[Lakeshark]

Well.....I was fuming, fretting and yelling during the debate.....the format is so dumb, no one knows anything new from what went on there. A lot of the questions just weren't helpful. And if those were "undecideds" in there, I'll eat my hat.

I thought Obambi handled himself smoothly, he has practiced for these things well. McCain seemed to be good tonight as well, more personal, more gut felt knowledge and experience. No one left a mark on the other, so I don't think this changes anything.

Of course, the press will be unanimous in saying Obambi won, and will spin incessantly for him.

[catpuppy]

It was a disappointment, especially after the VP debate. I never recovered from Senator McCain's early promise to order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America and renegotiate at the new value of those homes -- at the diminished value of those homes and let people be able to make those -- be able to make those payments and stay in their homes.

Aside from having no idea what that means or what it would cost, I don't think another big government solution to a problem that government helped to cause will do very much other than throw away both more money and more freedom, a feat that Senator Obama seems quite capable of doing. I would prefer that Senator McCain take the more conservative approach, the one that Governor Palin expresses so well.

You might find interesting the Amity Schlaes book, "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression." Reading it in the days leading up to the current financial nightmare was like reading the script before watching the play. Other than the Hoover/Roosevelt initial tightening moves, the knee jerk throw money and programs at the problem seem scarily similar to recent reactions, along with the hopeful but timid Dow increases we have seen lately, increases that quickly reverse course and become severe crashes.

Better buckle up. I think that we are in for a long and unpleasant ride. Better yet, pray.

[Darlin']

Sharky, Sorry, I didn't get back to you last night but I didn't watch the debate at my home. Clearly, their idea of a debate or town hall is different from mine. Whatever you call that thing, it was beyond boring.

catpuppy, I almost fell off my chair when McCain dropped that absurd $300B loan program and it took me while to recover. It must have affected the audience the same way because they all looked as if they'd been lobotimized or had been stricken stone-cold deaf.

It was depressing. Brokow had sifted and filtered the questions so we have no earthly idea of what the audience really wanted to hear either of them talk about. It was a pretty dismal and disappointing 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Looks like we have no choice but to do as Rush said today...

" You and I and the rest of the Republican Party, the conservative movement, agree a hundred percent, and watch this stuff and say, "Okay, it's up to us. We're going to have to be the ones to secure victory for him. We're going to drag him across the finish line and then take on the other challenges that that presents." You know, one step at a time here. We can do it. That's the way it's going to have to be done."