Presidential Debate

My prediction is that the whole thing is so scripted they won't say anything of substance and that frankly anyone voting has pretty much made up their mind so it is a waste of time.

But that's just me. 

And I won't be watching tonight.  I'll be at a soccer game.  Much more fun. 

i was going to start a thread about this...

take a drink every time someone says "jobs" and see if you can still walk tomorrow :-P

what other buzzwords will we hear far too much tonight?

Oh, yes, I'm watching...well unless they bore me, which is possible.  And I'll vote for "economy" as a buzzword, I think we could get drunk within the first 10min!

Patsy 

My wife mentioned to me that I'd miss the debate because of other commitments this evening. I was reminded of the movie Office Space; I might not get to watch it, but I wouldn't say I'll be missing it.

I think you may have nailed it.  lol

yes, I will be watching...though I don't expect anything that is said tonight would make me change my vote.  That is unless one of them actually answered every question presented to them instead of spinning the subject!  It's amazing how someone can speak for 5 plus minutes and never answer the question!

I like Jim Lehar more that most other moderators...and he tries to keep the candidates on topic.  But they still find a slick way to avoid giving a direct response. 

I expect Romney to take every opportunity to hammer Obama on his failure to jumpstart the economy and the 16 trillion deficit.  Obama will hit Romney at least a half dozen times  for not caring about 47 percent. I'm sure they have both been well coached on how to respond to the poinless attacks.

you are right...they are both "out of touch". 

I know if we all took a drink for every time they actually answered the question we would all be stone sober.

I love how someone can speak for 5 min about a Yes or No question and you ask yourself:  Was that yes or no?

Unfortunately, few people will watch it with an open mind and just look for the lies the 'other' person is spouting.

I expect it will go something like this:

Obama: "Blah, blah blah blabbity blah blah?"

Romney: "Blabbity blah blabbaty blah!"

Obama: "Blabbity? Blah bla!!"

Romney: "Blabbity blah blabbaty blah. Blah, bla??"

and so on

However, I will still watch, if for no other reason than I want the kids to watch so we can talk about the candidates and the issues. My oldest votes for the first time this election.

You're absolutely right.  By nobody fact checks, I was referring to the average voter.  The average Democrat will watch tonight and assume everything Obama said was pretty much true and everything Romney said was a load of BS.  Then they'll turn on MSNBC and see expert fact checkers doing exactly what you describe to pick apart all of Mitt's lies, as well as highlight all the wonderful things Obama said.  Which will just further reinforce the voter's preconceived opinions.  Meanwhile, Republicans will be doing the exact same thing with the exact opposite results over on Fox. 

We (generically speaking of the nation as a whole) are either too stupid to do our own fact checking, or are just too lazy to care.

So, so spot on.

One of my pet peeves in any debate/interview is when the person does not actually answer the question he/she was asked. Combine that with my previously ranted-about frustration with candidates that bash other candidates rather than explain their own plans, and I can guarantee I will not be watching it.

If, by some chance, something of substance is stated by one or both of the candidates, it'll be replayed ad nauseum immediately afterward anyway. I'll have plenty of opportunity to see it then.

I won't watch it, I have to watch paint dry somewhere!!!

Neither person is worth voting for, not worth the wasted time or money being spent on it.

I know it's been mentioned, but I gave up on debates a long time ago because they don't "debate" in the true sense anymore.

No matter what the question, the spin it to shoehorn in whatever egenda or written statement thye have prepared.

"What should we do about global warming and the use of fossel fuels?"

"We should do additional studies on global warming because that would create jobs.  Because if I were to be president jobs are the most important thing to my office.  We need to get Americans working again blah blah, and the economy blah blah blah, and the bailouts blah blah blah... and health care blah blah .  and THAT'S what I think about global warming."

Oh, and if you watch one debate, just record it and play it for the other debates.  They just say the same thing, almost word for word.  It's like they have their 1 or 2 points, and ride that pony all the way home...

I agree it is pretty sad.  It's like nailing jello down to get specific answers.

That is the fault of the american people for not demanding more.  It is always easier to agree on what we dislike than it is on what we should do about it.  It's why negative adds work so well and actually talking about "your plan" is a risky venture.

WOW!

Do we finally have a political thread where everyone is in agreement? 

The Debates are not in-fact debates, they're just chances for people to not answer questions and hit each other with zingers and chances for FoxNews/MSNBC/CNN/ABC/CBS/NBC to cherry-pick sound-bytes to make their preferred candidates sound better than the other.

Please disagree, because I fear the end of the world if this is really a political thread on COJ where everyone agrees with everything... Somebody throw out some toxic sound-byte that will send us off on our rants...Please, for the kids!