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How To Really Enjoy Tonight’s Debate


Tonight’s first debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney will be very hard for Obamacare — like watching mommy and daddy fight. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.

Hosted by PBS’s Jim Lehrer, the topics to be discussed include economy, health care, the role of government, and governing. You can watch the debate on C-SPAN or streamed on YouTube for the first time in history. If you’re like me, @LOLGOP, you’ll be watching with Twitter open — getting instant commentary from a few thousand of your closest Twitter pals.

Now, don’t expect anything to match the hilarity of Rick Perry’s “oops” moment or Rick Perry in general from the GOP primary debates. Nothing will reach the heights of self-parody of a Herman Cain or Michele Bachmann. But wherever Mitt Romney appears, you can expect humorous attempts to approximate humanity.

Earlier in the week the Romney camp was suggesting that the GOP nominee would be loaded for bear with “zingers.” Then they suggested that the “zingers” were a ruse and he’d actually be showing empathy. So they’re aware of Mitt’s weaknesses. But it’s easier to change Mitt’s positions than make him the warm, funny person they wish he were. But we can enjoy watching him try.

So join in the fun by following these great Twitter accounts for tonight’s debate.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Ed Andrieski

From The Left: Ana Marie Cox

A columnist for The Guardian, Ana Marie Cox is both an excellent debate Tweeter and a curator, often retweeting the best of her feed and getting trends like #Eastwooding going. Just following her feed will give you a great sense of how liberals are seeing the action.

 

From The Left: John Fugelsang

Comic and soon-to-be host of his own show on Current, John Fugelsang probably won’t tweet all that often. But when he does you’ll definitely want to share it. A consummate wordsmith with a knack for snarking out hypocrisy:

 


From The Left: Jamison Foser

Jamison Foser has an ability to see through spin and fluff almost immediately. If something during the debate pisses you off, he’ll explain in the exact words you wish you came up with.

 

From The Right: Jennifer Rubin

If you want to know what Mitt Romney’s biggest fan is thinking, follow The Washington Post’sJennifer Rubin. I’ve called her the @LOLGOP of the right because it’s nearly impossibly for her not to find fault with anything the president does. But I don’t think she’s joking, unlike this parody tribute to her.

 

 

From The Right: Erick Erickson

CNN contributor and Red State editor Erick Erickson‘s Twitter bio says “Not a water carrier.” And that’s true. He’s one right-winger who will be critical of Republicans, as he has been of Mitt Romney, often. This makes him an anomaly and thus more interesting than most of his peers. But he’s also known for his willingness and ability to offend women with his offhand comments.

 

From The Right: John Nolte

Breitbart editor-at-large  John Nolte best expresses the purposely-offensive-and-always-suspicious-of-the-media mentality mastered by the late Andrew Breitbart. He’s a chief poll truther and and endless harasser of media personalities who he believes have a narrative they’re sticking to in order to damage Mitt Romney. Follow him to get a sense of the paranoid style of Tea Party politics.

 

From The Center: Dave Weigel

Slate‘s Dave Weigel is the closest thing you’re going to find to a genuinely funny Republican on Twitter. And that’s probably because he’s actually a libertarian. He resigned from The Washington Post, where he covered the right when emails revealing snide comments about conservatives were released, and moved on to Slate and MSNBC. His snide comments that occasionally upset both sides of the political specturm are the reason you don’t want to miss his feed.

 

From The Center: David Frum

We live in a crazed world when the man who came up with the phrase “Axis of Evil” that justified the invasion of Iraq is considered a “centrist.” But what else do you call a former Bush speechwriter who is willing to take on Mitt Romney’s bumbling campaign and extreme voices like Michelle Malkin? David Frum is still a partisan but the Canadian in him comes out when he defends the social safety net and rationality.

 

From The Center: Larry Sabato

Larry Sabato is famous for his Crystal Ball, which is an old-school version of Intrade or FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model. He’s a classic professorial political scientist with a 20th-century sense of objectivity and history. His intent is to provide context and pause as people speculate about presidential horserace. He does it with a bit of superiority yet it’s an affable superiority familiar to anyone who grew up watching sitcom dads.

 


You Can Follow Them All

Follow all of these accounts and more including The National Memo‘s Joe Conason and Henry Decker through this convenient list.

You may also enjoy:

Five Reasons Paul Ryan Is Already a Worse VP Choice Than Sarah Palin

or

Five Reasons Ayn Rand Would Have Despised Paul Ryan

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