The first presidential debate may be long over, but it's now being relived, remixed and reinterpreted online, in what could be the most influential period for YouTube politics in the current election.

Since web videos often drive broadcast news coverage and shape which exchanges are depicted as the seminal "moments" of a debate, both campaigns rushed out "advertisements" hammering their message on YouTube. McCain struck first, looping clips of Obama agreeing with his Republican rival in a video uploaded before the debate ended. Powered by links from Fox, NBC and Huffington Post, the spot drew far more views on YouTube than Obama's first video, which showed an uninterrupted, split-screen excerpt of Obama telling McCain he was "wrong" on the core issues in the Iraq war. (Both below.) While the campaigns' top-down videos have drawn the most initial attention, YouTubers' homemade projects are more interesting.

YouTuber "ebaybenjidogg" posted a 27-second shot of McCain grumbling during a tense dispute over McCain's comments regarding meeting with the prime minister of Spain -- under the provocative title "John McCain Says HORSESH*T During the 9/26 Debate." The video appears to show McCain saying "horseshit" twice in response to Obama's criticism. "I don't know why the media is ignoring this so far. If someone has a better copy of this moment on video PLEASE POST IT," reads the description accompanying the video. Some commenters rebutted that depiction, arguing that McCain was saying "of course," perhaps sarcastically, or saying "of course not." A similar clip on MSNBC.com, "Meeting with enemies," can also sound like McCain is swearing just past the 4-minute mark.

The interpretive debate spread swiftly online. The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan first blogged that McCain was swearing, but then he retracted that conclusion, and issued several updates going back and forth on whether McCain was swearing or saying something like "course you can." The Guardian's Michael Tomasky says that he thinks McCain indeed swore twice. "Watching this it really does sound like he said 'horse shit,'" Tomasky writes. "If so, what the hell was he thinking? And does this have the potential to mushroom into an official Thing? Could it be the Al Gore's sighs of 2008?"

Unlike past campaigns, it's not only up to the press and the candidates to decide if the moment becomes a Thing. If it goes viral, voters can make the clip an issue in the campaign, and McCain might have to answer for his answer on Friday night.

Official Campaign Videos

Grassroots YouTube clip

Comments (22)

1. YouTubers are forced to look for levity, or any signs of humanity that leak through the retrictions implicit in the debate. It was after all, implicitly, a 'just don't lose' in front of a billion people affair.

   Posted by winyahn at 09/27/2008 @ 2:27pm

2. Oh those wacky Repugnuts..... taking things out of context and random horseshit now ... LOL

   Posted by leftofcenter at 09/27/2008 @ 2:42pm

3. Yeah, that's what he mutters, all right.

   Fine, to think it. Fair enough, it's supposed to be a debate, after all. But after 26 years in public life, you know enough to keep the thought to yourself.

   You set it free, only if ... you really don't give a shit any longer.

   As in McC's choice of VP. Roll the dice, throw red meat to the core morons & who knows, most women are stupid, right ... look at Cindy, putting up with my horsesh-t all these years, so maybe enough women will be conned into voting GOP etc etc.

   Dumb? Of course, but when you know you're sinking fast, hell, what's to lose?

   McC doesn't give a shit any longer. And whether you caught the debate mutter or not, enough voters have caught on to his attitude to make the election's outcome fait accompli.

   Now it's just a question of how many senators & reps Obama can carry in who might otherwise not make it.

   Posted by sloper at 09/27/2008 @ 3:14pm

4. Hell, it'd probably HELP ol' Maverick if he did.

   heheh

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/27/2008 @ 4:45pm

5. horseshit!

   Posted by dexter666 at 09/27/2008 @ 6:53pm

6. The McCain ad should be the topic of a complaint to the FEC: It says "I'm John McCain and I approved this message" but it was released before the debate was over - which means there is absolutely no way McCain could have "approved" it; he couldn't even have known about it.

   So unless that "I approved this message" stuff in those commercials doesn't mean a damn thing, this ad appears to be some sort of violation.

   On another point, after listening to it three times, I do think McCain said "That's horseshit. Horseshit." It sounds to me like there's a very clear "sh" sound, not the "s" sound that would appear in "of course not."

   It's also true that an expletive like "horseshit" is more likely to be muttered than something like "of course not" is.

   Finally, "of course not" just doesn't seem to fit. I could see someone in that situation saying "that's horseshit" or "that's crap" or "that's not true," or the like - that is, a direct rejection. Even "of course I didn't." But "of course not" just seems an odd, rather unnatural, response.

   Posted by LarryE at 09/27/2008 @ 7:10pm

7. he either said "of course" or "of course not" but most likely didn't say horseshit. mccain may be hotheaded but this isn't one of those times.

   Posted by palehorse67 at 09/27/2008 @ 11:32pm

8. Hell, it'd probably HELP ol' Maverick if he did. heheh Posted by Maskdelta at 09/27/2008 @ 4:45pm

   i concur.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 09/28/2008 @ 03:15am

9. sounds to me like he's saying "redrum, redrum".

   Posted by frosty zoom at 09/28/2008 @ 04:44am

10. "But I don't really know of anybody,with the exception of a handful, who said, 'wait a minute, this thing is getting out of hand and is over-heating.' I'd like to be able to tell you I anticipated it, but I have to give you straight talk, I did not."

    j.s.mccain, november 2007

    Posted by frosty zoom at 09/28/2008 @ 04:53am

11. This is all horseshit.

    Posted by mikecope at 09/28/2008 @ 06:41am

12. Wait till Thur night.

    If we can count on one thing, Sarah Palin will not be saying "horseshit," however much of it she may sling.

    If indeed she's allowed to appear at all.

    But fear not, Sarah, whatever dirty tricks the Dems & liberal media have up their elitist French-cuffed sleeves, one weapon from their vast arsenal of sleaze that they can't use against you is witchcraft.

    You are protected.

    You go, girl.

    The whole world will be watching.

    And thank you, John McCain, for giving the Dems their best gift since Watergate. Endlessly giving.

    Posted by sloper at 09/28/2008 @ 08:26am

13. Republicans, who can't lead for nothing spend their waiting for the perfect sound bite. For Republicans, winning isn't everything, it's theonly thing.

    Posted by WeldonRobeson at 09/28/2008 @ 09:54am

14. I can't wait to see Saturday Night Live NEXT weekend....

    Tina Fey as Palin and "whoever the guy is" as Biden.

    All the "Biden" character has to do is ...look incredulous.

    heheh

    Posted by Maskdelta at 09/28/2008 @ 11:56am

15. This is absolutely ridiculous. So what if McCain said "horseshit"? Look at the context!

    Obama had just implied that McCain really did refuse to agree to meet with the prime minister of Spain.

    HORSESHIT, and Obama knows that as well. McCain said no such thing. McCain was caught in a gaffe in which he FORGOT WHO ZAPATERO WAS - which is completely different from not wanting to meet with him.

    Obama's attack was completely disingenuous, really no different in style from McCain's ads saying that Obama wants sex education for kindergarteners.

    Frankly, I'm glad McCain called it horseshit. It was. Obama, of all people, should know better than to resort to that kind of crap. It's dishonest.

    And don't pull the 'oh, they did it first' crap. This is not an elementary school playground.

    Posted by canaro71 at 09/28/2008 @ 1:06pm

16. Posted by canaro71 at 09/28/2008 @ 1:06pm

    Horseshit, pal, because McC's own campaign then backed him up on reluctance to deal with Spain, even though it's a NATO ally. As was noted to him & them.

    Lawd knows why. Perhaps because Spain withdrew from spreading freedom in Iraq.

    Posted by sloper at 09/28/2008 @ 1:14pm

17. sloper, thanks for providing the extra context. I hadn't heard that McCain had tried to take the Zapatero gaffe one step further.

    I appreciate the extra background, thanks.

    Posted by canaro71 at 09/28/2008 @ 3:05pm

18. http://tinyurl.com/4edotl

    http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/search/label/today%27s%20polls

    Posted by hsuBfools at 09/28/2008 @ 8:06pm

19. If the Bushies hadn't started an unnecessary war in Iraq wouldn't none of us be wearing bracelets

    Posted by takemyveepplease at 09/28/2008 @ 11:11pm

20. Posted by RedRiver_. at 09/28/2008 @ 6:07pm

    Afraid this has already been debunked, by the AP, no less. Here's a link to the story in the Orange County Register:

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_BRACELET

    Seems the mother is actually thrilled by the mention and felt it was entirely appropriate. This is another of those little "mistakes" that emanate from the right-wing blogosphere , this time from Jonah Goldberg.

    They're just ticked that Obama has raised more money from serving soldiers and has the edge in the latest military polls.

    Posted by Stwriley at 09/28/2008 @ 11:26pm

21. I can't even respond to this post. Except to say "I can't even respond to this post".

    Posted by chaoszen at 09/29/2008 @ 05:48am

22. my name is redriver! i know of no other punctuation except the exclaimation point! i spew "facts" and quips that i get from the love child of satan and ann coulter, jerome corsi, the anti-islamic, anti-catholic, anti-semitic homophobic who hates everyone thats not like his fat white ass! i have no worth as a human being!

    Posted by palehorse67 at 09/29/2008 @ 09:19am