Hi everyone, thanks for joining us tonight. We'll get started in about 15 minutes.
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:43:35 AM
Hi, I'm Keith Vincent, a graduate teaching assistant living in Florida. I am originally from Newfoundland.
by Keith Vincent 10/4/2012 12:51:15 AM
I'm Carla Swanson. I grew up on a grain farm in Saskatchewan. All of my family stil lives in Saskatchewan. I now live in Big Lake, MN which is a suburb on the northwest side of Minneapolis/St. Paul, less than an hour from the Mall of America. My husband and I have two teenagers. The oldest started college this year.
by Carla Swanson 10/4/2012 12:51:24 AM
Hi Keith and Carla, welcome!
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:51:38 AM
Hello everyone! I’m Jenny Zhang, an expat from Toronto (and Ottawa) living in North Carolina. Looks like we'll be a swing state again this year.
by Jenny Zhang 10/4/2012 12:52:06 AM
Hi everyone, I'm Sri Artham. I grew up in suburban Toronto, and now live in San Francisco helping developing world farmers through fair trade.
by Sri Artham 10/4/2012 12:52:30 AM
And hello Jenny and Sri
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:52:52 AM
Hi, all. I have to confess, I don't understand how candidates keep their cool for these things. I feel wired, and I'm just writing about it.
by Adam Radwanski 10/4/2012 12:53:13 AM
Good evening everyone - my name is Affan Chowdhry. I am a multimedia reporter with the Globe and Mail - and I'll be watching the debate and social media reaction this evening from here in Toronto, Canada. I've been following the U.S. presidential race closely.
And a big welcome to our Globe expats in the U.S.
by Affan Chowdhry 10/4/2012 12:53:17 AM
Adam - I'm with you on that!
by Affan Chowdhry 10/4/2012 12:53:33 AM
Hi Adam and Affan, thanks for joining us
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:54:13 AM
Good eeevening. I'm Doug Saunders, international-affairs columnist (and former Los Angeles bureau chief, to give me a splinter of America cred). I'll confess that US presidential debates often raise my hackles - - I have little patience for two people talking at the same time as one another. Three years ago, I got to watch Britain have its first televised PM debates, and was amazed to see everyone speaking in turn. Let's see if, at a minimum, they can pull that off tonight.
by Doug Saunders 10/4/2012 12:56:08 AM
And Doug - will the audience refrain from cheering and excessive clapping? There are rules in these debates. Apparently.
by Affan Chowdhry 10/4/2012 12:57:18 AM
Hi Doug, glad you could join us tonight. Just a few minutes to go!
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:57:26 AM
As I'm accustomed to covering Canadian debates, I may lapse into declaring Steve Paikin the real winner at some point. Apologies in advance.
by Adam Radwanski 10/4/2012 12:58:11 AM
I think Paikin is a little busy discussing Naomi Wolf to be joining us tonight.
by Jenny Zhang 10/4/2012 12:58:58 AM
To our expats: Feel free to ask questions to Doug, Adam and Affan in addition to commenting on the debate
by Melissa Whetstone 10/4/2012 12:59:36 AM
While we're waiting, an observation (if not an entirely original one): I think a lot of media are eager to pronounce this a race again, if only to inject some life into the final five weeks. Big opportunity for Romney if he can perform reasonably well.
by Adam Radwanski 10/4/2012 1:00:20 AM
The coverage here in San Francisco is just wrapping up the Oakland A's making the playoffs...ah, but here we go!
by Sri Artham 10/4/2012 1:00:28 AM
Remember: Debates are determined by candidates' ability to shift existing opinion, not to eloquently reinforce existing opinion. This is a much tougher challenge.
by Doug Saunders 10/4/2012 1:01:13 AM