"I'll whip his you-know-what" - Final Debate Liveblog!

11:09- A few thoughts: McCain needed a home run, and he didn't get it. I actually thought it was McCain's best debate, just for the amount of shit he threw out there. McCain out maneuvered Obama on the tax stuff early, but Obama recovered by the end of the debate and rebutted him well.

I will say though, one of my highest original hopes for Obama was his ability to mainstream progressive politics, and it was upsetting to watch him "prove his worth" by naming the times he triangulated against his base. That's not just Obama by any means, but it's harder to watch since I had higher hopes for him than I do with most dems. The idea that you have to prove your worth by listing the times you sold out our supporters is a strange tactic as well, one that I really don't understand. As 6.54 said in the comments, there's a reason why McCain has to do that, those positions are unpopular! You're on the popular side, Barack! And as Chris Bowers said, Obama wasn't very appealing to progressives tonight, but then again, everyone around him told him this is how you win elections. I sincerely hope that's its a tactic and not his beliefs, and the good news is he'll have 8 years to show us the answer to that question.

11:00- @6.54, No need to qualify that. If there are any high information undecided voters out there, they are idiots. I have no problem saying that. Enough info is out there that you should be able to make a choice one way or another. And anyone who has watched those groups on cspan knows what I'm talking about.

10:51- Matt points out how McCain rolled his eyes when Obama mentions the murder of workers in Columbia. This is how he feels, and it shouldn't be shocking. They don't matter. They are an obstacle, and their lives have no value. This is the conservative world view, without exaggeration. What a disgusting human being, and what a despicable way to view the world.

10:47- Wow... 100 comments, that's a record! Thanks for your contributions everyone, it makes these debates worth watching.

10:38- @WB: Yep, just glad it's over... and I'm waiting for my stake of Joe's shop too! I thought the government was dividing it up and giving away his fortune! Maggie's farm 2008! Viva la revolution!

10:35- Good point by Rachel Maddow: That whole ridiculing defending the life of the mother exception. That should probably be a big deal, right?

10:32- I think I got so angry about Obama praising Michelle Rhee that I blacked out during the closing statements. Anything interesting?

10:25- Stop praising vouchers! Stop praising charter schools! Because the way to fix the school system is to take it's precious resources, and give them to one school. But kids all have a chance to get into that school! See it's fair! Woooo, praising the union busting Michelle Rhee! How low can we go!

10:20- Ugh, Charter schools. What a flaming turd.

10:17- @Helen: Speaking of their family, I'm really glad he mentioned Nancy Reagan at the start of the debate. Should we mention that for 20 years Nancy Reagan has hated McCain for cheating on, and then leaving his wife because she was disfigured in a car wreak? Anyone?

10:14- McCain is going hard on this pro life stuff, I didn't expect him to make this that much of an issue. You usually try to distance yourself from positions that only 35% of the country agrees with.

10:10- @ DHR: They're going through the Ohio phone books for every plumber named Joe as we speak.

10:07- "I'm a federalist, I believe things should be in the hands of states."

10:04- Joe, you should be able to avoid providing health care to your employees... thats YOUR RIGHT, dammit.

10:00- I hope Joe doesn't have a pre-condition, cause no one will ever provide him health insurance again.

9:57- I'm glad that McCain made Columbia the center piece of his trade argument, it's by far the easiest to ridicule, unless you're a fan of murder and such.

9:52- Peru had the same bullshit protections as NAFTA! How can you differentiate one from the other! They are literally, the same. Election season, close ranks, ignore democratic free trade bullshit...

9:50- Woo! Trade makes an appearance! Holy crap Columbia! Crush it Barack! Fucking send it of the park!

9:49- @Helen and 6.54: if you say it's clean, it must be true!

9:44- @DHR: Haha, yeah, she really has the party through the shared values of bigotry and ignorance.

9:40- Palin vs Biden, at least we get this softball.

9:38- Lies, lies and lies, Barack debunked them right there, and McCain's allowed to repeat them. I don't even know what to say.

9:36- Credit to Obama for laughing at the Acorn nonsense.

9:34- Maybe John McCain needs to go more of his own rallies.

9:33- THANK YOU! Mention those rallies! This isn't funny you asshole, your rallies have turned into racists mobs. Hilarious!

9:31- Yeah, he did denounce those remarks! I was pissed, but he did!

9:28- Obama, nail him on his bullshit, NOW.

9:26- Look how much our own parties hate us! Parties and politics are bad! We can't be bothered with either of them.

9:24- And Barack lists most of his crappy positions to show how mavericky he is... Fannnnnnnnnnntastic.

9:21- Barack references the percentages instead of the dollar values for earmarks, someone told him since the last debate that saying that big numbers aren't significant isn't a good look, no matter how true it is.

9:17- A hatchet and a scalpel, McCain is a man of many knives.

9:14- 35% sounds a lot higher than 0%.

9:11- Say that if Joe the plumber makes less that $250,000 dollars, his taxes won't go up!

9:08- But Joe the plumber doesn't want to pay his workers or give them health care, Barack! Don't you have a plan for that?

9:04- Concern trolling here, but should McCain have said angry 4 times in the first sentence?

8:58- Maybe it's the hype, but I'm sensing this could be a historic low tonight. Watching MSNBC, and I guess if we needed another reminder, Chris Mathews is a joke. It's nice to have a millionaire explain why Barack Obama doesn't relate to working class voters.

Tonight 9PM.

Interesting stuff going into the last debate. If someone had accused me of "palling around with terrorists", I probably would have brought it up at the last debate, but regardless it looks like the Ayers nonsense will make an appearance tonight.

Also, McCain actually did say that he'd "whip his you-know-what" in the debate tonight, which I suppose speaks for itself.

It's his last chance for a "game-changer", which means it's probably going to be really ugly.

See you then.

Note: I'm going to keep this at the top of the page as an announcement, so check below for new posts.