We’ll be live streaming the Virgina Governor’s debate tonight starting at 7:30 ET. I’ll be co-hosting with Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post, David Grant of the Collegiate Times and Virginia blogger Ben Tribbett of Not Larry Sabato.

Things are getting quite heated after the latest poll shows McAuliffe with a commanding lead, though there’s an argument over whether the poll is an outlier or not (New Dominion Project says yes)

On April 29th, FDL will be live broadcasting a netroots-hosted debate at Virginia Tech between gubernatorial candidates Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran.   I’ll be joining Nico Pitney of the Huffington Post, Ben Tribbett of Virgina blog Not Larry Sabato and David Grant of the Collegiate Times to pose questions asked by people on YouTube, Twitter and participating blogs.

In Canada, an unusual series of moves is playing out. The government, which just stood for election and returned with more seats, but still a minority, is facing off against the three opposition parties that have agreed to force a confidence vote that would bring down the government. Two of the three, the Liberals and the NDP, have agreed to a coalition, with Liberal leader Dion as care taker Prime Minister,

More than one year ago, before she became a Big TeeVee Cablefest Host, Rachel Maddow produced a revelatory segment of her “Campaign Asylum” about the GOP presidential candidates’ appearance among the Wingnutty Wingnuts of Wingnutville — the Values Voter Summit, where a choral group performed the lovely re-purposed composition “Why Should God Bless America?”

At the debate, John McCain accused Obama of engaging in “class warfare” and wanting to “redistribute” income/wealth. But McCain’s argument that this would steal from Joe the Plumber and give to the undeserving was breathtaking in it cynicism, mendacity and cruelty.

David Gergen’s post-debate quip that McCain’s debate performance looked like an exercise in anger management was spot on.  It was a huge turn-off to watch McCain taking his smirky, petulant, immature, angry id on a public parade. “In politics it is generally not considered a good sign when voters are laughing at you, not with you. And by the end of the third and last presidential debate, the undecided voters who had gathered in Denver for Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg’s focus group were “audibly snickering” at John McCain”…

Round Two of the Obama-McCain debates went pretty much as Round One did: As the bitter fruits of Republican wars and deregulation become ever more apparent, people are not in the mood for clowning around. They want to see that whoever holds the briefcase with the launch codes is a sober, steady-minded, competent leader.

Once again, Obama passed that test and McCain didn’t.

This moment — Obama talking about things he “didn’t understand” — was the best bit of last night’s debate. Economic discussions were intriguing, but bickery, although Obama projected a much better understanding of what middle America fears right now.

Pot, this is kettle. Palin in Florida this morning: “This election is about the truthfulness and judgment needed in our next president,” Palin insisted. “John McCain has it and Barack Obama doesn’t.” McCain and Palin are thrashing around like a couple of trout in a shallow bait pan. It takes some brass ones to claim the moral high ground after all of their whoppers lately.  Delusions of candor, anyone? McCain would rather throw away your future and the nation’s soul than lose the election. How does that make you feel?…

The McCain campaign is advertising Governor Palin’s Peggy Noonan endorsement. Oddly, they tried to do it without mentioning Peggy Noonan.