# It's the official last Presidential Debate thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 15, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001 "2008-10-15T03:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/421 "2008-10-16T03:48:16Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? You are not correct about the nature of the polls cited thus far in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/422 "2008-10-16T03:48:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? > > Whatever. > > Resume the masturbation. This is a whoosh right? Who’s likely to be up answering the polls? How about…people who just watched the debates. Yes, ignore the internet based polls. Those aren’t the ones we’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Marathon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Marathon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marathon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/423 "2008-10-16T03:49:54Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > abortion portion Are you writing a sequel to [The Court Jester](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS75NtlH3gI) or something? 😉 (from like 1:20 on) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Understander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3da27b/32.png) [@The\_Understander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Understander)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/424 "2008-10-16T03:50:35Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > This is a whoosh right? Who’s likely to be up answering the polls? How about…people who just watched the debates. You and your damned reality-based community! _shakes fist_ ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/425 "2008-10-16T03:51:28Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? > > Whatever. > > Resume the masturbation. So tell us why we’re wrong, please. Mr. Obama didn’t merely “win”, he also looked and sounded better. More mature, calmer, more rational. Mr. McCain is not an attractive person, he grimaces and puffs and smirks and wriggles. No doubt that wouldn’t be important in a president. But it’s sure as hell important in a TV debate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/426 "2008-10-16T03:53:14Z")
I’m a little disappointed with the coverage… I watched on CNN’s site this time, because I wanted to see the squiggly lines everyone’s been talking about, but apparently, they didn’t show them on their Web feed. Most of the time, they also had the camera only on the one speaking, so you couldn’t see the other guy’s reactions. And the moderation was great: He kept them on topic and on schedule, and asked some questions I really wanted to see asked. On the debate itself, I think the defining moment was where McCain said that he was proud of all of the people at his rallies, each and every one of them. Including, apparently, the ones shouting “Kill him!”. He also had a very difficult time seeing the difference between attacks on policies and personal attacks. He wouldn’t last a minute in GD. Credit where it’s due, though, McCain did have a good line about how if Obama wanted to run against Bush, he should have done so four years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/427 "2008-10-16T03:53:31Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? > > Whatever. > > Resume the masturbation. The CNN and CBS polls are not internet polls. Resume your denial. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/428 "2008-10-16T03:53:32Z")
> [@Marathon](#): > > Hoh boy. The “zero” thing stings quite a bit - that excerpt is already all over YouTube. You can tell that McCain is thinking about screaming at whoever got the facts wrong, before he regains his composure. I remember the first time I heard that line from McCain, demanding to know how much the fine was going to be. I thought it was a very strange approach. Emphasize the existence of the fine, sure, but ask for an exact amount? Why? I couldn’t understand what McCain thought to gain by asking that question. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/429 "2008-10-16T03:53:44Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? I don’t think anybody has quoted _internet_ polls. The [CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/15/politics/horserace/entry4525171.shtml) poll is based on their “survey of 638 uncommitted voters.” The [CNN poll](http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/15/debate.poll/) was “conducted by telephone with 620 adult Americans who watched the debate.” Don’t know much about the [MediaCurves](http://mediacurves.com/) poll, but sample size is listed as 1402, so there’s no way that’s an online web poll. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/430 "2008-10-16T03:55:03Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? > > Whatever. > > Resume the masturbation. The polls I have quoted are not internet polls open to freeping. The three polls I have quoted are real polls done by real pollsters using real polling practices. Do not correct me when you do not know what the hell you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Miss-Informed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Miss-Informed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss-Informed)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/431 "2008-10-16T03:56:28Z")
[transcript](http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/transcripts/third-presidential-debate.html) ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/432 "2008-10-16T03:57:11Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I remember the first time I heard that line from McCain, demanding to know how much the fine was going to be. I thought it was a very strange approach. Emphasize the existence of the fine, sure, but ask for an exact amount? Why? I couldn’t understand what McCain thought to gain by asking that question. > > -FrL- And if you watch the clip, you can see Barack smiling away. It’s like someone seeing through your Chess opening and your attack plans. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/433 "2008-10-16T04:01:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Credit where it’s due, though, McCain did have a good line about how if Obama wanted to run against Bush, he should have done so four years ago. “If you wanted to run against Bush, you should have done so and lost, just like I did.” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/434 "2008-10-16T04:02:33Z")
[Politico/Insider Advantage](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14618.html) gave the night to Obama but by a considerably thinner margin than the other polls: 49-46. That’s only 5% “undecided”, versus 20%+ in the other polls. I’m guessing they press harder for an answer. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/435 "2008-10-16T04:05:07Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > [Politico/Insider Advantage](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14618.html) gave the night to Obama but by a considerably thinner margin than the other polls: 49-46. > > That’s only 5% “undecided”, versus 20%+ in the other polls. I’m guessing they press harder for an answer. Yeah, I’m not sure that pushing on debates is a good idea, since I think debates are often draws. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/436 "2008-10-16T04:07:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Heavily Democratic California Again Sees Decisive Obama Win In 3rd Presidential Debate: Immediately following tonight’s 3rd presidential debate between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, SurveyUSA interviewed 1,200 California adults, of whom 878 watched the debate. Of California debate watchers: > > 56% say Obama is the clear winner (vs 53% in 1st debate, 56% in 2nd debate). > 28% say McCain is the clear winner (vs 30% in 1st debate, 26% in 2nd debate). > 16% say there is no clear winner (vs 18% in 1st and 2nd debate). From [here](http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=2781429f-786e-4830-bf64-d896decf284c). There’s additional info about the demographics. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/437 "2008-10-16T04:17:14Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys need to stop it with these knee-jerk internet polls proving Obama won the debate. Who is more likely to be up answering these polls? Who is more likely to have an Internet connection? > > Whatever. > > Resume the masturbation. Internet polls? Perhaps you could find a job as a fact checker for the McCain team! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/438 "2008-10-16T04:19:06Z")
> [@freekalette](#): > > Towards the end (during the abortion bit? Not sure.) Ol’ Maverick rolled his eyes so hard I thought he was having a stroke. That coupled with the Darth Vader breath nd the choking laugh really drove home for me just how unwell he appears to be. You mean [this one?](http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h16/smartaleq/e29bd235.gif) Warning–watching this for too long can make you lose brain cells, plan accordingly! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/439 "2008-10-16T04:20:05Z")
Fox’s current headline is **McCain Goes All In**. (Do they even _pretend_ to be FAIR AND BALANCED anymore? I’ve no problem with them being partisan, it’s the pretense they’re not that makes me hate them.) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001/440 "2008-10-16T04:28:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Fox’s current headline is McCain Goes All In. 😕 Is that supposed to be complimentary? I thought the correct expression for a fervent effort was “going all out”. “All in” is what you are when you’re [beat down and tired](http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2006/08/im-all-in.html), isn’t it? As in, “Man, this has been a tough day—I’m all in”: > [@](#): > > According to Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, the term “all in” is a colloquial expression that originated on the floors of stock exchanges in the mid-19th century. If the market was “all in,” it was down or depressed; if it was “all out,” it was rising or inflated. By extension, the term “all in” was borrowed in the early 20th century to mean “exhausted” or “used up” in reference to people or animals who were verging on collapse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-official-last-presidential-debate-thread/468001.md?page=23)