Current hacks the debate, I flee in horror

I decided to watch tonight's presidential debate between U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John McCain on Current, which is calling its coverage "Hack the Debate" and includes viewer comments at the bottom of the screen a la Twitter.

Some early comments:

Gungadin: I love Tom Brokaw

dland: Will the Town Hall format facor McMaverick the way conventional wisdom says it will?

LucasJ: I want to see Obama fight hard.

Sarah_Haskins: Uncomfortable chairs - brought to you by Ikea.

Rorris: Tom Brokaw starts off by increasing my stress level about the economy.

Ok, I'm giving up on this format already. I find it difficult to pay attention to what the candidates are saying while reading the viewer comments on screen. I found the CNN charts much less distracting so I think I'll switch back to that.

Now that I can pay attention, I can take note of the Town Hall format, which is different from the earlier debate. But a lot of reading I did today suggested the candidates couldn't stick to their talking points, but at 9:12 p.m., that's exactly what they're doing.

9:13 p.m.; McCain is talking tough about Obama's "cronies" and suggesting Obama "took a hike" on the economy, This format seems to emphasize McCain's grumpy old man qualities. It doesn't benefit him for viewers to see him move about the stage in a stooped, Mr. Burns-like matter. Obama is hitting back but not too hard. He's still being somewhat deferential. Not as much as in the first debate, but he still comes across as cool and not angry.

9:18 p.m.: It is interesting to hear the members of the public attempt to ask questions ("How can we trust either of you with out money when both parties created this crisis?" asked a flustered redhead). I feel sorry for them because I can imagine how nervous they would be. But by letting the public ask questions, there's no opportunity for follow-up.

9:21: McCain says "reformer." Drink! (OK, I got that one from a suggestion in the opening moments of the debate on Current.) 

9:24: Moderator Tom Brokaw asks a follow-up question about which of three priorities (health care, entitlements, energy) he'll pursue first, but McCain dodges with "You can work on all three at once." Interesting. Last week he had to suspend his campaign because he couldn't campaign and deal with the financial mess at once. Obama's answer to the same question doesn't rank the three items as Brokaw requested either. Wait, no, he actually is ranking three things but not the three Brokaw brought up. He snuck education in somehow.

9:28: Brokaw warns about time slipping away, "We'll have a bigger deficit if we don't get this under control."

9:29: Good Internet question from a child in Chicago about why Americans have not been asked to sacrifice. McCain says some government projects will have to be scrapped but he doesn't address how average Americans should sacrifice. Obama says a missed opportunity after 9-11 was when President Bush suggested we shop. "That wasn't the call to service" we needed to hear. He says every person should think about how they expend energy and how to save energy.

9:35: "Nailing down Sen. Obama's proposals is like nailing Jell-O to a wall," McCain says.

9:39: "The Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one," Obama says in response to McCain claims about Obama's tax plan. McCain can be heard making heavy sighs. Obama uses this question to respond to McCain rather than to respond to the question directly.

9:47: The unique nature of this debate seems to have gone by the wayside as Brokaw offers follow-ups and the candidates ignore lights that tell them when time's up. Brokaw chastises them. New drinking game: Drink when McCain says, "My friends."

10:19: "I'm just the hired help here," Brokaw says when Obama wants to follow up on McCain claims. The format of his debate is officially tossed in the trash. McCain's attempts at making little jokes continuously fall flat to an embarrassing degree. I'm not sure if Obama's tougher approach than in the first debate is working for him or against him.

10:20: This debate is giving me a headache.

10:23: I switched back to Current's "Hack the Debate." Mostly the commentary is a mix of partisan patter and bad jokes -- some of them are funny but I probably can't get away with repeating tjem here -- with a few suggested questions thrown in. "I want a president whose VP is clear on the history of dinosuars too," posted one woman.

10:30: Last question: "What don't you know and how will you learn it?" Great question. Too bad neither of them will admit to any deficits lest the other sieze on it for a future campaign commercial.