My take on the VP debate:
Sarah Palin responded much better than expected. She had lots of memorized sound bites that went over well with the public. When she couldn’t answer questions about McCain, taxes or deregulation- she switched to talking about Energy. Doing this allowed her to keep talking -without the viewing audience actually realizing that she did not answer the question. It was a very good tactic. Palin has now been trained to stare at the camera and to repeat great sound bites. She must have had a speech coach as well because a lot of the twang in her voice has been removed. Her hair was down, her make up was perfect, her designer suit fit well and she knew how to work the camera. Republicans and Independents that would have abandoned the McCain/Palin party are now back on board. Sarah did well. Though she is still not qualified to be our next VP, I was happy to have a break from cringing.
Joe Biden answered all his questions with expertise. Joe had to correct Sarah when she said he didn’t know what it was like to be a single parent/mother to your children. He lost his wife and daughter in an accident and became a single parent to his boys. One of those boys is now being sent to Iraq. When he showed his sensitive side, I had to dab the mist out of my eyes. Joe Biden is the real deal. He is not a war mongering cyborg. He is exactly who this country needs.
My regret – Joe was not tough on Sarah. He did not correct her when she got the USA military General’s name wrong throughout the debate. He treated her with kid gloves, as many of us expected. My advice – It is time for the Democratic party to quit coddling her and treat her like they would any other VP candidate who has zilch knowledge.
My favorite part – The Gay Marriage/Civil Rights issue. I wanted more of a battle but was glad for the sparks.
Joe Biden won the debate per CNN’s panel. I agree with their assessment.
Visit the Huffington Post For more detailed analysis.
October 3, 2008 at 7:21 am
thanks for the summary Steady, much better than Radio four bore.
You’re right that they are kid gloving her.
*waves at Bird la Bird*
October 4, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Steadycat,
As usual… a great post! Personally, it pissed me off the way Palin disregarded the rules of debate. Why she was not corrected, I have no clue. (Yet, we certainly don’t want anyone to think she was being “picked on”).
As a former collegiate debater from a major university, I know the role of the moderator. The same questions are asked of both teams. The moderator cannot influence a decision as a judge can in a courtroom.
This is due to the fact a judge decides what information is relevant for each party. A moderator does not have this role in a debate. Again…the same questions are asked equally of both teams.
The nature of these debates is to determine how each team answers the SAME questions. These questions are germane to the discovery of where these candidates stand on the issues.
Perhaps this is a new example of how well the McCain camp ‘vet’s” those involved with the issues surrounding their campaign ie Palin, Rick Davis (Fannie & Freddie)
Kindest Regards,
Michelle
PS…Yes, I know I’m supposed to be taking it easy. That was kind of you to have remembered. My surgery date is Oct 8
Hi Michelle. I’m glad you stopped by. *passes Michelle a nice cup of tea* It is now time to treat her like a VP candidate instead of like little Shirley Temple, the child star.
October 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Biden was brilliant! It would not have served him well to come off as picking on the intellectually challenged Palin. He debated McCain instead of her. She stumped for the ticket and blew off the questions. The comedians are dressing her down for it, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7aHV9M8zC0
Biden was brilliant. I am 100% on his team.
October 5, 2008 at 4:45 pm
“As we send our young men and women overseas in a war zone to fight for democracy and freedoms, including freedom of the press, we’ve really got to have a mutually beneficial relationship here with those fighting the freedom of the press, and then the press, though not taking advantage and exploiting a situation, perhaps they would want to capture and abuse the privilege. We just want truth, we want fairness, we want balance. –Sarah Palin
That’s from Friday. Intellectually challenged was really too kind. “Too dumb to govern” is what I should have said.
I love how she can switch seamlessly from one topic to another – as if she is talking about the same thing. *newsflash* My error. She is talking about the same thing. *sigh*
October 6, 2008 at 4:00 am
You are absolutely right, I have been skeptical about Biden, but after that debate I am all behind him. Too bad I cant vote in time, darn papers taking to long to process.
October 6, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I still cringed listening to Palin. It was very obvious to me that she had done some studying, had received some coaching, but a lot of topics were missed. I noticed that she sidestepped the questions. I watched it with a group and we all noticed those little things. I believe that the average Joe noticed too.
I hope the average Joe noticed. Gwen Ifill has commented on how Sarah brushed her off – by not answering the questions. Sarah didn’t learn decent manners or proper protocol while waiting for Putin to rear his head over Alaska.
October 6, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Honestly, I thought she stunk. It was just more pandering to her constituency and not talking about the issues.
Once again, the only reason Palin is even in the race is because she has a vagina. If I am being blatantly honest.
I could tell Joe Biden want to lay into her. But he had to smile. The minute he did ANYTHING that looked remotely like an attack he would have been called a sexist brute and effectively galvanized the people crazy enough to believe she would make a good president.
I also notice how Sarah Palin is being used as a ruse by the McCain campaign. Keep all the attention on her and McCain can do his dirty work on the low…
Hi Toddy. I think everyone has now decided (if they haven’t, they should) that Sarah Palin should be treated like a VP candidate and not like a dainty little flower. It is time for her to receive her can of whip a** just like everyone else. The Sarah decoy has been working for John McCain but the trend is a changing. People are getting bored.