Overnight Open Thread
Open | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 9:44:17 pm PDT
Behold the hippopotamus!
We laugh at how he looks to us,
And yet in moments dank and grim,
I wonder how we look to him.
— Ogden Nash
Final Presidential Debate 2008, The Wrap-Up
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 7:32:51 pm PDT
OK, it’s over, the wives are suddenly on stage, and here’s a thread for post-debate wrangling.
At least they didn’t hug.
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 6
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 7:20:30 pm PDT
The final faceoff nears its conclusion. Reverend Wright was nowhere to be seen.
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 5
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 7:04:22 pm PDT
Barack Obama’s smirking tonight.
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 4
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 6:50:30 pm PDT
The comment threads are filling up faster than we can post ‘em. Here’s another one for the final Presidential Debate of the 2008 election.
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 3
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 6:31:53 pm PDT
Another debate thread as the previous threads fill up with comments...
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 2
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 6:15:51 pm PDT
Another thread for the final Presidential Debate of the 2008 election, with live video.
Final Presidential Debate 2008, Thread 1
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 5:57:00 pm PDT
The main event is about to begin, after another heinous drop in the value of the Dow, and here’s our first liveblogging thread for the evening. All over the media today, the buzz was, “Will McCain continue going negative? Will he mention [gasp] Reverend Wright?”
Imagine the screaming if he does. We’re about to find out.
Pre-Debate Open Thread 2, with Live Video
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 5:13:51 pm PDT
So ... anybody gonna watch this thing tonight?
Iowahawk: A Reason to Vote for Obama
Humor | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55:35 pm PDT
A special guest commentary at Iowahawk’s pad, featuring two hate-blinded leftists wearing obscene T-shirts, with a very good reason to consider voting for Barack Obama: A Vote For Obama is a Vote For Civility.
Think about it. With Barack Obama in office, *ssholes like us will fade into a distant unpleasant memory. Don’t get us wrong, we’ll still be hanging around, probably as junior staffers in some federal arts agency. But you have our word on it — we’ll be practically invisible. No more C-word t shirts, no more intersection blockades, no more vandalism until the next election cycle. Nosirree, we’ll be timid and well-behaved and quiet as church mice, working away on grant proposals. We think you will also be pleased to know that under Obama, negative news stories and the steady flow of sh*tty anti-American war movies will virtually disappear overnight.
Financial Crisis Watch
Business | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 3:50:43 pm PDT
What’s left to say but “ugh.” Stocks See Near-Record Decline on Retail Sales, Investor Jitters.
Hopes that stocks would hold on to Monday’s massive gains faded quickly today as the Dow Jones industrial average dived more than 700 points, the second-largest point decline on record.
Zombie: The Left's Big Blunder
Opinion | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 2:05:04 pm PDT
Zombie has a very interesting pre-debate read, an extended essay titled: The Left’s Big Blunder. Too deep to easily pull out a quote; just go ye and read of it.
Pre-Debate Open Thread
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 12:50:58 pm PDT
Here’s an open thread for any last-minute advice you may have for John McCain.
We’ll have live streaming video again—the cameras are already set up and showing the stage at Hofstra University.
A Friend of Bill Ayers in the Wall Street Journal
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 11:42:18 am PDT
Here’s a sympathetic look at William Ayers from a friend of the former Weather Underground leader, on the Wall Street Journal Opinion page: My Friend Bill Ayers - WSJ.com.
I do not defend the things Mr. Ayers did in his Weatherman days. Nor will I quibble with those who find Mr. Ayers wanting in contrition. His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.
Instead I want to note that, in its haste to convict a man merely for associating with Mr. Ayers, the GOP is effectively proposing to make the upcoming election into the largest mass trial in history, with all those professors and all those do-gooders on the hook for someone else’s deeds four decades ago. Also in the dock: the demonic city (Chicago) that once named Mr. Ayers its “Citizen of the Year.” Fire up Hurricane Katrina and point it toward Lake Michigan!
The McCain campaign has made much of its leader’s honor and bravery, but now it has chosen to mount its greatest attack against a man who poses no conceivable threat to the country, who has nothing to do with this year’s issues, and who cannot or will not defend himself. Apparently this makes him an irresistible target.
Internet Wrong
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 10:48:54 am PDT
You’ve probably seen a story floating around that Michelle Obama telephoned an African media organization and made some outrageous statements. It smelled like seafood to us, and sure enough, Byron York has the official word at The Corner.
I’m sure a lot of you have seen references this morning to statements allegedly made by Michelle Obama in an interview with an organization called African Press International. I just asked the Obama campaign whether Michelle Obama did in fact speak to that organization, and spokesman Tommy Vietor answered:
The answer is no, it’s not real, the report is made up. She did not speak to the organization.
Ever get any spam from Kenya?
Shiny Happy Communists
Politics | Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 9:31:35 am PDT
The Communist Party USA likes the direction in which America is headed: US communists say their time has come.
NEW YORK (AFP) — A rare bird in the political world, the US Communist Party is feeling rather smug in these days of capitalist turmoil.
At the party’s New York headquarters on 23rd Street in Manhattan, regional party chairman Libero Della Piana, 36, laid out why he thinks Marxist-Leninism’s time has finally come. “We are very excited, we feel that we are at a turning point,” Della Piana, an imposing half-Italian, half-African American with a pony tail, told AFP.
“We can afford to be less on the defensive for the first time since Ronald Reagan, and we can say our word in rebuilding America on a new basis, rebuilding a better world, instead of one based on the greed of the few.” ...
Communist youth coordinator Erica Smiley, 28, said “the major issues for the young are: peace, jobs, health care, education, and we provide them with answers.” ...
But few people were about during a visit by AFP on Monday and the atmosphere was collegial and slightly sleepy, rather than revolutionary. “They are all out working to get people to vote,” explained Bill Davis, 65, who has been a faithful member for 37 years.
There is no communist running for the White House and the Communist Party does not endorse Democrat Barack Obama. Yet many staff here wore his picture on lapel buttons, while Republican John McCain was relegated to a box of tissues — the tissues being pulled through his mouth.
Agence France Presse says the Communist Party doesn’t endorse Barack Obama, but that’s just the media covering for him again. Because they do endorse Obama.
