By The Kenyon Observer’s first live-blog of a presidential debate appears below! Note: the opinions expressed in this post are the author’s.
Pre-Game
Tonight’s Presidential debate will be taking place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y, moderated by Candice “Candy” Crowley of CNN. The candidates will be taking questions on both foreign and domestic policy,”town-hall style,” from 82 undecided voters from the New York Area.
If you’re interested in following debate reactions online, some common hash-tags to check on Twitter will be #debates, #election2012 and #CNNdebate . Others include the promoted #FightForJobs and #RealRomney. The handles for participants in tonight’s debate are @BarackObama, @MittRomney, and @CrowleyCNN. If you wish to imbibe as you watch, TIME’s official guide is here.
9:03 p.m. Cost of College and Employment Afterward
First time voter college student asks who can ensure he’ll find employment upon graduation. Romney lays out the problems: college is expensive, and there aren’t any jobs waiting for you. Romney promises him a job, saying “I know how to get the economy going again,” but gives no specifics.
Obama says the way forward is to reinvest in American infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing. The two tussle over the results of the auto-industry bailout and its effects.
Obama, I’mma let you finish, but neither of you addressed the question weighing on so many college students’ minds right now.
9:12 Got Gas?
Voter asks for candidates to respond to Energy Secretary Chu’s comment that gas prices aren’t in his purview.
Obama lists the benefits of clean energy initiatives he has pushed in the last four years. His praise of natural gas is not necessarily comforting, especially for those in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania where the environmental impact of fracking is a real concern for many citizens.
Romney gives lip service to renewable energy, but emphasizes the importance of oil, gas and coal industries as a site of job creation. Romney wants to increase the amount of permits and drilling, and alludes to his support for the controversial Keystone Pipeline.
Oil! Coal! Gas! Oil! Coal! Gas!
The only ray of hope so far is that, unlike the last debate, Obama is at least calling out Romney for misrepresenting his record in office.
***Just missed a huge chunk of the tax conversation due to difficulties with my live stream. Apologies!***
9:36 FEED ME!!
I’m getting reports that people across campus are technical difficulties with internet speed, live feeds, and streaming the debate (including this would-be blogger, live from Leonard.) Pretty curious what the scene is like at the Gund Gallery watch party right now…
Another ray of hope? The incompetent stream means I don’t have to witness both candidates repeating the word “jobs” in every other sentence. Maybe while the candidates were at weekend retreats, preparing for tonight, they were implanted with some oratory, rhetorical magnet that pulls every topic into one about job creation.
12:01 a.m. Girl, Interrupted
…by a cappella rehearsal and technical difficulties. Thanks to The Thrill for the shout out, analysis to follow.
12:06 a.m. Binders Full of Women…
has already gone viral. Check out the Tumblr tribute, and the shiny new Facebook page, with over 150,000 “likes” less than 2 hours after the comment.
Moral of the night? The internet can be a blessing and a curse. Gobama.
The Kenyon Observer 
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