Morning Links: Dow keeps dropping; race keeps plodding

This guy finally got his scalp open early this morning.

So the Dow is down 300 today, which is actually only half as bad as yesterday (but give it time!). That's making some Republican supporters angry, especially because they're losing -- heck, even the made-up people are supporting Obama.

Oh, and the Palin trooper report will probably come out today (and it doesn't look good), so the "Palin campaign" released their own report first -- and unsurprisingly, she's cleared of all wrongdoing. Well, I guess that's that.

One final note -- in the time it took me to write this, the Dow dropped 75 points. Now go burn your money.

ALSO:

Barack Obama is taking over your TV, ala Ross Perot -- except maybe Obama will use PowerPoint.

A Medill student tells us to all stop laughing at our politicians. Somebody please tell him we're laughing to keep from crying.

And on that note:


(Photo credit: Richard Drew/Associated Press)

Morning Links: The morning after

The debate is over, and the scorecards are in: both guys did OK. All of the headlines are about the economy, of course -- although does it say something about us when we think it's important they didn't screw up that much? (P.S. They did both stretch the truth, with McCain outpacing Obama.)

So now what happens? Well, the massive tear-down process begins at Belmont, which normally would take half the time as the setup without our newfound floodwaters. The school will have to totally re-sod the soccer field where the media tent sits, and classes will start back tomorrow.

And as for the candidates, they'll be at Hofstra University one week from today for their final debate, this time on domestic policy. Maybe by that time, the economy will have hit rock bottom.

ALSO:

Tom Brokaw wasn't taking any guff, although some thought he came off a little rude.

(Photo credit: Billy Kingsley/The Tennessean)

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)

McCain arrives for rehearsal; Obama expected soon

A little bit of old news, but McCain arrived a couple of hours ago for his rehearsal in the debate hall; Obama's expected to be here in about a half-hour. Click here for more.

P.S. The media tent is still pretty empty:

She'll show you: Town hall participant threatens to vote for Nader

East Nashville resident Laura Clifford wanted to be a part of the town hall debate pretty badly, especially when she heard a report about how the audience would be selected one night last week.

Less than an hour later, Clifford got her wish.

Clifford, 61, received a call from the Gallup Organization asking for the youngest male in her household, and then the oldest woman. When the voice on the other line asked who Clifford was voting for, she said she was leaning toward McCain — but her willingness to be swayed to Obama is what got her a seat on the debate hall floor.

“I don’t really fit either place,” Clifford said. “My tendencies are more toward Democratic things except for the pro-life issue, and I’m strongly pro-life, so that throws me strongly to the Republicans.”

Clifford said her vote lies mainly with her pro-life stance, which for her also includes her position against the death penalty, support for stricter gun control and a desire for limited military involvement abroad.

Despite all of that, however, she said she’s thinking about submitting a question about when the candidates would intervene in Iran if it began to make strides toward nuclear weaponry.

Clifford said she's as excited to meet moderator Tom Brokaw as she is to meet the candidates, who might have to work extra hard for her vote. After all, she said, she could just decide not to vote for either of them.

“I’m thinking about voting for Ralph Nader as a protest vote,” she said.

Morning Links: Welcome to the Jungle

Welcome one and all, to the media circus that will soon become Belmont University. Everyone seems happy and smiling this morning, although that could just be delirium. I'm camped out in the Media Filing Center (aka gargantuan tent) this morning amidst a sea of empty chairs, wondering who's going to be sitting on either side of me later today. I'll let you know if I meet anyone from the Fiji press, or if CBS' Bob Schieffer strolls in with his guitar slung over his back.

Shameless plugs: Here's where you need to go for debate watch parties, what to watch for from the candidates, and where to go for everything else. I will link to these pages 435,000 times in the next two days.

In Political-land, which voters are important: young or old? Apparently both! Why? Because they're both broke, and Obama wants to blame McCain for it. (Although apparently Hillary Clinton is still finding money.)

One final note: After all these "new Ole Miss" stories, there seems to be quite a dearth of "new Belmont" stories. Maybe tomorrow?

(Photo credit: Alan Poizner/For The Tennessean)

Gore fundraiser may convince Obama to stop by

From colleague Theo Emery:

Al and Tipper Gore may finally get the chance to open the doors of their home to Sen. Barack Obama.

On the night of Tuesday’s debate at Belmont University, the former vice president is hosting a $2,500 per person/$5,000 per couple, “post-debate dessert reception” at the Gore residence, according to a copy of the invitation.

The event benefiting the Obama Victory Fund is clearly intended for deep-pocketed donors. The invitation specifies that the first $2,300 each individual contribution will go to the Obama for America fund. The next $28,500 of each person’s contribution, the invitation says, will go to the Democratic National Committee.

The reception is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. There’s talk in Democratic circles that Obama may come by after the debate, but there was no word from the campaign on Wednesday afternoon that that was the case.

Over the summer, the Gores had set in motion tentative plans for a Nashville fundraiser for Obama, but the efforts sputtered until now.

Obama’s arrival in Nashville for the debate will mark the first time that he has made a public appearance in Tennessee in over a year.

Polls have generally put McCain ahead of Obama by a wide margin in Tennessee; the most recent, a Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of 500 likely voters, gave John McCain at 58 percent to 39 percent edge over Obama, a 19-point lead. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Morning Links: It's beginning to look a lot like Debate Day

We're less than a week out from the presidential debate here, and it's getting pretty obvious. This banner was going up outside the Curb this morning, the security fence is snaking its way down to Belmont Boulevard, and there are now bathrooms on the tennis courts. Belmont President Bob Fisher has been waiting eight years for this day, and unless the candidates decide they have to rush back to Washington again, it looks like it's going to happen.

Outside Nashville, debate news centers on tomorrow's VP tangle, and as expected, Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin is getting most of the attention. Meanwhile, anybody hear about moderator Gwen Ifill, who'll be gaming through the debate with a broken ankle? Give her a Klondike bar.

Also:

Gov. Bredesen tells everybody to stop all their bickering.

Billy Joel and The Boss know who they're voting for.

Mason-Dixon gives McCain a 16-point lead in Tenn., but Quinnipiac says Obama is surging in the battleground states.

Bredesen to host civility forum

Gov. Phil Bredesen thinks political candidates sling too much mud these days, and he intends to do something about it.

Bredesen and First Lady Andrea Conte, along with former Sen. Howard Baker, will host a forum on civility in politics on Oct. 6, the day before the Belmont debate. It’s a topic Bredesen addressed in a similar forum in January.

“I’ve always been a believer that people who run for office, whether they have D’s or R’s after their names, are all Americans,” Bredesen said. “I understand it’s a contact sport, and you throw some punches, but I think that many times it has gotten way out of hand and very, very personal.”

Panelists at the forum will include Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman; Bill Nichols, Politico managing editor; former Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.), president of the Association of American Publishers; and Mark Whitaker, senior vice president and Washington bureau chief for NBC News.

Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw — perhaps best known for his question on the death penalty that helped sink Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential race — will moderate the forum.

The forum, which is free and open to the public, will be at 1 p.m. at Belmont’s Troutt Theater.

As for the debate itself, Bredesen said he hoped Barack Obama would come out swinging — but at his opponent’s policies.

“I hope to see specifics of his own, explaining the way he wants to conduct the presidency,” Bredesen said. I would love to see hard-hitting criticisms of Senator McCain’s decisions. I would not want to see criticisms of Senator McCain as an individual.”

Memo to Gallup: Good luck finding those "undecideds"

The presidential debate next week at Belmont will have an audience composed of about 80 to 120 Middle Tennesseans whom the Gallup Organization identifies as undecided voters.

They might have to make a few extra phone calls, according to the latest MTSU Poll, which found 25 undecided likely voters out of a sample of 357 Tennesseans -- a whopping 7 percent. (The figures grows to 10 percent for all Tennessee adults polled.)

Unsurprisingly, McCain-Palin leads Obama-Biden 48-36 in the state, and Obama leads 59-28 in Nashville. The economy and the energy/environment ranked as the most important issues to poll participants, while abortion, gay marriage and race relations were at the bottom.

Click here to read the full poll results.

Morning Links: Let the insanity begin

The chaos begins in earnest this morning at Belmont, eight days before the presidential debate. You might have noticed an 8-foot security fence along 15th Avenue South (I'll post a photo later), or the security guard posted at the entrance to the parking garage, or crews frantically working to repave sidewalks ... and yes, this will be going on all week.

Meanwhile, in the political world, after all the talking heads said nobody won last Friday's debate, other Americans said Obama won, although the post-debate polls aren't out yet. Meanwhile, the facts were checked, and both candidates were found lacking.

Also:

When your VP candidates are described as "loquacious" and "still-underexposed," well, you might not know what to expect at Thursday's debate.

From the weekend: McCain's least favorite media outlet tweaks him on gambling ties. Hey, at least here we're fair and balanced.

The people we actually elected plan to vote today on how to spend $700 billion of our money.

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)

Just when Ole Miss began to breathe ...

... the politicians became politicians again. What does the latest bailout impasse mean for tomorrow's scheduled debate? Apparently nothing new. We'll see if John McCain shows up in Oxford, or if Barack Obama gets some town-hall practice.

Programming note: Tomorrow's posts may be light as I work on a story for the dead-tree edition. Of course, if McCain appears on Rachel Ray, all bets are off.

The most damning evidence of the media's liberal bias

... is in our nation's crossword puzzles. (Politico)

Morning Links: Late-night special

Part of John McCain's decision to suspend his campaign included canceling on David Letterman, whose show was scheduled to tape just a few hours after the announcement. Letterman, who earlier this week had Chris Rock calling out Bill Clinton, didn't take the cancellation lightly, especially after finding out McCain was then doing an interview with Katie Couric at the same time as Letterman's taping. Below, you can watch the entire skewering, as well as Letterman's second thrust -- having MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann on in McCain's place:



Now, the most interesting thing Olbermann says is that McCain's move to delay Friday's Ole Miss debate was a ploy to get the vice-presidential debate canceled, and thereby continue Sarah Palin's media protection plan. (Palin also showed up with Couric, and reviews were not kind.)

Being of a particular political mindset, Olbermann doesn't lend himself as the most credible source on McCain's campaign ... until McCain adviser Sen. Lindsey Graham proposed almost the exact scenario Olbermann discussed. Under Graham's proposal, the first presidential debate would be moved to Oct. 2 at Washington University in St. Louis, and the VP debate would be rescheduled and held at Ole Miss. If the Ole Miss folks weren't happy yesterday, they'll be livid if this goes through.

Also:

Bill Clinton makes sure he mentions Barack Obama's name to Jon Stewart.

Ole Miss keeps chugging along, as does Belmont.

Obama: "More important than ever" to hold debate UPDATED

Obama tells McCain: Debate on.

ALSO: Belmont's Fisher "stunned" by McCain proposal.
Ole Miss soldiers on.
Some local debate parties, if that whole debate thing happens.

List of Ole Miss debate watch parties

Here’s a list of Ole Miss debate watch parties I have so far; e-mail me at ccsledge@tennessean.com to get yours included. Remember, the debate starts at 8 p.m. CDT Friday.

Belmont University
Where: Belmont Heights Baptist Church Sanctuary, 2100 Belmont Blvd.
Time: 7 p.m.
Hosts: Belmont debate coach Jason Stahl, political scientist Vaughn May
Accompanying events: Belmont College Republicans and Young Democrats will host a roundtable discussion after the debate.
Contact: debate08@mail.belmont.edu

Lipscomb University
Where: Shamblin Theatre on Lipscomb’s campus, 3901 Granny White Pike
Time: 8 p.m.
Hosts: Tennessean publisher emeritus John Seigenthaler, foreign policy historian Howard Jones
Contact: Janel Shoun, janel.shoun@lipscomb.edu

Middle Tennessee Ole Miss Club
Where: The Closing Bell — Wall Street Pub, 1524 Demonbreun St
Time: 7 p.m.
Host: Middle Tennessee Ole Miss Club
Accompanying events: Trivia before the debate
Contact: Martin Michael, martinmichael@comcast.net

Music Row 4 McCain
Where: Sam’s Sports Bar, 1803 21st Avenue South
Time: 7 p.m.
Host: Music Row 4 McCain, a grassroots organization of songwriters and producers for McCain-Palin
Contact: Bob Schwartz, 615-419-9615

Nashville Democratic Headquarters
Where: Nashville Democratic HQ, 907 Rosa Parks Blvd.
Time: 6 p.m.
Host: Victory 2008 Campaign
Accompanying events: Obama Tennessee Director Jerry Martin speaks at 7 p.m.
Contact: David Shankle, 615-244-1244

Morning Links: Free Sarah Palin!

Looks like David Kernell dodged his first bullet when he wasn't indicted by a federal grand jury over accusations that he accessed Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail. But he's not in the clear yet.

And neither is Palin, if CNN's Campbell Brown has anything to do about it. Brown called McCain out last night for Palin's insulation from reporters. Brown tells McCain's campaign to free Palin from the "chauvinistic chains you're binding her with." I saw Brown's manifesto while at dinner, and even with the TV muted I could tell she was hacked off.

Also:

The daily poll roundup has Obama ahead nationally, but the battleground states are still predictably close.

Joe Biden maybe kinda sorta mixes up Depression-era presidents.

Hey look, another "new Ole Miss" story! I won't say I told you so ... but I told you so.

(Photo credit: Henny Ray Abrams/Associated Press)