The Second Live Presidential Debate: Live Blogette

In bullet form!

* The CNN likey-charts are back again. They're still pretty compelling - as soon as McCain mentions something about the price of oil going down, the line for Uncommitted Ohio Men zips upward like a policeman's truncheon going from limp to horizontal when Barbara Windsor bends over to pick up something in one of the bad Carry On films. Obama seems to be performing slightly better, though the men are harder to please than the women.

* Every time John McCain starts talking about something like Medicare in his "get a load of this guy! Look. Here's how simple it really is, dummy" voice, we can't help but think of Steve Brule from Tim and Eric Awesome Show.

* The box of lights that informs the candidates when their allotted time is running out has clearly been bought from a shop for wedding DJs.

* The audience are suspiciously quiet. We're not expecting the relentless whooping of a Jerry Springer crowd, but any sort of reaction would be interesting. At the moment, the only thing we can think they are there for is to spot which ones haven't really made the effort to dress up. Come on, you've been chosen to sit in a room with the next leader of the free world. Just bunging on a checked shirt doesn't cut it. Even if you're blatantly there to represent the entire blue collar demographic, at least wear a tie!

* You can watch a feed of the debate live at Justin.tv. What you lose in live line charts, you gain in live chat from 9/11 conspiracy nutbags, white supremacy lunatics, Islamic fundamentalists, confused jocks who want Sarah Palin to take her top off, and one person who wants to add that "McCain seems like a nice chap".

* McCain is sulking. If Obama gets follow-ups, he wants follow-ups too. It is not very dignified.

* Nicely, the debate ends with the candidates standing centre stage, only for them to block Tom Brokaw's teleprompter. Why does he even need a teleprompter anyway? He only needs to say a couple of sentences every ten minutes. Tsk.

* After the live opinion charts for every second of the actual debate, CNN's post mortem with the Ohio voter focus group begins with: a summary of the voting throughout the debate? A series of pie charts? The results of a wider opinion poll? A massive touch-screen display that serves no actual purpose? No, a reporter asking each member to put their hand up for whoever they thought was best, which she then counts out loud, as if she was just asking who wants coffee and who wants tea.

* Going by the CNN post-debate polls, Obama has increased his lead. More pertinently, going by the Betfair markets, Obama's odds have shortened, whilst McCain's have lengthened. Could America really be set to vote against the rich old white guy? Not long to go now.