can interact with voters? Why wouldn't McCain want to stick around and meet them? Obama and his wife were shown shaking hands, chatting and taking pictures with voters. Even Tom Brokaw stuck around! 

McCain Having Trouble with Obama's Name

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney:

Barack Obama's campaign immediately highlighted a singular moment in Tuesday's presidential debate when John McCain sought to criticize Barack Obama for supporting the 2007 Bush-Cheney energy bill:

"It was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate, loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney," McCain said. "You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one. You know who voted against it? Me."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton immediately emailed reporters noting McCain's seemingly peculiar reference to the Illinois senator."Did John McCain just refer to Obama as 'that one?' Burton asked.

Palin is a Terrific Debater...Say the Democrats?

Two different democratic strategists were on MSNBC this morning speaking highly of Sara Palin's debating skills. According to Politico, Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe even told reporters Saturday that Sarah Palin's a "terrific debater" who could give Joe Biden a run for his money when they meet  for the debate Thursday.

Odd,  did they not see Palin's interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric? Everyone and their moms expect her to bomb Thursday night. Oh ok, I get it now.  Speaking highly of Palin is all part of the democrats' plan. They are "lowering expectations," which Politico says is a "common campaign practice before a debate." They probably don't want a repeat from last week. After McCain's disastrous couple of weeks and the "suspension" of his campaign, everyone expected Obama to blow him out of the water. As we all know, that wasn't the case. Ironically, it's the republicans that are nervous.

McCain's Sailor Mouth?

Remember this zinger Obama shot McCain during the presidential debate?

"He even said the other day that he would not meet potentially with the prime minister of Spain, because he -- you know, he wasn't sure whether they were aligned with us. I mean, Spain? Spain is a NATO ally. If we can't meet with our friends, I don't know how we're going to lead the world in terms of dealing with critical issues like terrorism."

Well John McCain thought it was horsesh*t. If you watch closely to the video an observant viewer caught, you can see McCain say it under his breath. Classic!

Media Calls Tie, McCain says He Won

According to Reuters John McCain said “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.” He said this during a telephone call that was caught by cameras filming him at his campaign headquarters.

Before I overreact, my girlfriend did make a good point. Maybe he said that because everyone before the debate was declaring Obama the winner. Okay fine, but who says they won out loud? Obama's campaign has been calling McCain "out of touch." Does McCain's statement reinforce that?

Polls and focus groups of undecided voters think Obama won the debate.

Acccording to The Atlantic a CBS News poll:

40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.

68% of these voters think Obama would make the right decision
about the economy. 41% think McCain would.

49% of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. 55% think McCain would.

And according to the The Huffington Post , CNN's Poll shows Obama as the overall winner on the economy and Iraq"

Who Did the Best Job In the Debate?

Obama 51%
McCain 38%

Who Would Better Handle Economy?
Obama 58%
McCain 37%

Who Would Better Handle Iraq?
Obama 52%
McCain 47%

Oh Snap!

Here are some zingers Obama was able to slip in.

"I just want to make this point, Jim. John, it's been your president who you said you agreed with 90 percent of the time who presided over this increase in spending. This orgy of spending and enormous deficits you voted for almost all of his budgets. So to stand here and after eight years and say that you're going to lead on controlling spending and, you know, balancing our tax cuts so that they help middle class families when over the last eight years that hasn't happened I think just is, you know, kind of hard to swallow."

"John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007. You talk about the surge. The war started in 2003, and at the time when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong.You said that we were going to be greeted as liberators. You were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shiite and Sunni. And you were wrong"

"And, John, I -- you're absolutely right that presidents have to be prudent in what they say. But, you know, coming from you, who, you know, in the past has threatened extinction for North Korea and, you know, sung songs about bombing Iran (video below), I don't know, you know, how credible that is." 

"And the point that I originally made is that we took our eye off Afghanistan, we took our eye off the folks who perpetrated 9/11, they are still sending out videotapes and Senator McCain, nobody is talking about defeat in Iraq, but I have to say we are having enormous problems in Afghanistan because of that decision. And it is not true you have consistently been concerned about what happened in Afghanistan. At one point, while you were focused on Iraq, you said well, we can "muddle through" Afghanistan. You don't muddle through the central front on terror and you don't muddle through going after bin Laden. You don't muddle through stamping out the Taliban."

"He even said the other day that he would not meet potentially with the prime minister of Spain (video below), because he -- you know, he wasn't sure whether they were aligned with us. I mean, Spain? Spain is a NATO ally. If we can't meet with our friends, I don't know how we're going to lead the world in terms of dealing with critical issues like terrorism."

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