Live Blogging The Final Debate

10:24: By the way: Joe's last name is not "ThePlumber."

10:15: McCain says those who believe in a health exception to a partial birth abortion ban are extreme.

10:14: GOPer Patrick Ruffini: "Obama sounds callous and technocratic."

10:12: When was the last time we heard a good abortion discussion? I like it. This stuff says a lot about these candidates' underlying character and philosophies.

10:11: McCain brings up Born Alive Protection Act issue... I'm surprised he went there, but I can hear the cheers from Barbara Comstock's house... "I don't know how you vote present like that." Powerful stuff....even trying to pre-empt Obama's answer... pretty smart...McCain seems genuinely offended here.

10:10. John Dickerson tweets: "Joe The Plumber is into his second six pack right now." 

10:08: Obama speaks to abortion directly...interesting choice here. He could have stuck to the question...stayed outside the mine field...but instead wades further in... lots of pro-lifers are probably screaming at their set right now urging McCain to bash Obama on various abortion-related votes.

10:07: McCain minimizes his desire to overturn Roe v. Wade.... Schieffer presses McCain: "I would consider anyone in their qualifications. I do not believe that someone who supported Roe v Wade would be part of those qualifications."

10:06: Just noticing: the first union to endorse Barack Obama: the plumbers.

10:04: Freudian slip: McCain calls Obama "Senator Government."

10:03: Snark aside, this is a pretty good exchange on health care. It begs for an honest broker, though...

10:02: Back to Joe. Confusing. Joe Biden? Oh, Joe the Plumber.

10:01: Did someone in McCain's campaign forget to tell him about split screens? Pooh-pooh this visual stuff all ya want. It matters.

10:00: Arguing about health care mandates and fines. Obama says he exempts small businesses. McCain? "Zero?"

9:59: Suddenly, Joe The Plumber is McCain's "old buddy."  Well, by Sarah Palin standards...

9:56: Schieffer: which to prefer? Controlling health care costs over expanding coverage?  Mr. Everything, Obama, says: "We can do both." Can we?

9:56: McCain compares Obama to Hoover.

9:54: Democrats pushing the theme of McCain's anger as being the lingering impression of this debate so far: One Dem: " McCain facial's expressions tonight may rival Gore sighing....."

9:53: A Democrat familiar with the party's internal dials: when McCain brought up Ayers, "the dials sank lower than any answer that we’ve seen in any of the now 4 debates."  (I know the Dems would say that... so if Republicans want to share their dials with me too, I'll post 'em._

9:52: Obama smiles when he wants to say to McCain: "There he goes again."

9:50: A Republican, to me, on McCain;s anger: "He has every right to be mad. Good for him."

9:49: McCain campaign sends out reminder that McCain said: "I am not President Bush."

9:45: McCain's doing well on the issues, but he seems angrier than ever... not sure how the juxtaposition plays. (And I don't really believe the CNN dials, whatever they say.)

9:40: Obama makes the case for Biden. It's fairly self-evident.   "I think he would make an outstanding president if something were to happen to me."  That's the way Obama ENDS it, which raises the question for McCain, who ably defends Palin as a reformer and a political talent.  Scheiffer to Obama: "Do you think she's qualified to be president."  Obama leaves it up to the American people.  And he goes there: says that with an across-the-board spending freeze, autism funding would suffer.

9:38: McCain connects ACORN to Ayers. "Launched your political campaign in Mr. Ayers's living room."  McCain: "My campaign is about getting this campaign back on track..."  Obama laughs. McCain: "And I'm not going to raise taxes." 

9:35: Not an elegant pivot. McCain unloads: Ayers!  ACORN questions...  Obama: Mr Ayers has become the centerpiece of Mr. McCain's campaign over the past two weeks. Obama explains...when he was 8 years ago, he engaged in despicable acts with a radical domestic group....he and Obama served on a school reform board that was funded by one of Ronald Reagan's close friends....Puts a period on Ayers. Obama explains ACORN....fails to say that his campaign paid an ACORN affiliate for canvassing.  People are either glossing over this are very very interested.

9:34: Through this very uncomfortable discussion, Obama looks unflappable.

9:32: Is anyone looking at their 401ks this week and thinking about John Lewis?  Obama gets to rotate this question back to the tenor of politics, generally.  McCain's .... again, this is the real McCain. He feels dishonored by Obama..... McCain's defending his rally...somewhat inarticulately, but powerfully presented.  I just don't know how this comes across.  One feels for McCain...but...McCain disagrees with tee-shirts at rallies?

9:30: McCain goes back to the ads and takes them personally. This is the real McCain here. He takes process stuff as seriously as cancer.  McCain does force Obama to explain the Lewis comments, which Obama gets to put his spin on. Obama brings up: "Terrorist." "Kill him." 

9:24: Scheiffer asks the candidates to say to Obama's face what he says in commercials. McCain blames the nasty campaign on Obama's not agreeing to town hall meetings.  McCain: "I regret the negative aspects of both campaigns."  Moves to the John Lewis's comment...calls it "hurtful."  Says Obama didn't "repudiate those remarks."  (Kinda true.. he repudiated some of them..including the comparison of McCain's record to the record of racists...but not the whole thing."     McCain seems genuinely wounded by this stuff.  Obama: two-thirds of the American people think McCain is running a negative campaign and 100% of his ads are negative. Obama: "I think the American people are less interested in our hurt feelings..."  That's a dig at McCain, who takes this stuff very very seriously.  Obama gives the politic answer: let's talk about what matters, not what talks about this.  Obama gets the better of this exchange, methinks.

9:23: Obama concedes that McCain "has shown commendable independence" from Bush, but "when it comes to economic policies, you're essentially proposing eight more years of the same thing."

9:22: So Obama looks peeved. It occurs to me that being peeved is not an issue for him, so people might not notice, or care.

9:22: "The first major bill that I voted on in support of tort reform which wasn't very popular with trial lawyers." McCain: "An overwhelming vote."  Obama says he supports pay for performance for teachers... clean coal technology.

9:21: McCain is looking at Obama. now.

9:20: Schieffer asks about budget balancing. McCain says he thinks he can balance the budget in four year.  McCain: "Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago."  And Obama looks peeved.

9:19: Hey: a difference we can agree on. McCain favors a spending freeze; Obama doesn't. ... and suddenly back into an earmark discussion we've had before. 

9:17: McCain's picking on planetariums again! 

9:16: McCain goes back to homeownership. Then about energy. The flow is confusing. The viewer expects an answer on spending. McCain: across-the-board spending freeze. Admits it's a hatchet "but then I will get out a scalpel."  Question though: there are lots of exemptions to the freeze.. what's NOT exempted from the freeze? 

9:15: In response to Schieffer's question about cutting back on his own proposals, Obama cites his support for Paygo.  Says he'd eliminate subsidies for insurance companies (for example). Says he wants to go to through the federal budget line by line, la la la, presidential candidates always say this. Then Obama defends his spending.

9:14: Noticing the usual: McCain's not looking at Obama; the split screen is distracting.

9:13: Good line from McCain: "Nobody likes taxes? Then let's not raise any taxes.] Obama: "Well, I could play a little more."   I think McCain got the better of the exchange, even if part of his answer was misleading.

9:13: How many morning show bookers are frantically trying to find Joe The Plumber right now?

9:13: Obama does seem acknowledge that Joe The Plumber would see his taxes go up.

9;12:  New American catch phrase: "Joe The Plumber."

9:11:Ooh. There's the socialism burger!  "We need to spread the wealth around."  Well -- Obama was actually referring to marginal income tax rates, as is clear from the context of the exchange with the plumber..    Moving on...

9:09: Obama: "We both want to cut taxes. The question is: who do we want to cut taxes before."  Hey, we've been here before. I'll wait until they say something new. Well, to me. It's probably interesting to those who don't get paid to follow this thing.

9:07: McCain: "I'd like to mention that, a couple days ago, he had an encounter with a plumber."  Is he going for the socialism burger?  Yep. Oh. No. Just addresses "Joe" the plumber and says he'll keep his taxes law...and will not stand for tax increase on small business income. At least he says "income"... not small businesses.

9:05: Obama calls it the second bailout bill a "financial rescue plan."  Sigh.  "What we haven't yet seen as a specific rescue plan for the middle class."  Explains his proposals...McCain didn't explain them, it occurs to me... all that Scheiffer said was that McCain had a so-and-so billion plan. Also, Obama summarizes McCain's plan as a "giveaway to banks." 

9:04: McCain blames mortgage crises on Fannie and Freddie but doesn't explain it.  Explains his mortgage proposal... says he is "disappointed that Sec. Paulson and others have not made that their first priority."  Early contrast with the Bush administration.

9:03: Nine questions from Bob Schieffer.  Will he bring up Obama's associations? The Obama campaign thinks he will. The McCain campaign hopes he will.