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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Slog Steel Cage Match!

posted by on September 24 at 16:00 PM

The liveblog is below, but first, if you haven’t already, acquaint yourselves with our debaters:

In the left corner, debating in favor of Barack Obama, Will Erdmann, 26, a concierge at the Best Western Executive Inn in downtown Seattle. He goes by “Homo Will” in the comments.

obama-corner.jpg

And in the right corner, debating in favor of John McCain, will be Larry Kaye, 48, son of an Army infantryman, uncle of a Marine, employee at a non-profit cancer research center in Seattle. He goes by “lark” in the comments.

mccain-corner.jpg

Here we go:

RSS icon Comments

1

ah, what a great way to spend the last hour at work!

Posted by angelika | September 24, 2008 4:05 PM
2

Zzzzzzzzzz.

Posted by 4:11 | September 24, 2008 4:12 PM
3

Will is sexy AND a fast typist!

Posted by Mr Fuzzy | September 24, 2008 4:17 PM
4

i suggest we all buy will a drink this friday during the debate that I hope follows through.

Will, you are amazing

Posted by angelika | September 24, 2008 4:22 PM
5

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Posted by michael strangeways | September 24, 2008 4:28 PM
6

Nice idea, but yawn.

Posted by jackie treehorn | September 24, 2008 4:28 PM
7

yo fuck you guys, this sucks! you never approve any of my comments. maybe they aren't getting through cuz my internet sucks, but i'm gonna go ahead and blame you

Posted by brian | September 24, 2008 4:37 PM
8

I know I said this on the previous thread but especially given today's news, Larry should be given major underdawg rep.

Posted by mackro mackro | September 24, 2008 4:50 PM
9

Palin doesn't need qualifications, she's popular.

Posted by yucca flower | September 24, 2008 4:53 PM
10

I have to say that Larry was a pretty weak McCain supporter (Roe v. Wade and Sarah Palin, for example) and also not as technically savvy as Will. Next time, get a young republican who can keep up with things...

But Larry was a nice guy. He'll probably vote Obama by the time the election rolls around.

Posted by jesus christ | September 24, 2008 5:01 PM
11

John McCain is no longer ready to be President. Simply put, he's a weak old man who is in failing health, and knows it. He just wants this last chance at immortality. It's really quite sad, when you think about it.

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, lacks the intellectual capacity to be President, or even Vice-President. It would be like making me Vice-President.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | September 24, 2008 5:04 PM
12

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Posted by w7ngman | September 24, 2008 5:04 PM
13

Next time bring the crazy. Reasonable people make for a boring debate.

Posted by keshmeshi | September 24, 2008 5:04 PM
14

Wait. I said that Ugly Betty was on tonight. I'm totally a day off.

Posted by Balt-O-Matt | September 24, 2008 5:04 PM
15

This looks like it was a steel-cage pillowfight.

Posted by Vasya | September 24, 2008 5:06 PM
16

Hey, thanks for everything guys. I wanted to get into a more in-depth debate, but poor Larry just couldn't keep up. If we do a steel cage match again, and the republicans want a rematch... I'll defend the title TO THE DEATH!

Posted by Homo Will | September 24, 2008 5:11 PM
17

@10 - yes, the deck was stacked **chortle**

Posted by stacked_deck | September 24, 2008 5:13 PM
18

It's weird that the example screenshot for the widget has text that's all in Latin.

Posted by Greg | September 24, 2008 5:14 PM
19

Two men enter. One man leave. Them's the rules of Thunderdome.

Extend the cage match to over an hour, don't allow comments for at least the first 30 minutes so the cagers can get some statements across, and then find a republican who has something to say about mccain...

Posted by masterblaster | September 24, 2008 5:20 PM
20

Good job Homo Will! And I will vote Obama, not just because he's better..but so that you and your partner can acually have some civil rights.

Larry, be a dear, and really look to your conscience. Obama's experience can be made up for with a good cabinet and VP (which he has). Also, he has proven to have good judgement. McCain's bigotry cannot be negated in any way, and is only exacerbated by Palin as a VP choice.

Larry, vote for civil rights! Please, do it for me, and my female friends, do it for our gay friends. Damnit, don't be a fool!

Posted by Original Monique | September 24, 2008 5:23 PM
21

@18,

That looks like Lorum Ipsum to me. It's placeholder text.

Posted by keshmeshi | September 24, 2008 5:31 PM
22

I really really doubt McCain feels that strongly about his parties dogma ... it's mostly to get him elected and past the party hardliners.

Still, doesn't mean I trust him ... McCain claims to have been trying to change the direction of the party since he entered politics. I MIGHT give him some credit for it, what the hell do we know. McCain is old, has been around forever has gone through the conflicts and changes of a typical life, who really knows if he truely is a "good guy". However, if he is or was being sincere, I got the feeling that his party is using him to squeeze the last cent out of the piggy bank with respect to this country, and that is really sad.

The country deserves better than that.

Posted by formerly OR Matt | September 24, 2008 5:37 PM
23

this was a good idea, and Larry is a good sport for agreeing to it... but... it was boring. I know plenty of Republicans that would fight like a dog in a debate like this, which is I think what this needed to be interesting.

Posted by Julie in Chicago | September 24, 2008 7:24 PM
24

Everyone,
Whoa! That first "Steel Cage Match" was intense. First of all, thanks to Will and Eli. Whew! Just glad to make it out of there alive. I felt like a fucking fly on wallpaper. First swatted and then painted over. Will "won" free and clear. But, I think the real purpose of debate is to learn. I learned something that's for sure. I need to type quicker and prepare to be assaulted by several questions all at once. I have to admit THAT distracted me more than anything else. Wow. Intense.

Posted by lark | September 24, 2008 9:10 PM
25

Lark, darling - I thought you did a very nice job, but I think your ultimate defense - Obama is not ready - is at best a flawed argument.

We've had what - Forty-three presidents? None of them were ready. All of them would doubtless admit that in hindsight.

Perhaps McCain was ready, at one time in his own mind, but no longer: He's too old and too tired, and trying too hard. For evidence, consider Sarah Palin: Her selection was probably the most desperate move any candidate has made in the life of the republic. And look where it got him.

Sorry, McCain/Palin just doesn't cut it.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | September 24, 2008 10:11 PM
26

On behalf of all Wills, I thought Homo Will did a great job!

Kudos for slaughtering the Socialist Republican!

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 24, 2008 10:55 PM
27

and I'll buy you a drink at the 43rd District Dems debate watch party at Spitfire this Friday, Homo Will!

Posted by Will in Seattle | September 24, 2008 10:59 PM
28

Nicely done, Will! But note to SLOG: It seems Larry is more of a moderate than a conservative. Maybe there should be a litmus test for Steel Cage combatants. ;)

Posted by GrammarCop | September 25, 2008 7:36 AM
29

I agree, Larry was a terrible choice. You should have made sure that both combatants were competant in the format. Made for a boring, one-sided debate.

Posted by Christy O | September 25, 2008 9:41 AM
30

i think many mccain supporters are moderates. mccain had to draft palin and change some of stances just to appeal to the right-wing conservative christians. but i think he still has fairly strong moderate appeal. good luck finding a non-moderate, literate person in the seattle area willing to submit to a debate on slog. unless, of course, all you wanted was a straw man republican stereotype to debate against.

Posted by infrequent | September 25, 2008 11:55 AM
31

Thanks for the comments everyone, @ 27 I won't be in town this friday, but I'll make sure to come to the next Slog Happy

Posted by Homo Will | September 25, 2008 3:46 PM

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