THE US REPORT

C-Span offered a remarkable resource for voters and writers with convention hubs for both major political parties, and the network will do the same thing with the first presidential debate on Friday. The C-Span Debate Hub will not only stream the debate live. Blog and Twitter aggregators will keep viewers up-to-date with analyses and responses. There will even be a keyword tree. Wonder if Sen. Barack Obama’s famous ‘uh, uh, uh,’ or Sen. John McCain’s familiar ‘my friends' will be on the list alongside standards like taxes, service and all those other buzz words politics comprise. The hub will have all sorts of bells and whistles.

One of the coolest features of this hub will be the complete video timeline which will be searchable by questions, a real boon to writers and political junkies looking for that perfect (possibly catastrophic) sound bite. Ultimately you'll be able to embed the video, and if you want to edit a snippet you can. Sometimes I feel high on technology; this hub will be like catnip to a kitty.

The US Report will cover the debate in real time. I’ll respond during the debate with short (I promise) punchy entries here on my site. Then I’ll do my usual in-depth analysis once everything wraps and I’ve had time to think about it. My link should pop up on the C-Span hub blog aggregator, and we’re honored by the invitation to submit the link to our content.

Frankly, I’m as excited as I get when we prep for our (locally) famous football game parties here. You know you’re nuts when you’re excited about working on a Friday night.

McCain has issued a statement confirming he’ll be there to take Obama on. In a statement issued on Friday, the McCain campaign said, “The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners."

The C-Span Debate Hub will feature content for all the presidential debates and the vice-presidential debate. I’d say the Hub is the place to be to get your finger on the pulse of all those politically passionate Americans (and others around the globe as well). There’ll be fireworks from the left and the right no doubt, and plenty of fun will be had in viewing them all, the sane and the insane, the thoughtful and the thoughtless and whatever lies in between. I'll be catching the action on the C-Span Debate hub tonight and blogging furiously, so join me for the fracas.

The video below is one of my favorites of a president's reponse to media; classic Reagan, thinking on his feet.