Kick the Anthill

Though last night’s debate was infinitely more entertaining than the previous, I have to point out that the Maverick was finally able to work himself up to the face off position he should have been in — at the first debate.  Ah, well.  We can rejoice that this was the third and last, and there are no more to endure…though the word “last” gives my inner cynic pause for thought…  Without further ado, here are my observations about Round 3:

JM: Double extra super bonus points for bringing Joe Plumber into the ring.  Excellent demonstration that he paid attention to the news this week.  (Thank you, Wisconsin, for helping pave the way.)  Eeww — points subtracted for neglecting to use the words “redistribution” and “socialism.”  (Looks like it might be time to pull out the secret ear radios.)
JM: At last — “spread the wealth around” comes up on the rebound.
BS: Deficit question — good one.
JM: “Some people” — say “that one!”  Say it!  “I know how to save billions” — yeah, on the Fence (sorry, couldn’t help myself).
BO: Earmarks aren’t the problem…wait, I thought we were using a scalpel here.
JM: SCHWING!  “Senator Obama, I am not President Bush.”  He shoots, he scores.  I predict four points up in the polls.  Nice eye contact.
BO: Bad, Fox, bad.  (Rut-roh — looks like Fox gonna get the hatchet when B.O. rules the world.)
BS: “Say to each other’s face” — great question.  Who’s got the guts to go at it, boys?
JM: John Lewis — nice.  Don’t get him mad about vets, B.O.!  T-shirts — again, points for current events.  But don’t go too far here — neither candidate is responsible that everything every nut job ever says.
BO: “Campaigns are tough” — he’s right, nature of the game, heat in the kitchen and all that.  Did I just agree with Obama?  I need a refill.
JM: Ayers AND ACORN in one breath — is anyone getting this on video?  GOP bliss.
BO: “ACORN is a community organization” — did he just say that?  He just said that.  McCain campaign, take that and run with it.  Oooo, now the fake smile is out.
JM: Calmly talking about terrorism…but then what really upsets him is taxes.  That would explain the Fence thing.
BS: Running mates question — another good one.
BO: Biden “shares my core values” — if that’s not a horrible thing to say about someone, I don’t know what is.
BS: To B.O.: do you think Palin is qualified?  (From me to B.O.: Hello, Kettle?  This is Pot.  You’re black.  Are you really going to answer that question??  Whoops — bad raaacist Pot!)
(Am I crazy or are there just too many Senators in this race?)
JM: Now he hits on NAFTA and free trade.  Do we even remember what that one was about?  I’ll have to google it.
BO: Did he just say in 10 years under him we will need NO more oil imports?  I’m also a little curious about his math about our oil supply.  My oil patch friends told me we’ve got plenty for our domestic needs.  “We should incluze those” — giggle.  Did he just say “loan guarantees to automakers??”
JM: “Big government” — finally!!
JM: “I’m a Federalist” — about murder??  Judges should not be chosen for ideology??  Ok, there’s the #1 Bush legacy you should run from screaming.  Dude, respect the aisle.  It’s there for a reason, a warning, a moat.  But he does want “strict constitutionalists.”
BO: “Common ground” — ???  “Sexuality is sacred” — but murder is ok?  Did he just say “cavalier behavior?”  Red meat served right from the carcass with a side of horseradish.
JM: On the rebound: adoption.  FINALLY!  He seems to get much more passionate about adoption than about preventing abortion.  Strange, conflicted soul…but I’ll take it over the alternative.
BO: Sorry, my interest is rapidly fading after the one hour mark.  Sounds to me like he just told us how studies have shown that “when education declines, military strength declines.”  Did I miss the part where he revealed how military strength became important to him?

Overall:

McCain dusted off the gloves in a satisfactory manner — he just waited to do it until most of the country has already decided which side of the fence they fall on.  Don’t know if this will help him in the voting booth or not, but I guess it won’t be long until we know for sure.  Hope he puts Palin on one long, non-stop flight around the country — and the world wide web — until then.  OKC would love to see her.  As far as the Maverick goes, all I have to say is thank God for time slots for rebuttal.  He missed several opportunities to get the key elements out there during his answers, and if not for the rebuttals we would never have heard a lot of the words we really needed to hear.

Is it my imagination or did B.O. look like he was waaay mellow?  He didn’t look like a fighter at all tonight.  Is he just mega-tired from saving the world?  Or is he on allergy medication?  He reminded me of how I feel when I’m on Benadryl.  Miss Wisabus pointed out to me that there seems to be a graying effect going on with B.O.’s coiff.  To which I responded that I’m sure it has to do with all of the experience that he has gained since the campaign began.  Does he have Clairol on speed dial?  You decide:

A couple other afterthoughts on B.O.: I hardly bother listening to his healthcare policy anymore because I wouldn’t subscribe to it at gunpoint, but “viewer response” on the networks keeps coming back to it, so it might be worth mentioning.  For those of you who might be “undecided,” I’d just like to encourage you to think about the horrors of having a sick loved one but getting the run around with crappy government controlled medical treatment.  If that sounds good to you, Canada’s got lots of room.

Also, perhaps the most important phrase he uttered of the evening did not make my list above: “I want to expand the middle class.”  Here’s the part where we do a little exercise together:  Hold up both of your hands in fists.  Raise your thumb and index finger on each — look at your them as if they are marking off three sections: lower, middle and upper classes; space them however you think they are now.  Then move your thumbs toward your index finger until they meet, and there’s just one big space in between.  Now, do you feel like you just heard Stalin speak?  That’s a little piece of the Iron Curtain you’re looking at, my friends.  We’re all the same.  Or we will be under Obama’s policies.  The upper class must step down so that the lower class can step up.  Take your American Dreams and flush them down the toilet.  If B.O. had really wanted to win votes, he should have said “expand the upper class.”

See, boys and girls, politics can be fun.  It’s all about what you bring to it.  If you bring the margaritas fun, then fun is what you shall have.  Now, if I’d broken out the blender an hour before, I might have enjoyed the new Knight Rider a little more.  PU.