There's been a lot of talk in the political press about how the townhall format makes it difficult to launch negative and personal attacks.

Therefore, I am expecting negative and personal attacks.

Your predictions?

Update: Remember to visit the debate liveblog tonight. I'm not doing this for my health!

BRAVO

Tonight, Bravo expands its people-who-are-richer-than-you empire with The Real Housewives of Atlanta (9 p.m. E.T.).

From my casual viewing of the first episode, you will probably have roughly the same use for it that you do for the Orange County and New York City versions, the differences being (1) you can play a drinking game based on the number of uses of "Hotlanta" and (2) several of the Housewives are African American, proving that in the great country, the ostentatious display of wealth knows no color. Truly, it does one's heart good.

I just watched a screener DVD for one of Nick News' Linda Ellerbee specials, Kids Pick the President, which airs this Sunday. As a lead-up to an online kids' vote, which will go live after the special airs, John McCain and Barack Obama took questions from interested kids on issues including immigration, health care and climate change.

The striking thing was that their answers, while aimed at kids, were not appreciably dumbed down compared with what they would give an audience of adult voters in a debate. But they were calm, positive, focused on their own policies and what benefits the candidates believed they would have. There were no ad hominem attacks, rehearsed stump jokes or zingers. No drumbeat of coded hits like "erratic" or "doesn't understand."

Why? Because if you did any of that before an audience of kids, you would look like a complete tool.

But in front of audiences of adults, McCain and Palin this week are feeding their base sufficient hostile red meat that their crowds are calling Obama a "terrorist", swearing at the campaign press and using a racial epithet for a black cameraman while telling him "sit down, boy." (I'm sure these examples sound unbalanced, but I have not been seeing equivalents from Obama and Biden rallies.)

People consider it an insult to say that candidates talk to us like we're children. But maybe the problem is that they don't do that enough.

Of course, a kid did also ask the candidates what their favorite Halloween costumes were. Curiously, both of them, no lie, answered "pirate." See, they do have common ground!

Karen Tumulty, Michael Grunwald and I will be liveblogging tonight's debate again at the usual address. Learn it, bookmark it, live it.

As you know, tonight's debate will be a townhall, a format that allows for back-and-forth with voters, intermingling among candidates and questioners, and freewheeling exchanges. Oh, actually: it will allow for none of those!

By agreement of the two campaigns, there are to be no followups. No reaction shots of audience questioners. (This last, presumably, is to avoid a repeat of the 1992 townhall, in which Bill Clinton scored a coup by addressing a woman who had asked how the economy personally had affected each candidate. George H. W. Bush rather snippily asked if she was implying that because he was "of means," he couldn't understand people's problems. Clinton walked up to her, answered empathetically, and tens of millions of viewers saw her not her head in agreement. In the upcoming documentary Return of the War Room—airing on Sundance next Monday—Frank Luntz says this moment of affirmation was a turning point.)

Also, Obama and McCain will be forbidden to ask each other direct questions, and will be confined, zoo-animal-like, to "designated areas" onstage. (I hope they'll be fitted with ankle bracelets that will shock them if they cross the barrier.)

In short, all steps have been taken, in the name of democracy, to ensure nothing interesting happens. Enjoy the debate!

Update: Ben Smith reports that Tom Brokaw was not informed that follow-ups are forbidden, and plans to ask them anyway. Thus foiling the candidates' efforts to "speak directly to the American people," by refusing to answer their questions if necessary.

Brief spoilers for Heroes coming up after the jump.

(more...)

I'm coming a couple days late to this, but: while I'd had hope that Entourage was back with its Vince-hits-bottom storyline this season, my faith was shaken with the very-special shrooms-in-the-desert episode Sunday. Like so many episodes in the middle of the last season, it seemed inserted to pad out the season, and really, if they have that little story to tell in a given year, then just do eight episodes and be done with it. (Also, although Joshua Tree is still a ways from Vegas, I kept expecting to hear Tony Soprano yelling "I get it!" from beyond the next rock outcropping.)

Update: HBO, not caring what I think, just picked the show up for another season.

I really want to like this show again, though, so I'm sticking with it. What have you thought of it so far? For that matter, I invite your updated thoughts on True Blood, Little Britain USA and The Life and Times of Tim as well.

Eric McCandless/FOX

SPOILER ALERT: Before you read this post, put something cold in your cupholder and watch last night's How I Met Your Mother.

(more...)