Here we go: the debate! (live blogging)

I am on the couch, wearing my most over-the-top Obama shirt (the one Victor won't let me wear in public :-) and ready to go!!! All afternoon I've found it hard to concentrate on organic chemistry...

5:58pm - I didn't think that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann were being allowed to anchor live political events anymore, but they seem to be on right before and right after the debate. Interesting.

6:08 - McCain seems to be wandering a bit already in his first answer to the question, where does he stand on the bailout?

6:11 - Obama seems on top of his game tonight. Clear, focused, concise. Forceful. And much stronger than some any of the Democratic debates.

6:14 - McCain just said that we were the biggest exporter and the "biggest importer." ??? Importing is good, lol?

And now he is saying that "we Republicans came to Congress to change government and it changed us." That's right! WE=YOU, John McCain.

Now he is bringing up an earmark which spent money on moose DNA in Montana... and I'm quite certain Sarah Palin had a similar project in Alaska. :-)

McCain has now made three references to being old. Weird.

6:16 - Obama cites figures: earmarks amount to only $18 billion annually and notes that McCain's plan cuts taxes for the wealthy by $300 million a year.

6:18 - Now McCain is bring up corruption.

6:19 - Obama interrupts McCain as he begins to misrepresent Obama's plan to cut taxes.

6:22 - McCain just said "divident" when he meant "exemption" while talking about taxes.

Obama is clearly far better prepared than McCain... he's backing up everything he says and is keeping it focused on what matters to Main Streeet.

And Obama is reminding America that McCain wants to tax employer healthcare benefits.

6:24 - McCain just repeated his "dividend" mistake. ???

6:26 - I have a feeling McCain is now wishing he hadn't grandstanded on the debate and returned to Washington... he's not prepared. And that weird grin doesn't cover it.

6:29 - Lehrer just asked Obama and McCain about their fiscal priorities given the financial crisis. Obama gave a long list of clear priorities: education, our infrastructure, new energy sources, etc.. McCain just said "cut costs" and gave two examples: ethanol subsidies and bad defense contracts.

6:37 - McCain keeps saying he knows how to cut spending. But what evidence is there of that? Obama is pointing out the same thing: it's George W. Bush who has gone on this "orgy of spending" and McCain has voted with him 95% of the time.

6:39 - "What are the lessons of Iraq?" McCain seems to hesitate in answering and only comes up with "a bad strategy" may get in the way of success. He's been taking lessons from Palin, lol.

6:43 - McCain finally gets to mention The Surge and use it against Obama. And he's energized by it.

6:44 - Obama deftly deflects that old "committee issue" by pointing out that the Foreign Relations Committee handles the issue that McCain thinks should have been handled by Obama's subcommittee, calling it "inside baseball," and returns fire on McCain. He reminds McCain that the war began in 2003 and not not 2007.

6:48 - In my opinion, McCain hasn't laid a glove on Obama so far.

6:53 - Unlike Sarah Palin, McCain blinks a lot.

6:56 - First Read notes that Obama is wearing a flag pin but McCain isn't!

6:58 - McCain's approach to the debate: look to the past and play up his record. But he's not saying much about his judgment.

7:01 - McCain looks mad. I think Obama is getting under his skin... he just addressed McCain directly, and he is responding through gritted teeth!

7:06 - Obama responds to a question about Iran by pointing out that Iran is stronger today than five years ago and that our current policy has had exactly the opposite effect as what is desired.

7:07 - Obama: "This notion we have that not talking to people is punishing them is a mistake."

7:10 - Obama is hammering home on the foreign policy failures of the last eight years, such as North Korea.

7:14 - The debate is almost over, and Obama is still relaxed. McCain is uptight. Obama is referring to some of McCain's statements as "ridiculous."

7:21 - Yes, I'm wearing an Obama t-shirt. But Obama is just heads and away the more presidential of the two tonight. By comparison, McCain seems like a small man.

7:23 - Obama makes the point that we can't drill our way out of our energy situation and makes the connection between our economy, our national security, and global warming.

7:26 - McCain seems annoyed that his "long record" isn't enough for him to be winning this election.

7:27 - McCain says we have to make sure that we never torture a prisoner again yet he voted against a bill that would prevent the CIA from doing so.

7:33 - Obama: "There has never been a nation on earth that has seen its economy decline and yet maintain its military superiority."

7:34 - McCain wraps up by saying that Obama doesn't have the experience to be president and compares Obama to George W. Bush in terms of stubborness! LOL

7:35 - Obama casually mentions that his father was Kenyan (which explains the name :-) and tells the story that his father wrote letter after letter so that he could come to America. Obama wants to restore our standing in the world so that tomorrow's children view us as favorably.

7:36 - McCain: Reminds us he was a POW.

TONIGHT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT of the four debates (three presidential, one vice presidential). The first debate is normally the most watched, and that's likely especially the case this year with the current financial crisis. And Obama has simply outperformed McCain on this critical night.

Andrew Sullivan's comments here.