The Third Presidential Debate

The third and final Presidential Debate was held on October 10th, and it started at 9:00 p.m. EST, John McCain and Barack Obama faced off for 90 minutes at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. Bob Schieffer, CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent, was the moderator.

TIME's Michael Grunwald, Jim Poniewozik, and Karen Tumulty brought you live up-to-the-minute commentary on the debate.

Although the debates are over, you can still view TIME's ongoing and comprehensive coverage of Election '08. Also, your comments are always welcome, so please sign in and post accordingly.

All times listed below are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

10:39 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy's parting impression: Oooh, nice cold war with the wives. What was with the exuberant butt-grab between McCain and Schieffer, though?

10:37 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Wrapup:

There was one clear winner of this debate: Joe the Plumber.

There was no new ground broken. This seemed to me to be McCain's strongest and most coherent performance in these debates, and he was doing a better job of articulating a big vision. However, I think what people are going to take away from it is—once again—the demeanor of the two candidates in the cutaway shots. Obama seemed cool and collected, while McCain's grimaces were painful to watch.

10:34 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: In summary: obama was cooler and clearer; he didn't laugh at his own jokes, and he didn't look like his head was about to explode. But mostly he's just got a better hand to play. When historians look back at this election they're going to say: the republican president was wildly unpopular, so the republican lost. And that's how joe the plumber became president.

10:31 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: My wrapup: For those who complained the last debate was dull—which I guess was all of us—it provided more sparks. Did it answer what viewers wanted answered? There was acknowledgement at the beginning and the end of the fact that the economy is melting down... and then a long section in the middle that told us it apparently had to do with abortion, William Ayers and Joe the plumber. There were, though, strong differences not just of policy but, sharply, of temperament. America saw a mad guy and a calm guy. I'll be very curious to see how the candidates' reactions—especially in split screen—played at home. How pissed off do you want your President to bee, America?

10:31 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: @tj: I'm just sad that wisit isn't going to be around to design a pink men's locker room.

By the way: how about jeff lewis as moderator?

10:28 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy protests: HEY! You guys didn't tell me I'd have to miss Project Runway AND Top Design! What if this is the night Ricky Schroeder's talentless, bitchy wife gets the boot?

10:27 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: What was that weird mccain snicker? Schlieffer is thinking: god, this guy looks old.

10:26 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: McCain seems to be under the impression that Sarah Palin has an autistic child.

10:25 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Hands up: who out there would like money thrown at them?

10:25 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: You've got to give mccain credit: taking on head start takes guts. Or lunacy.

10:23 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: The children are our future!

Oy vey.

10:22 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Joe the Plumber looks uncannily like McCain chief strategist Steve Schmidt.

10:21 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT: Here was my problem with "spreading the wealth" attack. It is shorthand that only signifies a bad thing to people who already agree with you. In itself, people don't hear "spreading the wealth" as a negative thing.

10:20 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Isn't "throwing the money at the problem" sort of like "spreading the wealth"? Guess not, when you're talking about schools.

10:20 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I'll tell you one thing: joe the plumber is laying some pipe tonight. Tonight is definitely going to be sacred for mrs. Wurtzelfarfegnugen.

10:18 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy, who used to be stationed in Bonn for the LA Times, notes: Wurzel means 'little sausage' in German.

10:18 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I love the use of "sexuality" as a synonym for "sex.". But is it really sacred? I'd say it depends who you're having sexuality with.

10:17 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Split screen report: Obama has the gently bemused grin thing down--he thinks it';s so adorable that his opponent is wrong!--whereas John McCain looks like he sat on a tack in the split screen. Call it shallow, but people watch debates, they don't read them.

10:16 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT: Most famous political plumber since Watergate.

10:15 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Dial group report 2: Um, Sen. McCain, women don't like it when you put "health of the mother" in air quotes.

10:14 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Dial group report: men and women united in their opposition to unintended pregnancy.

10:14 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Obama is a baby killer!

Pretty soon I'm going to make jack drink.

10:13 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Here's a picture of Joe the Plumber.

10:12 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I think the obvious choice for the supreme court is joe wurtzelschnitzel.

10:07 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: @JP: Oh, right, hair transplants. I forgot: McCain spends a lot of time with Senators.

10:06 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: From Tammy: Joe is going to need a nice, long, hot shower after this.

10:05 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT: Hair transplants?

10:04 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Did McCain just suggest that transplants are elective surgery?"

10:04 p.m - Jim Poniewozik: It sounds like McCain is defending Joe the Plumber's right to deny health coverage to his employees. Possibly a persuasive argument to Joe. To everybody else...

10:03 p.m - Karen Tumulty: TJ@MG: Guess again, Ignorant Youthful One: My future is secure! McCain just promised me FIVE THOUSAND AMERICAN DOLLARS! I'm so relieved.

10:03 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: @kt: yes. jack d. is kicking my ass...

10:01 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @MG: Too late. It's a porn site.

10:00 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Substance alert: McCain is flat-out lying about Obama's health care plan. It is not government-run health care, and looks nothing like the Canadian system.

10:00 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Excuse me: I need to go register www.joetheplumber.com

9:59 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT and MG: The focus group dial lines are about the only chance Americans have had to see upward graphs on the news in the past two weeks! Ba-DUM-bum!

9:59 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: McCain's references to Joe the Plumber are now drawing loud guffaws in the media center.

Meanwhile TJ@MG: Yes, and tossing hostages into those free-trade deals really worked out well for the Reagan Administration!

9:58 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: @MG: Lucky for you, your retirement is now tied to the price of Time Warner stock. Oh, wait...

9:58 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: @jp: it's worse on tv, isn't it? It's the guy who's talking calmly to the camera vs the guy who looks like he's going to jump through the screen and bludgeon somebody.

9:57 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Schieffer offers a false choice between expanding coverage and controlling costs. You can't do one without the other. Just ask Mitt Romney.

9:56 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Tammy, aren't you one of those retirees? And we both know our washington post stock is sinking faster than mccain's poll numbers...

9:55 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: I don't know how many people are listening on the radio, but when I look down to my laptop to type, I'm hearing: the mad guy versus the calm guy.

9:53 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: When I think of colombia, I think of a country that's really working hard to stop the flow of drugs into the us. Don't you?

9:51 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy muses: "I wonder which is hurting worse: The 'heartland of America,' or all the retirees who live in Arizona and are now watching their nest eggs disappear?"

9:49 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Warning: substance! The first new nuclear plant would not come on line until 2016 at the earliest. It won't do ANYTHING to reduce dependence on foreign oil in two terms.

Hi, jack!

9:48 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: The battle of the reaction shots is more interesting than the actual answers. Obama has the bemused chuckle down. McCain leans on the affronted eyebrow arch.

9:45 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Ayers, ACORN and autism. Good Lord. Also, "I'm so proud of her"?

9:45 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: She understands that autism is on the rise. Well, allrighty then.

They're talking about palin like she's going to be first lady.

9:44 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: The High Sheriff weighs in: "Schieffer? Pretty good imho."

9:43 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: TJ@MG: MG: "The smirk isn't bothering me as much as the blinking."

9:41 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT: "Personally, I feel it would be better if my opponent's running mate became president. Because it would mean that lying bastard sitting over there is dead!"

9:40 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Schieffer now asking each candidate to contemplate his own death. This has to be a debate first.

9:40 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I don't mean to say my opponent is a terrorist...but...

9:39 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: From Ayers and ACORN to "I'm goingg to lower your taxes"--most awkward segue of the evening.

9:38 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Through the "character" section, Obama seems unflappable, McCain heated. Not sure which of the two plays better out there, but a noticable difference.

9:38 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Very bad sign: There are no fewer than three electricians currently working on the power strips at the table where I am sitting. We seem to have a major power outage going on in this part of the hall. No plumbing problems, though.

9:38 p.m - Michael Grunwald: Mccain is gritting his teeth so hard they're going to come out his chin.

9:36 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Waaah! Someone wore a mean t shirt!

People who come to my rallies are the most patriotic people in the world!

It's going to be painful watching mccain walk back his campaign after he loses.

9:34 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: First complaint about a T-shirt in a presidential debate?

9:33 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: McCain's got a point. Who among us has ever thrown a big party without someone yelling "Kill him!"

9:33 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: If mccain's head explodes, is the debate over?

9:31 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Obama has spent more money on negative TV ads than Garfield did!

9:28 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Still waiting for anyone to say anything to anyone's face.

9:27 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Lie! Obama did repudiate those wallace remarks.

Jack is getting a workout.

9:26 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: McCain campaign keeps passing out paper here. DEBATE FACT #5: MEET JOE THE PLUMBER. Turns out he spells it Wurzelbacher.

9:26 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Tim gunn should be moderating this debate.

9:25 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Mccain keeps making that weird smirk. It's like that jon lovitz line from 1988: I can't believe I. Losing to this guy!Mccain keeps making that weird smirk. It's like that jon lovitz line from 1988: I can't believe I. Losing to this guy!

9:25 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: I think Tammy just switched over to Project Runway. She asks: "Who do you think would make a better cocktail dress out of Ho-Ho wrappers, celery stalks and dog biscuits-- Obama or McCain?"

9:24 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: The slaw just arrived so nobody heard it.

9:23 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @MG: How did the Fox News joke go over?

9:23 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: The 42K lie!

Drink.

9:22 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I'm angry too. And so is my pal jack daniels.

9:21 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy: "Not the planetarium again! Where is the Uranus lobby on this relentless attacking of the solar system?"

9:21 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Good ol boys just went nuts on mccain saying he's not bush.

9:20 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Points for senator mccain for mentioning one of my obsessions: the ridiculous tariff on imported ethanol. Unfortunately, voters dont care about my obsessions.

9:19 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: @JP: Hatchets? Wouldn't Joe the Plumber use a wrench? Meanwhile, Tammy says: "I'm drinking Drano."

9:18 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: McCain talks spending freeze: men like hatchets better than women.

9:17 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: McCain is back to earmarks. Not a good sign. In fact, a very bad sign.

9:17 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Is it wise for mccain to talk about what "we" did during the depression? I mean, he was only in his twenties then.

9:16 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Who told the mainstream media that economic downturns are the time for belt tightening? I mean, that's nuts, isn't it? Did fdr cut the budget?

9:15 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: We've heard a lot about how intimate the seated setting is, but it's less so when they never show Obama and McCain in the same frame. It's like they're doing a dueling Face the Nation appearance.

9:14 p.m - Karen Tumulty: Tammy asks: "Are there actually plumbers who make less than $250K a year?"

9:13 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: I'm sorry, Joe the Plumber is now by far the famous plumber wherever he lives. Barack Obama probably made him rich through the sheer free advertising. Joe the Plumber just got a Super Bowl ad here!

9:11 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: "Joe the Plumber" and "spread the wealth around" are officially in the drinking game.

9:10 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: If Joe the Plumber charges as much as my plumber, he's making more than $250,000 and Obama is going to soak him.

9:10 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Actually, joe the plumber is going to be mccain's secretary of state.

9:06 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: "Jobs." And the dial lines go WHANGO! Obama should work "jobs" into every answer, including any about Bill Ayers.

9:06 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: I'm sorry to start with facts, but this mess did NOT start with fannie and freddie. They buy mortgages - they don't issue mortgages. I'm in a grouchy mood - I'm going to drink when they lie.

And I'm drinking jack daniels. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

9:04 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy Jones asks: "Is it a harbinger of horrors to come tonight that I tuned in just in time to hear Tom Brokaw quoting 'Humpty Dumpty?' And to MG already making Joey Buttafuoco references, mainly to show that he can spell Buttafooco and Mississippi right in one blog?"

9:03 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Excuse me, why is commie McCain not wearing a flag pin? I am going to send an angry viral e-mail out immediately!

9:02 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Matching navy suits. Obama and McCain look like flight attendants for the same airline.

9:02 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: There! I shook his damn hand! Are you happy?!

9:01 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: I want to see the dial group's reaction to Bob Schieffer.

9:00 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: Tammy Jones has agreed to join us, though she asks, "For this, I'm missing Project Runway?"

9:00 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @MG: Kenley does not hesitate to go negative.

8:59 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Amen! Although I think we can all agree that kenley is almost as annoying as dick morris.

8:57 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Will not be flipping channels tonight, by the way, because the other Tivo tuner is recording Project Runway finale. Commenters: no spoilers!

8:54 p.m.- Jim Poniewozik: CNN focus-group squiggly line is again going to be divided into lines for men and women. Is this really the salient division in this election? Shouldn't it be the Youngs vs the Olds?

8:52 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: Just canceled recording of 90210 on my Tivo to watch the debate. The things I do for you people.

8:51 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: @jp: I would have! I took a lot of crap for asking whether mccain was a long-shot or a no-shot....

8:48 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @KT and MG: Who would have thought, by the way, that we would be going into the last debate, and everyone on cable would be talking about nothing but what John McCain needs to do? If no one mentions Bill Ayers, there will be some glum faces around the CNN table.

8:47 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: It's karen who's in god's country tonight. Or at least my country. I grew up 20 minutes from hofstra.

Tammy jones, if you're going to butt in again tonight, I'm ready for your joey buttafuoco/howard stern/joel rifkin jokes.

8:47 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: They're thanking the Hofstra trustees one by one. I'm starting to yearn for Brit Hume.

8:38 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @MG: Sorry, I'm afraid God made Michigan first.

8:37 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: @JP and MG: We're getting some kind of live feed from inside the debate hall. That means there are no talking heads to cut away from Frank Fahrenkopf and Paul Kirk as they tell the audience not to make noise and thank all their corporate sponsors. And no wiggly lines. I'm trying to decide if I'm better off, or you guys are.

8:37 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: @jp: well, yes. The first speaker at the cookout just welcomed us to god's country. But I should point out that the second speaker was eric fleming, the black democrat who's running against sen cochran. And he just led the crowd in a rousing chant of WE ARE MISSISSIPPI!

8:33 p.m. - Karen Tumulty: @MG: Maybe it's a sign of the hard economic times: Bud must be the libation of choice this evening. Budweiser, as it happens, is sponsoring a tent outside this filing center, but no one seems to be bringing any in here, so it's a pretty dry and dour place. We are in some kind of athletic center at Hofstra. If the debate is boring, I may go try out the climbing wall.

8:33 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: @MG: Oh, sorry, I see you wrote that you're watching Fox News. Like I had to ask!

8:29 p.m. - Jim Poniewozik: I'm settled in front of the TV, with a Blue Point Oktoberfest beer from the great region of Long Island, in honor of Hofstra University. Will probably be watching CNN, because I can't resist the squiggly lines. @MG: What channel are they watching the debate on in Real America, where people are good?

8:22 p.m. - Michael Grunwald: Hey y'all. I'll be watching tonight with a few hundred of my new best friends at Johnny Morgan's annual Good Ol' Boys political cookout in oxford, mississippi--and not the university part of oxford. The liquid of choice in johnny's barn is bud light. there are white paper tablecloths, peanuts and big hunks of cheese. A snowy old tv is airing fox news - and it's great, because I can't hear a word dick morris is saying. There's no wifi, so I'll be blogging by blackberry, as bloggers in johnny's barn always do.