Election 2008

McCain has decided to debate after all, which means a crisis has been averted. Not the financial one, but the possibility that we would have had to watch Barack Obama talk to Jim Lehrer for 90 minutes. The country has been through enough without that. So what to expect tonight? The New York Times' Kit Seelye writes that "Mr. McCain, 72, will try to avoid looking and sounding too old," and Obama will not to seem "overly nuanced." An uphill climb for both men.

In any case, it's highly unlikely to be as interesting as any interview with Sarah Palin. Will there be any memorable moments tonight? Hard to say, but here's our preview of some notable quotes we'd like to see. Guess which candidate each is from. ...

1. Back in Vietnam we had a crisis of liquidity, too. And you know what caused it? Lunch.
2. Hope for the new change that you change you can hope. Hopefully. Wait, can I change that answer?
3. Nobody hates this war more than I do. Believe me -- have you ever spent 11 hours in a plane sitting beside Joe Lieberman?
4. The American economy needs to get up, like I do, several times a night.
5. How has recklessly flying into a situation worked for you in the past?
6. There's a lot of Jews who work at the Fed. Just sayin'.
7. In our willingness to go to war, we shall make no distinction between the state of Georgia and the country of Georgia.
8. The banking industry took on sub-prime mortgages like a trollop takes on makeup.
9. Just out of curiosity, what are the actuarial statistics for a man of your age and a few bouts with cancer?
10. If you look at my personal life, you'll see that I've already managed one highly successful bailout.
11. The American people, because of the financial, in that Russia and Putin, obviously, for energy, is the right thing, leadership that is striving towards.

Answers:

1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10: McCain

2, 5, 9: Obama

6: Ron Paul, from the audience.

7: Sarah Palin, afterwards in the spin room.

Posted by: Stephen Sherrill      I’m a fan of Stephen Sherrill