Top Comments: Dems Debating Now Edition

The debates are front and center tonight: Republicans first, so grandpas Fred and John can get their beauty sleep, and Democrats second, because they're already beautiful and not at all decrepit. Here on Daily Kos we're ready: there are front page open threads, liveblogs, new diaries popping up about the day's events—the latest polls, New Hampshire canvassing, the failures of the media (because they rarely fail to fail, and rarely fail more definitively than when running a debate), etc.

Various candidates are up, down, sideways, with or without various sorts of momentum, right, wrong, right yet oh so wrong, and, dammit, refusing to talk about This!

Various Kossacks are up, down, sideways, harping on This or That or both or neither, passionate, learned, didactic, urgent, unfortunate, informative, silly, inspired, and everything in between.

If you're watching or listening to the debates, you're probably talking back: yelling at the idiotic talking point, groaning at the moronic press questions, cheering a telling remark, urging on the candidate who's saying exactly what you would say on your chief issue, or wishing desperately to hear more than bits from stump speeches.

But you're also here...and about to make the jump. Or jump the flip. Watch your step—it's a doozy.

We have so many insightful and powerful diaries written here at Daily Kos. Our diaries inform, inflame, impassion, and even entertain. We Kossacks have strong voices and an even stronger will to be the change we wish to see in this country.

One of the richest areas of thought—and perhaps the most underappreciated—are in the comments attached to these diaries.

Here at Top Comments we strive to recognize and promote the talent of this community by highlighting outstanding comments found throughout the day by the diarist, and through nominations at made at TopComments at gmail dot com by your fellow Kossacks.

These nominations are subjective, and certainly not complete—no one can read the complete site on a daily basis! Nevertheless, we hope they will serve to shine a light where deserved, and to give the reader a good starting point in finding conversation on the site.

Please make yourself at home!

Barring the completely unexpected—a convention where no candidate has a clear majority of delegates going in, which will result in absolute chaos and make the tone of our current candidate diaries look like Little Mary Sunshine and Pollyanna put together—there's going to be a vast wasteland of about five months where we know the nominees, but we're in a holding pattern until after the nominating conventions.

This year will be far worse than 2004 in that regard. Just think: in 1960, John F. Kennedy had just announced his candidacy two days ago. Forty-eight years later on the same day, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden announced the end of their respective candidacies after losing the first pre-election delegate contest despite having campaigned for the better part of a year.

I think it's a conspiracy on the part of the pundits: the earlier the contest starts, the more job security they have pontificating on presidential prospects. Talk about your cockeyed full-employment schemes...

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Several emails magically appeared in the TopComments mailbox today, and may be found below. If you saw any great comments that are not mentioned here, please do link to them in your own comments below...and next time, remember to mail them in! The address of that mailbox, again:

TopComments AT gmail DOT com
(change " AT " to "@" and " DOT " to ".")

Anyone can submit deserving comments to our address. Your message should always include a direct link to the comment—which is available from that comment's date/time—and your Daily Kos user name so we can credit you properly. Comments need to arrive by 9:30pm Eastern Time.

ezdidit sent in this nomination:

I loved VelvetElvis's comment near the bottom of this thread. From my diary Paul Krugman.

From twilight falling:

I'd like to nominate Bensdad's beautiful comment in JR's diary Remembering G'Kar last night.

bronte17 submitted the following:

You have to read the thread to get the full flavor of this comment by cosbo in response to CAPS and !!!!.   I nominate the comment as the "gold standard" response to use whenever entering candidate diaries.  (It beats FU and WYFP and "Asshole!") From the diary Concord Monitor: Edwards is Seabiscuit in New Hampshire by Progressive America.

From kath25:

In Kagro X's front-page diary on that medical supplies TV commercial guy stumping for McCain, there were many hilarious comments, but this thread featuring cato, Mad Dog Rackham, and jaslusher left me in stitches.

Hey, maybe McCain's new BFF can send me something for that.

In the same diary, cato asks about another potential celebrity endorsement for McCain, and Ellinorianne sets up dmsilev for a great one-liner.

Asinus Asinum Fricat sent:

Bouwerie Boy's comment had me in stitches! From klnb1019's diary Corporate America Is Not The Enemy.

From Hardhat Democrat:

I really loved this comment by Sarah Ann.

From sardonyx, your diarist du jour:

Jerome a Paris points out how theories can break down when government no longer acts for the public good in klnb1019's diary Corporate America Is Not The Enemy.

From RenaRF's diary This Could Get Ugly, here are three comments:

First one from zonk, who was in a similar place to RenaRF.

Second one from GreyHawk, who notes some ugly facts.

Third one from Malacandra, who doesn't want things to get ugly, either.

The font overflows in this thread started by Elwood Dowd, and topped by his next reply, too. What's that? The other kind of font? Well, what the hell was the beer coming out of? Oh, never mind: read it for yourself!

snout looks at it this way. On a related note, if you missed the recommendation by Meteor Blades to read Pride and Palpitations by Lower Manhattanite on the Group News Blog, go read it. Now. We'll be happy to wait for your return here.

Rhoda Mae expresses unexpected enthusiasm for an aspect of the televised Republican debate.

Ed in Montana has an exciting report from the Wyoming Republican Caucus—yes, it happened tonight! Why were those Republican debaters in New Hampshire?

No Top Comments diary would be complete without that day's top comments by number, aka top mojo—those comments which have received the highest number of recommendations from Daily Kos users like you. Today's is supplied by sardonyx (with thanks, as always, to cskendrick).

First, Top Mojo excluding search-identifiable tip jars and first diary comments:

  1) oh wow I have no experience with this by Rosebuddear — 290
  2) I agree . . . by nyceve — 228
  3) yes, scardanelli, I hope so . . . by nyceve — 150
  4) One Response by flubber — 129
  5) wow nyceve, by aigeanta — 119
  6) I am old - I got that way as a fighter. by Blue Waters Run Deep — 115
  7) well aigeanta, you speak the truth . . . by nyceve — 85
  8) Hope = Faith by TXsharon — 80
  9) My two cents by existenz — 78
10) You Missed this HUGE Nugget! by kubla000 — 75
11) I don't want things to get ugly, either by Malacandra — 71
12) Just having a good speaker in the WH after by groggy — 66
13) My Dad too. by kath25 — 66
14) obama's not bringing a knife... by campskunk — 65
15) Only from by TXsharon — 65
16) And Thanks To You, JedReport by flubber — 64
17) She thinks him being progressive is a BAD thing. by Geekesque — 62
18) You must see these pictures by kubla000 — 61
19) Your theory is correct ... by Jerome a Paris — 61
20) We worked for a Democratic Congress that by inclusiveheart — 60
21) Indeed by aimeeinkc — 60
22) Come on, Tom. by Bob Johnson — 58
23) Apparently, not in Obama's either.... by dkmich — 55
24) Can Edwards push past Hillary? by Bob Johnson — 55
25) Illinois has a lot of coal mines. by bettync — 55
26) I'll talk no stink , by indycam — 53
27) if you heare him preempt the attacks by charlestown dem — 53
28) I love story-telling diaries by hockeyrules — 51
29) That's long been my stance. by RenaRF — 50
30) Awesome diary! Awesome! Love "Seabiscuit!" by JedReport — 49
31) I was greatly moved by the youth involvement by FishOutofWater — 49

Top Mojo with No Exclusions:

  1) I guess I just got off the fence. by RenaRF — 535
  2) Tips for rebelling against corporate power by JedReport — 379
  3) oh wow I have no experience with this by Rosebuddear — 290
  4) tip jar by aigeanta — 288
  5) I agree . . . by nyceve — 228
  6) ???????????????????????????? by buhdydharma — 224
  7) Tips for honesty in this debate! by DemDog — 198
  8) Tips for the Secret Service!! by icebergslim — 183
  9) Tip Jar for sore feet by grannyhelen — 164
10) Go Elizabeth and John! by Progressive America — 153
11) yes, scardanelli, I hope so . . . by nyceve — 150
12) Hope will continue to rise in New Hampshire by Prince Georges for Obama — 148
13) One Response by flubber — 129
14) wow nyceve, by aigeanta — 119
15) I am old - I got that way as a fighter. by Blue Waters Run Deep — 115
16) What was Billo thinking? by jhutson — 113
17) in class yesterday I played Obama's speech by teacherken — 102
18) Tip Jar by StevenLeser — 92
19) Mostly dry now and have power by SallyCat — 91
20) It's the ground game right now by aaraujo — 88
21) well aigeanta, you speak the truth . . . by nyceve — 85
22) Hope = Faith by TXsharon — 80
23) My two cents by existenz — 78
24) Tips for no new nuke by TomP — 78
25) You Missed this HUGE Nugget! by kubla000 — 75
26) I don't want things to get ugly, either by Malacandra — 71
27) Hillary makes my 'job' easy some times. by Geekesque — 69
28) Tip jar by BruinKid — 66
29) My Dad too. by kath25 — 66
30) Just having a good speaker in the WH after by groggy — 66
31) Bless and honor him. by noweasels — 66

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