I’ve decided that I’m now nerdy enough to justify liveblogging (and I remembered to bring my laptop to the TV room).  Unfortunately, I’ll have to cut it short after an hour.  But, we’ll see how this works out.  (And hat tip to my classmate, Drew, for this idea)

8:00 - Wolf Blitzer is inane.  They need to find a better moderator. 

8:03 - Who was that guy on the far right clapping?  He looks absolutely ridiculous.  I think we should nominate him for president, his sheer hilarity will bring in God knows how many new voters.

8:04 - Alice says “Newspeople leave, their attention having been spent.”  Correct.

8:04 - Hopefully the two questioners aren’t lame.

8:05 - Wolf Blitzer is still inane, but I am amused by his reference of the last debates.  Oh, Obama speaks!  He’s acknowledging John Edwards’ presidential run.  How nice of him.

8:06 - Obama begins by articulating his message, and does a very good job of it.

8:08 - Hillary Clinton is making her message pitch, and I’ll be honest, she’s sounds convincing.

8:10 - First question went to Hillary, and it’s good that she points out that the differences between her and Obama pale in comparison to their differences with Republicans. 

8:13 - Obama mentions his mother in his argument for mandate-less health care.  I happen to think that Clinton has the better of this argument, but mentioning his mother adds a nice emotional touch.

8:17 - In my mind the choice between Obama and Clinton is a choice between hawkish, Bush-lite foreign policy and an honestly progressive foreign policy.  Obama’s choice of advisors and his initial judgment suggest that he would actually expand the realm of foreign policy thinking, rather than buy into the Republican frames.

8:21 - Clinton makes - correct point - that any real health care reform requires a mechanism for universality.

8:24 - Health care question is sent towards Obama.  Eh, his bipartisan rhetoric gets a little tiring sometime, and is evidence for the charge that he has a fetish for bipartisanship.  But his aside about prescription drugs suggests that he’s more concerned with working with everyday Republicans rather than Republican legislators.

8:28 - Hillary Clinton makes the fantastic point that the American people heavily subsidize drugs, and we should receive cheaper drugs because of it. 

8:31 - Question: you are a tax-and-spend liberal, deal with it?  Obama hits the question out of the park.  Points out that Bush was horribly fiscally irresponsible, and that the likely Republican nominee - John McCain - was just as much a part of that as anyone.

8:32 - Obama: Tax those rich bastards.

8:34 - Wolf Blitzer thinks that taxing the rich is a bad thing.  I guess he’s feeling anxious.  You know what Wolf Blitzer, when you stop collecting tax benefits, we’ll stop advocating for higher taxes.

8:37 - Electronic records!  Probably the best thing we can do in the short term!

8:39 - Props to Obama for refusing to turn immigration into a zero-sum game.  And, he does a good job of turning the debate over immigration into a broader discussion on economic inequality.

8:41 - Clinton on immigration: she’s been talking but she hasn’t said anything.

8:51 - Brings up Clinton’s wishy-washy stance on immigrant driver’s license not to bash her but to point out that it’s a difficult issue.  Word up to Obama.

8:59 - Wolf Blitzer asked a good question?  What experience do you have Senator Clinton, you’ve only been a senator for a few years.

9:03 - CEO of the country?  That’s a bullshit question.

Okay, as much as I like blogging this debate, I need to go to a party.  Hope you enjoyed this!  And if there’s another debate, then hopefully I’ll be able to live blog the entire time.

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