Live-blogging the First Presidential Debate

by JAKE GOLDMAN and me.

9:04 - OH MY GOD I am so excited!
9:05 - Obama's eyebrows are exciting.
9:08 - Who the fuck picked out McCain's tie? Japanese Anime Animators? Am I right here?
9:09 - "This is the end of the beginning" Finally! We can get to the middle! I love the middle! That's where all the crazy shit happens! Fuck the end!
9:12 - I think by the end of the night, Jim Lehrer is going to get McCain to sit on Obama's lap.
9:15 - "I've got a pen--" What will McCain bring out next of his fantastic prop-bag?! "I have tap-dancing shoes. See? And I'm going to tap dance all over regulation. Or is it de-regulation. Hey! Where's my chips? Oh. There they are. I've got chips--"
9:17 - Obama just said "fill up on this gas," as it were the first time he's ever heard of the concept of gas.
9:19 - Fun fact I just learned: Barack Obama is a woman? (He won miss congeniality?)
9:21 - Holy shit, Obama just looked terrifying when he asked Lehrer if he could respond. Guys, do you think he carries knives?
9:23 - This is a classic example of talkin' the talk, and walkin' the walk. Also of singin' the song, drummin on drums, eatin' the food, and puttin on socks.
9:25 - Oil companies would get an additional 4 billion dollars of tax cuts under McCain's plan? Sounds good to me! They've been working so hard they deserve a break. A break big enough to buy 18 jets.
9:26 - Every time McCain laughs, I have flashbacks to the Halloween of 1989 when my cousin Steve set fire to my jack-o-lantern. Terrifying. Still have nightmares. Would rather not talk about it.
9:27 - Obama = Flag pin. McCain = no flag pin. COUNTRY FIRST? MORE LIKE, WARDROBE FIRST!!!! LADIES?
9:36 - "I want the families to make the decisions between the doctors and diseases." Yup! Sounds about right.
9:38 - Obama: "Your president presided over an orgy of spending." Hey-o!!! Obama has got SOME kind of wild party planned in Oxford after this.
9:41 - I'm sorry folks. Let's get real here for a second: $600 billion. 4,000 lives lost. And this other guy over here is talking about "victory."
9:42 - Hey guys-- hey guys! If you get elected president, you don't have to deal with Iraq anymore. That shit already happened. So all you guys sitting around going "Man , I don't know if I want to be president...all that war stuff...what do I do????" Worry no more! The next president won't have to question anything! LET'S GO AMERICA!
9:47 - Obama's gonna get tired of talking, interrupting McCain every other word to correct every single douchey lie that jack-o-lantern tells.
9:48 - Lehrer: "Afghanistan. What is it. Discuss."
10:00 - "Hey! We both wear bracelets!"
10:02 - Join the Al-Qaeda Columbia House today! For just 15 cents you'll get a video each week. (costs more for beheadings)
10:03 - "Listen, I've been to anyplace that has the word 'stan' in it. Those are all dangerous places, ok? I was also tortured."
10:06 - Obama's centrifuge research is unmatched.
10:10 - Can anyone tell me what the fuck these "pre-conditions" are? Hands behind back? No skateboards? Knives are cool if they are blunt? No cheese on omelettes? All ham party? I hope it's an all ham party.
10:20 - I looked into Putin's eyes and saw a K, a G and a B. And a lemon. And a cherry. And a bunch of sevens. And then I saw this wild boar eat a cement building. Hey, can we take a break? I ate some bad veal.
10:23 - Seriously though, McCain does look like a jack-o-lantern. Guys. It's sad.
10:24 - On energy, let's all think, WWTBPD? what would T. Boone Pickens do?!
10:30 - McCain: You guys-- Obama's dumb, ok?
10:35 - McCain: I can keep Americans safe. I am America's Grandpa!
10:36 - McCain: I don't need on-the-job-training. I know how to cook a hamburger, ok? Ok. Let me just...know, I can handle this I can...just shh...you use a lot of oil...whaaa..whoooaaaaa...WHAAAAAAA. Well. I've lost a hand.
10:37 - McCain: I know how to heal the wounds of the war. Just come by my house. I will heal your wounds by the touch.
10:40 - Chris Matthews: I am a hologram! See my hair and listen to my words!
10:43 - Why does Pat Buchanan always look like he's trying to take a shit?
10:44 - This has been well worth it.