Live from Hofstra... maybe not the smarest idea

Maybe not the smartest but we loved it...

For those of you who tuned in for the live pre-date show than you know the night's excitement.

To make a long story short, a group of anti-war Iraq vets rallied up about 250 protesters and stormed toward a police barricade. The vets were demanding access to the debate and supporting them was the crowd, chanting "Let them in!"

The protesters marched across four lanes of traffic on Hempstead Turnpike to meet face to face... or maybe more nose to nose... with police horseback and tactical officers. They were eventually pushed back across the street... where they then chanted "Shame on you!"

The AP is reporting 15 protesters were arrested and at least one injured.

We've compiled some of our materia together to bring you inside the action:

>RAW Protest footage (by Dean Laurence)
>Edited Protest Footage (by Dean Laurence)
>Our Apperance on CNN.com Live (about 2:30 in)
>Photo gallery of protest (by Dean Laurence)
>Man on the Street: Speaking with protesters (by Megan Russ, James Brierton, Dean Laurence, Amanda Boitano)
>Podcast: Pre-Debate Show w\ James Brierton, Amanda Boitano, Dean Laurence and Megan Russ

*NEW: iReports Witness Protests at Prsidential Debate (by James Brierton / iReport.com blog)

PS: I still have no idea who won Project Runway... oh well