SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2008

THE AFTERNOON AFTER
Saturday post-debate greetings from National Review Online! I hope you’re not working today but wanted to make sure you knew we’re on the job.

BYRON YORK was in OXFORD, MISS., for the debate last night. He reports that “Obama was undeniably, and surprisingly, deferential to a man who in the past Obama has said ‘doesn’t get it.’” Read his dispatch from the scene, complete with instant reaction from Obama’s DAVID AXELROD and McCain’s CHARLIE BLACK here.

Sitting down (virtually, anyway) after the debate, our corporate take on Round One: “McCain won, but next time he will have to do better.” Read the editorial here.

And, for historic fun, read the editorial NR ran after the first REAGAN-MONDALE debate here.

JIM GERAGHTY in “The Campaign Spot” and a whole host of characters -- I was joined by MARK LEVIN, RICH LOWRY, MONA CHAREN, JONAH GOLDBERG, AMY HOLMES, RAMESH PONNURU, MICHAEL GRAHAM, and more -- in “The Corner” were blogging throughout the debate (as we will be during the subsequent ones). Some highlights:

GERAGHTY:  Surprised by how well McCain did, thinks Obama energized his base. But about that looking-at-the-watch moment …

MONA CHAREN:  “the McCain campaign has not yet done is most important job: showing the world what a true leftist Obama really is.”

K-LO: Having a little fun with Obama using Joe Biden as his foreign-policy creds: “you look at them both tonight and think, ‘yeah, I want that guy to pick up the 3 A.M. phone call’? Not unless Joe Biden is sleeping next to him.”

There’s a lot more where those came from, click here and keep scrolling.

ALSO: JAY NORDLINGER, in a litany of commentary, concludes Obama and McCain both came off as “competent moderates” last night. JACK PITNEY offers some might-have-saids to Senator McCain for next time. Historian AL FELZENBERG  thinks presidentially.

DEBRA BURLINGAME, sister of one of the pilots murdered on Sept. 11, 2001, told me after the debate: ‘If al-Qaeda and militant Islamism did not exist, I would be much more comfortable with Barack Obama.” Read the Q&A with her here.

ON FINANCIAL MATTERS: We’re continuing to keep up with the Wall Street mess and Hill negotiations, in “The Corner,” and with a new headline feature on the homepage. While Dems continue to fight to feed pet causes like ACORN, Arizona congressman Shadegg tries to put a line in the sand; DAVID FREDDOSO interviews him here. Echoing our editorial yesterday encouraging passage of a version of the HENRY PAULSON plan, LARRY KUDLOW assures that despite the massive government intervention, the rescue plan is a “win-win” for taxpayers.

FINALLY, there has been tremendous buzz about this syndicated column we ran Friday from KATHLEEN PARKER, encouraging SARAH PALIN to go back to Alaska. As editor of National Review Online, I love to see honesty. It’s a lot of what makes NRO a good thing for the Right and America (not to mention “good TV” as they would say if we were, well, on TV) -- that we’re willing to have debates and say unpopular things out in the open. We have debates and we have a stable of writers who call things as they see them. I’ve long been a casual fan of Sarah Palin -- I wrote a piece in July noting that there was definitely an cultural advantage to having her on the national scene. I stand by that -- how many Americans knew that 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome before they are born are aborted? Trig Palin has sounded alarm bells, God bless him. But yesterday I, too, wrote a piece about Palin, arguing that she stop cramming and be herself. I’m still excited by her in a lot of ways -- she’s rallied people like I have not seen them, she’s brought a whole host of issues to the fore that would not be if not for her entry on the campaign scene. But, as John McCain reminded us last night “trust but verify.”

I’ve kept you in your e-mail too long already on a Saturday. Have a great weekend and drop by www.nationalreview.com when you can! We’ve got more than I mentioned here, including David Pryce-Jones keeping tabs on Rowan Williams (not attacking capitalism). See you there.

With gratitude, Kathryn Lopez

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