Making some noise

From Tennessean reporter Michael Cass:

Two of the people I interviewed at the Ryman Auditorium after the debate ended last night were Jerry and Jane Armour. Jerry, a psychotherapist, said he was there to observe the crowd as much as anything else. He found the audience "not as excitable as I thought they would be."

"They were pretty civil, and I was sort of proud of 'em," Jerry said.

But while they may have been on good behavior, the people at the historic venue got to make a lot more noise than the town-hall audience under the watchful eyes of Tom Brokaw and the Commission on Presidential Debates (though those folks did make their feelings known in quieter ways).

"I think we had more fun here than they did at the Curb Center," said Jerry's wife, Jane, a Belmont alumna. "It was a great experience. We could react over here."

Debate links galore

Tonight's debate was a fairly generic affair, and if even the spinsters agree on that point, then it must be true. But if you're really in an argumentative mood, then look no further than your Average Joes.

I'll try to write a more thorough recap tomorrow, but for now, you can check out my debate day in review here and my debate night in review here.

ALSO: Check out debate photos here.

(Photo credit: Billy Kingsley/The Tennessean)

What I saw from my seat

Tuesday’s presidential debate at Belmont University was a carefully orchestrated affair, one that provided limited interaction between the candidates and the town hall audience that was intended to make this event a barometer of what the nation wants from its next president.

But from inside the Curb Event Center, there was an audience that was unafraid to react to candidates’ responses, or their lack thereof – something that didn’t always show up on camera.

In addition to the chuckles moderator Tom Brokaw drew when he repeatedly addressed time constraints on candidate responses, reactions from audience members ranged from holding head in hands to chuckling at candidates’ responses and squabbles.

Those reactions might have been even less subdued had it not been for the freezing temperatures in the debate hall, which had many audience members wrapped in shawls and suit jackets as they blew into their hands throughout the debate. Staff member from the Commission on Presidential Debates warned reporters that the hall would be about 65 degrees, but the hall could have been 10 degrees cooler easily.

Before the debate, many audience members tried to see how many national political figures they could pick out of the crowd seated directly below the network camera platform. Al and Tipper Gore received special recognition from the CPD and were treated to a standing ovation. Other notable guests included former Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson, who chatted it up with Mitt Romney, another Republican hopeful this year, seated in the row behind him. Former Titan Eddie George had a prime seat next to the Gores.

After the cameras turned off, Sen. Barack Obama and wife Michelle stayed on the debate floor, chatting with town hall members while taking photos and signing autographs. Sen. John McCain shook hands with some town hall members immediately after the debate had concluded before leaving the debate floor.

(Photo credit: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean)

One final note

Folks, I'm going to be leaving you now, but don't despair: Check out http://tennessean.com for news and continual updates during the debate.

Oh, and one final note: If anyone ever tells you that a local blog never did anyone any good, you can always point to yours truly as a shining example.

Because I'm headed to the debate hall.

The Belmont 300

The final tally on student tickets to the debate: 300, according to Belmont President Bob Fisher. That's only six times as many as the school thought they would receive.

"We lobbied hard, and the [Commission on Presidential Debates] really pushed the limits for us," Fisher said.

(Those students include my brother, but I'm already over it.)

Belmont also invited 40 VIPs, Fisher said, although he later regretted calling them as such. "If anyone asks, they were number 42," Fisher said.

Among those VIPs I've been told so far are definitely in the hall: Gov. Phil Bredesen, Belmont uber-donor Mike Curb ... and Ludye Wallace.

What the town hall-ers should expect

Here's a little bit of leftover video from yesterday with Janet Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. Brown addresses what the town hall folks will go through today, and how the economy could dominate the conversation (for more, check out our YouTube page):

Your reading material, Mr. Brokaw

The Commission on Presidential Debates assured us yesterday that moderator Tom Brokaw would be reading all of the questions submitted through the Internet in order to choose a select few. Well, I hope he can speed-read, because he has six million.

CPD co-chairman on Nashville

Commission on Presidential Debates co-chair Frank Fahrenkopf talked this morning about Nashville and what he expects from town hall participants Tuesday. You can check out more at http://youtube.com/tnelection.

Inside the debate hall

Here's a sneak peek inside the debate hall this morning, with Belmont volunteers serving as mock town hall participants. The best question I heard: "Are you allergic to shellfish?"

(When the camera pans to the right, you'll see a glimpse of Bill Schneider of CNN.)

The devil's in the details

From colleague Michael Cass:

Bill Phillips has been around a big political event or two.

Phillips, 64, managed the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988. Last month the former Republican National Committee chief of staff — who also worked in President George H.W. Bush’s administration — helped maintain order backstage at the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Phillips, who was Nashville’s deputy mayor from 1999 to 2007, has had a consulting contract with Belmont University since January to help the school get ready for Tuesday’s presidential debate. He sat down over coffee with a Tennessean reporter this week to talk about preparations for the university’s and city’s moment on the national stage.

Click here to read the full story.

Photos of the Day: Signs of an impending debate

As mentioned earlier today, Belmont security has tightened pretty significantly today and will continue to do so this week. Above is a shot of 15th Avenue South, through the chain link fence that runs the length of the campus, from Acklen Avenue to Bernard Avenue. The fence will also show up on Belmont Boulevard next to the campus, according to debate coordinator Pamela Johnson. There's already a newly erected warning of what exactly you'll be getting yourself into if you venture down the boulevard in the next week:





On the campus itself, the school's recreation center (which sits in the same complex as the arena where the debate will be held) has been shut down, and the weight machines have been removed from their rooms. It's pretty much a ghost town in the student center, even though Fall Break isn't until next week.

In the debate hall itself, the floor has been laid and drapes hung to create the necessary partitions for the "set," but there hasn't been one two-by-four appear yet for the stage. Johnson said the Commission on Presidential Debates hopes to have the stage, which will resemble this one, completed by Saturday.

Also, there are a lot of guys in suits walking around. They look serious.

McCain is going to the debate

Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain will attend the presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., this evening as Congress continues to work toward a $700 billion financial bailout plan.

"Everything is proceeding as planned," said Scott Warner, spokesman for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which will oversee the debate at the University of Mississippi tonight. "Nothing changes: the format is exactly the same, everything is exactly the same."

Click here for the full story.

Morning Links: Tick-tock, tick-tock

That's the sound of time slowly crawling toward the Ole Miss debate/non-debate, where we could see an actual exchange between John McCain and Barack Obama, or we could see Obama get the greatest free advertising ever. McCain seems closer to attending, even if the bailout plans are still being hammered out. The CPD says they should know by noon; the drop dead time is 5 p.m.

If Obama shows up alone and proceeds with a town hall format, that does two things to the Belmont debate: 1. It presumably increases its relevance given that it would become the first actual presidential debate (assuming both men attend that one), but 2. It somewhat decreases the appeal of the town hall format, because voters now will have seen both candidates, albeit separately, in a town hall setting.

And of course, if everything does go down as originally scheduled, how prepared will the candidates be after this week's hoopla?

Tick-tock, tick-tock ...

(Photo credit: Ron Edmonds/Associated Press)

Question of the Day: How does the ticket lottery work?

We'll be bringing you a question each day from Belmont students and members of the community about different aspects of the debate, and the answer from Belmont. Today's question comes from Belmont freshman Sara Hissner:



The lottery, which was held last week, drew about 1,200 students who were randomly assigned a number, according to Belmont vice president Bo Thomas. Those students won't know if they're selected until just a couple of days before the debate, when the Commission on Presidential Debates hands over any available tickets -- probably less than 50 -- to Belmont.

Hissner, who said she has a number in the 600s, had heard that the numbers drawn might have another number added to them -- for instance, the number 20 could have a "2" placed before it, meaning the student assigned number 220 would receive a ticket. Thomas said he had not heard anything to that effect, and expected the tickets to go in sequential order to students, beginning with the lucky person assigned number 1. The smallest number I've heard so far from a student? 25.

If you have a question about the debate, e-mail me at ccsledge@tennessean.com.

Belmont president "stunned" by McCain proposal

Belmont President Bob Fisher says he can’t imagine what Ole Miss officials are going through after John McCain announced this afternoon he wanted to delay Friday’s debate to work on the financial crisis.

“I was stunned,” Fisher said. “I really feel badly for the people at Ole Miss. That was my first instinct, because I know how much work they have put into it.”

Fisher said he has not heard from the Commission on Presidential Debates, which oversees both the Ole Miss debate and the Oct. 7 presidential debate at Belmont. Belmont will continue its preparation plans as usual unless the commission says something different, Fisher said.

“It’s amazingly complicated what happens for these debates,” Fisher said. “We knew from the beginning that we weren’t in control of this process, and there’s an additional piece of proof.”

Ole Miss: "We've put massive amounts of money into this"

Officials at Ole Miss are, well, apoplectic over John McCain's call to delay Friday's debate. Andrew Mullins, executive assistant to Chancellor Robert C. Khayat, just told me the school had no advance notice from the campaign, and said he learned about the proposal from CNN.

"The [Commission on Presidential Debates] said keep working like it's going to occur," Mullins said. "We’ve put massive amounts of money into this thing. We've been preparing for six months."

The school is reportedly spending $5 million on the debate, which already had its topic switched from domestic policy to foreign policy. When I asked Mullins if he'd rather the debate stay scheduled for Friday, he responded: "That’s an understatement, Colby. Good Lord."

Defending our right to drink

The Anheuser-Busch folks just sent me a nice letter inviting me to get to know them, their new Belgian owners and their "longstanding support of the U.S. election process and our latest social responsibility efforts" during the election. And I can watch hilarious beer-themed ads! From the presser:

"For the fifth straight presidential election, Anheuser-Busch is proud to sponsor the Commission on Presidential Debates. If you or someone at your organization is attending the debates, we invite you to be our guest at the Anheuser-Busch hospitality areas at each of the four debate sites.

We hope our hospitality area will provide a welcome opportunity to relax with some great food and ice-cold beverages and connect with colleagues and friends. If you’re looking for a little entertainment, you’ll be able to watch some of our latest television spots and enter a drawing for a chance to win a Budweiser fire pit, perfect for outdoor gatherings this fall."

Wait ... what kind of "ice-cold beverages"?

Submit a debate question at new MySpace site

From Ryan Underwood:

Have a burning question to put to the candidates when they swoop into Nashville for a town hall debate at Belmont University Oct. 7? Now you have the (tiniest sliver of a) chance to do so. The Commission on President today launched MyDebates.org, a co-branded site with MySpace that lets visitors submit their debate questions. It also offers an issues quiz, video clips and a Cliffs Notes version of the candidates' voting records.