And the fall did not produce any damages, or bruises.  :)

Big shock-we're all liveblogging with Moran (se, Dems do COOL things with blogs) and of course thr trolls (well, one with 4 different screen names) are here.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

SHOCKER!

Not that it comes as much of a surprise.  The strange thing is that they could have simply quoted Denton's comments from WSLS to support their conclusion but I guess didn't want to give another media source credit.  They also picked strange quotes from Holsworth.  His comments in the Daily Progress were much more pro-Allen.  Obviously the T-D has an agenda and isn't even smart enough to pull the easy to find quotes to support their agenda.

Jim Webb the winner.  And he's 99.7% accurate so far. :)

Believe me, I am not surprised.  Allen people were told that they, as non VBA members, could attend.  Webb supporters were not.  Can you imagine if Daily Kos and RK members had been invited?  I think Webb would have been a clear winner then.

Point is, everyone saw the same old same old from Allen.  With Webb, it was a breath of fresh baked DEMOCRACY in action.

was tilted heavily in favor of Allen.  Maybe that had something to do with the fact that the debate was held as far from populous "blue" areas as is humanly possible?  Also, maybe it had something to do with the fact that pretty much only rich people stay at the Homestead (rates start at $285 per person per night!!!).  Despite that, Webb got about as much applause as Allen, and the audience actually laughed at Allen at one point...not good for Allen in front of his home crowd.

Not because of people staying at the Homestead though.  The Homestead was almost entirely filled by the VBA (216 rooms) which has never liked Allen.  The reason the room was so pro-Allen is because the Republicans scheduled their 6th District meeting for the Homestead that morning and encouraged everyone to bring van loads of people.  When you only have 300 people in attendance it doesn't take many to sway the balance of the room.

I hope the Webb folks learn from this and fill up the NOVA debate scheduled for September.  You can believe the Allen folks will be bringing plenty of supporters.

Thanks for the "heads up."

according to their fact sheet, they have 409 guestrooms and 78 suites.  By my count, the 218 rooms for the VBA therefore represents less than half their capacity.

because if more than half the rooms were either not filled by lawyers or not filled at all, to say that the place was almost filled by lawyers is clearly an inaccurate statement.

I do not want to see us sloppy in our statements.  It makes easy for those under the gun or whom we are trying to persuade to simply point to our misstatements and therefore not address any substance with which we might present them.

There was an event in Richmond yesterday which was frequented by some Webb volunteers.  I planned on being there by 3, for the last hour of the event and the clean up, bc of the last minute decision to go to the debate.  Unfortunately, bc I got lost, I didn't make it to the volunteer event, which SUCKS.  But, there is no doubt in my mind that Thadd and my presence at the debate was a GOOD THING, considering how pro-Allen it was. 

It also helped that I schmoozed with the crowd and chatted up Webb, chatted with the Webb staff to get a better handle on how things are going, and I was able to give out a bunch of the now coveted "retro Webb" stickers.

So, I only accomplished one out of the two Webb deals I had planned for yesterday, but again, I think having Webb supporters at the event was a GOOD thing.

VBA debate has been held at the Homestead for years...dating as far back as 1993 when I was just working in politics and you were eating at the public trough.

BTW, you were in Bath County.  Home of Slammin' Sammy Snead -- a hometown hero.  George Allen attended the funeral of this Virginia icon.  Bath County may not be populous but it has been a crossroads of many famous Virginians -- if you'd ever care to know.

Ugh, you just never give up, do you?

You are so obsessed with Lowell.

Thanks.

The truth is that no one in the VA media (except probably Sabato) is going to go hard one way or the other.  However, the Denton and Holsworth quotes, the only 2 "experts" to speak so far were pretty clear.

In the Daily Progress Holsworth said "If Webb is assumed to be a heavy underdog, “there’s nothing that changed it for the positive.”  Holsworth also said "Webb was "clearly up against one of the consummate candidates in America. . . . [Allen] showed why he will be difficult to beat." I realize there may be room for "interpretation" in those comments but coupling that with the T-D's take on his quotes, his take on the debate is pretty clear.  Remember, he was the moderator and had the best seat in the house.

Can't post WSLS quotes until they post the story but anyone who saw it knows it wasn't good for Webb (and very good for Allen).  At the end of Denton's comments Jay Warren said "so you'd give this debate to Allen."  Denton essentially said "I don't want to call a winner or loser but..."  It was obvious where he was going.  He did say Webb had "presence."

Denton's WSLS comments were even more pointed than his Times-Dispatch quote: "'Webb showed a lack of aggression," Denton said. "He did not clearly make any difference between himself and his opponent.'"

Anyway, the point is the "neutral" media has either offered straight facts with no editorializing or given very strong pro-Allen statements.  Like I've said lots of times in the last 24 hours, as a somewhat reluctant Webb supporter (remember I supported Miller in the primary) I saw this as an Allen win with signs that Webb will do well in the future.

they showed the whole Craney Island exchange and then did about 30 seconds to a minute with Jay Warren and Bob Denton giving their commentary from the debate floor.  When they re-ran it at 11 they replayed the Craney Island exchange but didn't show Warren and Denton's comments.  I'll be interested to see which version is posted online.  The 11 o'clock version is better for Webb b/c, while they still showed the Craney crap, you don't have to hear Denton praising Allen.

Kilgore think he won a debate last year!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Former Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore saw the debate quite differently and said Allen won it on experience.

“Sen. Allen showed that he had a grasp on all the issues in Virginia, from Big Stone Gap in Southwest Virginia to Craney Island to Northern Virginia,” Kilgore said. “He always has the ability to bring it home in a way that makes us understand why it’s important to keep him in the United States Senate.”

Of Webb, Kilgore said, “I think he has a lot of preparation to do. You’ve got to prepare for any debate and I had two good experiences and one bad experience last year.”

The next scheduled Allen-Webb debate is before the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 18, the scene of the debate Kilgore referred to where he had his bad experience last year in his unsuccessful run for governor.

Kilgore said that Webb on Saturday “gave us no reason to throw out the senator and elect a new senator.”

know where or what Craney Island is.  I think Webb was blindsided by that comment.

Webbies, please make sure Jim asks Felix how Pat Robertson got a 10 million dollar private exit on I-64 for his new complex?  Nice return for Robertson's $6,000 donation :D

Also, why is our Master Jet Base in peril ?  Allen never comes to Virginia Beach unless it's for fundraising or photo ops?

Craney Island ?  All that was news to me, and I'm a news junkie!

* No, but I will lie and say yes. - 1 votes (16.67%)

I didn't vote. There was no option for me. I will know write-in my vote: Allen won.

with your sign in sign out of your screen names.  Having fun?

I did not see the debate and I can't speak to how each candidate presented themselves; in presentation I'd assume Allen was more prepared. But for the responses, if you think Allen won, then you must be a part of the 35% of Americans supporting President Bush. Webb hit him on why Iraq was a failure and why we must leave, why our economic policies are failing, on the minimum wage vote, on how the marriage amendment is worded too vaguely, and on stem cells. Allen had his cute Craney Island reference (I guess we know the real reason Allen wanted direct questions; he wanted a gotcha moment to make Webb look bad).

If you are a Bush Republican then Allen told you exactly what you wanted to hear. My guess is if you gave the average Virginia voter summaries of what each candidate said, they'd prefer Webb. The challenge for Webb is to learn to present his ideas formally and to get the money to compete with Allen.

Oh and PS, Kilgore complimenting you on debating skills is like Dick Cheney complimenting your marksmanship.