One thing nobody has mentioned about the debate that makes me wonder

[hvn_nbr_2]

At least I haven't seen mention of it. The posts have been so fast and furious that it's hard to keep up.

When the candidates were introduced and came out, after they shook hands and went to their chairs, before even sitting down, before the first question, McCain was frantically writing notes on his tablet. WTF was that?

Nothing had happened yet. There was nothing to take notes on. Was he jotting down the last things his handlers told him before coming on stage? Making note of some parrot points (That's the term I've been using instead of "talking points.") that he thought he might otherwise forget? Jotting down some grocery list items (Depends, Mental Clarity tablets?) that he's afraid the servants will forget? A few facts and figures that they repeated to him just before coming out that he knew he wouldn't remember on his own? "Don't blow a gasket. Don't blow a gasket. Don't blow a gasket."? "Wink. The base likes that."? (I'm sure I saw him wink once.)

That was just weird. Frantic. Weak. Uncertain. :wtf:

[LSparkle]

1. Speculation was that he was jotting notes before he forgot

Candidates aren't allowed to bring note cards (which Cadaverick relies
heavily upon) so he was probably just getting some ideas out of his
head before his feeble mind forgot them.

A friend of mine told me this morning that someone scooped up the pad
after the debate and that it's been posted online ... ???

[MNDemNY]

8. Here it is

http://phillyist.com/2008/10/08/exclusive_mccains_second_debate_not.php

[Demit]

11. LOL! Love the drawing of the lights, labeling which are the green/yellow/red.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. He was downloading his memory before the disc crashed.

[Left Is Write]

4. *snort*

:spray:

[Terran]

3. Noticed that too

I guess it's been lost among all the other weird minutiae, but I totally agree: WTF was he doing?

[hamsterjill]

7. Note to himself

To be sure and mention that he's a POW!!!!

[Terran]

9. "Don't forget:

"Obama is a poopyhead."

[begin_within]

5. Taking dictation from Rove

[DefenseLawyer]

6. I heard someone mention that on tv last night.

That they aren't allowed to bring notes, but they are allowed to "take notes" so, according to the person on tv (Matthews, I think), McCain memorized a bunch of stats and stuff and then feverishly tried to write out an outline before he forgot it.

[Jersey Devil]

10. McCain wrote: "milk, bread, Skippy Peanut Butter smooth, Mallomars"

Hey! Isn't it time for Mallomars to come out?

[central scrutinizer]

12. I tell my students to do that

I teach math at a University and I always tell my students that since they are not allowed to use notes on the exams, they should memorize what they need (like the quadratic formula) and as soon as they get the test, write down all of the things they have memorized. This helps them break that anxiety logjam that often leads to exam paralysis. The act of writing down something, anything, helps the student gain some confidence.

[PATRICK]

13. Obama's performance

which played to a audience, that from my past experience, was already HIS, and only looking for assurance and confirmation. In some senses this was like the Reagan phenom except Dems are much more open to bipartisanship than the curiously prejudiced GOP. I say curious because Dems comprise the class of people most screwed by the system yet most "open-minded" to get taken to the cleaners by slick GOP candidates- of which there have been exactly none except for Reagan- the professional actor.

Overall the dynamic is so massively pro-Obama and anti-McCain that other questions pale, and are dangerously forgotten. It seemed to me that McCain was ready to launch at the first question which raises the usual question of did he have prior info? Then again Brokaw is a studied mediocrity and pompously predictable. Obama seemed to sense the dynamic of Brokaw's timing of "restraints"(played by the usual GOP
"gae-changing" strategy) being used against him, but he fought off any potential imbalance there easily. The audience gave McCain an excuse not to face or chum it up with the "enemy", yet after the debate while
the Obama's went to the panel, McCain went to the establishment.

So strong was Obama that the usual "fairness" crap seemed more like an act of pity or charity, such as McCain's vague gambit to refinance mortgages. It should be continued to be noted that although is walking above the petty fray by crushing the soft gimmicks employed, guaranteed by the relative neutralizing of hosts and formats in the pre-planning, the MSM sides with the GOP and rigging in generally is still there and active.

Simply, McCain is losing and is one of the least capable pols not to show it. Obama, the new guy can operate more in a comfort zone since everything is working for him. The people are still angry in a murk. Obama provides the only light.