He hasn't called Obama uppity or "above it (us) all" or complained about Obama's Ivy League background.

I don't think McCain has any visceral uneasiness with Obama or with black people generally.

If this is supposed to be his strong debate format, then he's in trouble for round 3.

And really -- can he really not do anything better than basically recite his stump speech?

Eric Berry, I feel for you, I really do.

...the featured article under yours not only bears the byline of "Camille Paglia", the teaser indicates that we should not underestimate Sarah Palin's "smarts". Her presence on this site is your call, no?

Has McCain lost it? Probably, but glass houses, she among you who is without sine, motes and beams, etc.

Forgot the circumstance now, but he also referred to Obama as "this" (with a pointing hand) earlier.

That's the literal translation of "ese" (said aysay), disrepectfully when used in direct address. So at least he didn't do it right.

Outrageous. I cried out loud with my outrage.

Please America, do not vote for this man and his vacuous and vain running mate.

Yes, it can and WILL get worse if you vote for them.....

but it WILL get BETTER when you vote Obama/Biden.

In Hope!

on McClelland's article on Salon. Was it you or was it a staffer?

There are a lot of readers who would like to know the answer to that.

You may notice that there's some dangerous rhetoric going around right now. It would be nice if you admit some responsibilty so you would the sort of credibility that would enable you to raise the level of discussion going forward.

You hit the nail on the head. That really stuck out for me too. "That one..."

What a crotchety old asshole McCain is. Talk about elitist! LOL

Stupid old motherfucking honky.

John McCain refused to shake the hand of "that one"!

Reminds me that McCain was one of the last US politicians to oppose MLK Day.

Pathetic!

I just figured he couldn't remember his name...or that he's a Senator, or any other signifier he could use...McCain really isn't in the best shape..all the more reason to fear Palin....

GET OFF MY LAWN!!

How many of you want to start taking bets on when Sarah Palin will utter the N-word on the campaign trail. I'm betting it will happen the day after Obama wins the next debate.

when Obama offered to shake his hand.

Classless.

He's the most low class presidential candidate I think I have ever seen.

I want to see video of that disgraceful, classless moment all over the internet tomorrow. If anyone has a link to it, let me know.

The group I was with, made up of college students, looked at each other in disbelief when he said "that one"...and with the building of intolerance McCain's campaign is championing, this is quickly becoming scary.

"You people," when speaking of a self-identified separate group.

Ick.

Rule: Chug each time you are patronized by John McCain as "My Friend."

When will Palin utter it?

Never. They won't let her deviate from the prepared script.

McCain's disdain for Obama seems calculated. Like if we don't get the white racist vote to turn out we are really going to get slaughtered.

The moderation was awful, making them both look bad to a point. Brokaw allowed way too many talking points answers for the first 60 minutes. I almost felt sorry for the candidates. It seemed like both wanted to say, "Sorry folks, but this shitty redundant question leaves me free to repeat my talking points, and I would rather do that than take a chance on something spontaneous."

The doddering old fool, John McCain, not finishing sentences, making outlandish accusations, stating falsehoods, whispering "my friends" a hundred times... my gosh I couldn't countenance four years of such McCain chicanery! Did he actually refer to a fellow Senator and his Presidential opposition as "that one"?

Tom Brokaw issues all these reprimands and time reminders when it was Senator Obama's turn to speak, and then chuckles at McCain's idiotic "we didn't hear the fine amount" snipe. McCain looked like a cardboard cutout of himself, one wingtip in the grave, staggering around the stage proclaiming Ronald Reagan his hero.

Please, people. There needs to be an extremely bright, self-effacing statesman in the White House, someone we can trust like Barack Obama, someone we can admire like Barack Obama, someone who when we go to bed at night we know has the moral courage and keen insight and the ability to consider more than ways to feather his own nest when making crucial decisions affecting you and me, your family and mine, our beloved country. We need to unite behind the gentleman who will relate to the history books the story of the greatest President of the United States: Barack Obama. We have this tremendous opportunity within our grasp. Our nation's voters must elect Obama. ELECT OBAMA.

McCain's post-debate behavior emphasizes his belief that Obama is a "that one." Mingling with the crowd after the debate, Obama extended his hand to shake McCain's and McCain TURNED HIS BACK so that Cindy had to awkwardly step forward to respond to Obama's hand shake. With that move, McCain made his disdain for Obama clear (as opposed to his just having a senior moment and forgetting Obama's name, or perhaps a battery failure in his hearing aid...)

McCain referred to a fellow U.S. Senator as if he were a misbehaving child. For whatever reason, he has decided to behave rudely and with contempt toward his opponent. It is not attractive, and although I've never found him to be someone I admired, I could respect him. Not any longer -- he doesn't even have the common decency (or common sense) to respect his opponent, no matter how much he disagrees with him.

I think you are dead-on with this point...and this is something to keep in mind when we chuckle along with Tina Fey and Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert.

These two (McCain and Palin) are not even remotely funny, and are striking chords with people in numbers we should fear.