85%

Green Party presidential and vice presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala are arrested at Hofstra University, protesting the Green Party's exclusion from the CPD debates. The two non-violent candidates spent 8 hours shackled to chairs by police.

In the video below, a Hofstra representative asks the candidates, "Do you have credentials?"  Doctor Stein and Ms. Honkala tell her that they do, and that they are on the ballot for 85% of voters.  (Here is a map of Green Party ballot status as of July 2012.)

The representative oddly counters that Hofstra is sponsoring the debate and that, "this is an educational event for faculty and students."  Odd because I think (a) 1st amendment protest is very educational, (b) the presidential debates are supposed to inform everyone, and (c) the presidential debates are supposed to inform everyone about all of the candidates. 



You can see the full video and read the full transcript for the Hofstra debate here at the New York Times. 

Truthout is carrying here a nice video stream for the full Democracy Now! expanded debate, and with three third party presidential candidates (I guess the 4th couldn't make it) answering the same questions posed by Candy Crowley, and responding to Barack Obama and Mitt Romney -- Jill Stein of the Green Party, Rocky Anderson of the Justice Party, and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party.

Twitter was awash with commentary, wit, and contagious glee last night, the general consensus (to this viewer) that Obama decisively trounced Romney, with the exception of Donald Trump who huffed out in a retweet crossing my screen.   Finally slain on his own 47% sword, Cher compared Mitt to a snake, Michael Moore predicted binders of voters, Republicans declared they would never,  *the transcript moment* aplastered, polls announced, and Big Bird told on Staples.

I think Mr. Obama had people very worried, and the relief was palpable, even among the more restrained.

On the con side, and other than huffy Trump, *day after* alternative voices (see video below) stated that while Barack Obama is better than Romney, he needs to directly address the terrible economic inequalities growing in American society, raising wages, financial reform, climate change, and poverty.

What third party candidates talked about.