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| | ===Vice Presidential Debate=== | | ===Vice Presidential Debate=== |
| | There was one vice presidential debate held on October 2nd, at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO. The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill. Palin did much better than expected, but Biden was also in top form. No clear winner emerged and the poll numbers remained largely unchanged, a strategic win for the Democratic ticket that only had to maintain their lead to win the election. | | There was one vice presidential debate held on October 2nd, at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO. The debate was moderated by Gwen Ifill. Palin did much better than expected, but Biden was also in top form. No clear winner emerged and the poll numbers remained largely unchanged, a strategic win for the Democratic ticket that only had to maintain their lead to win the election. |
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| − | ===Debate Drinking Game===
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| − | Some political pundits have noted the ability of alcohol to increase the fun of this most important function of the democratic political process. Americans everywhere who wish to enjoy a greater feeling of participation in the debate will want to try this fun drinking game.
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| − | Take a drink when John Sidney McCain does one of the following:
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| − | * Refers to himself as a 'maverick' or 'reformer'
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| − | * Says 'my friends'
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| − | * Attempts humor
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| − | * Uses a non-sequitur (i.e. "We're not rifle shots here, we're Americans!")
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| − | Take a drink when Barack Hussein Obama II does one of the following:
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| − | * Says "Now look..." or "Now listen..."
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| − | * Links Bush and McCain
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| − | * Says "folks"
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| − | * Refers to John McCain's statement that "the fundamentals of the economy are sound."
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| − | Take a drink when either candidate does one of the following:
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| − | * Refers to "change"
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| − | * Refers to "Main Street"
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| | ==Third parties and Independents== | | ==Third parties and Independents== |
| | ===Libertarian party=== | | ===Libertarian party=== |
| | The [[Libertarian Party]] selected former Representative [[Bob Barr]] of [[Georgia]] as its 2008 presidential candidate on May 25, 2008.<ref>http://www.lpconvention.org/</ref> Former Democratic candididate [[Mike Gravel]] sought the Libertarian nomination but lost to Barr.<ref> http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ </ref> | | The [[Libertarian Party]] selected former Representative [[Bob Barr]] of [[Georgia]] as its 2008 presidential candidate on May 25, 2008.<ref>http://www.lpconvention.org/</ref> Former Democratic candididate [[Mike Gravel]] sought the Libertarian nomination but lost to Barr.<ref> http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/05/25/libertarians-pick-barr-as-presidential-nominee/ </ref> |
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| | Barr has, on his campaign website, linked to a proposed Libertarian strategy laid out by a member of his campaign staff. Although Barr has not officially claimed this as his strategy, the link appears to be a tacit endorsement. The strategy is called the "gold states" strategy. Instead of waging a 50-state campaign with the aim of securing 270 electoral votes and an outright electoral college win, Barr would focus on about 18-20 states where neither Obama or McCain has strong support. Winning that number of states could net Barr from 180-200 electoral votes, and would exceed either Obama or McCain's number and prevent either of them from reaching 270. Under US Constitution Amendment 12, with no candidate having an electoral vote majority, the election would be thrown into the House of Representatives, which would have to choose the president from the top three electoral vote getters. At this stage, Barr could argue that as the top electoral vote recipient, he should become the President, and might draw support from conservative Democrats displeased with Obama's positions, and from Republicans who dislike McCain. | | Barr has, on his campaign website, linked to a proposed Libertarian strategy laid out by a member of his campaign staff. Although Barr has not officially claimed this as his strategy, the link appears to be a tacit endorsement. The strategy is called the "gold states" strategy. Instead of waging a 50-state campaign with the aim of securing 270 electoral votes and an outright electoral college win, Barr would focus on about 18-20 states where neither Obama or McCain has strong support. Winning that number of states could net Barr from 180-200 electoral votes, and would exceed either Obama or McCain's number and prevent either of them from reaching 270. Under US Constitution Amendment 12, with no candidate having an electoral vote majority, the election would be thrown into the House of Representatives, which would have to choose the president from the top three electoral vote getters. At this stage, Barr could argue that as the top electoral vote recipient, he should become the President, and might draw support from conservative Democrats displeased with Obama's positions, and from Republicans who dislike McCain. |