Truthful, raw emotion seals it for Biden:
First let me say that this is just a preliminary post letting you know my thoughts at this very moment without research on the script to determine lies, mistruths and misrepresentations. Because of this, this post will be short and without much detail.
Tooting my own horn, Let me preface this by repeating that I clearly predicted Palin doing well in this debate.
Sarah made several factual errors but I will wait on the final report and transcript research for my play by play. She started out great by asking Biden if she could call him Joe (a jab at Obama for 'not asking permission' I'm sure) but Joe got her back with his "Bridge to nowhere" insertion.
I feel Joe Biden won this debate in the last 15 minutes. Sarah Palin had the edge the entire debate because, as I predicted, she did well and that was all she needed to do. That is, until Joe Biden had an emotional response that was real, touching and spoke volumes about the type of person he is. From that point forward he maintained the lead and won the race by a nose with an excellent closing statement.
More tomorrow...
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Compliance is Not Consent
5 years ago
4 comments:
Palin's answers seemed staged and rehearsed. Her golly gees and betcha's and gonna's got on my nerves. She did better than I think anyone thought she would, but when you are at the bottom there is no where to go but up. I was won over by Biden's emotional response towards the end and he seemed to talk more from experience than she did. She quivered in a few of her responses showing that she was not prepared for some topics or uncomfortable in others like the gay issue. I still think she is unprepared to be vice president and especially president. I am scared that people are not thinking in those terms. If McCain bites the dust, she's it; she is the president! Have people really gotten away from knowing that the choice for vp is just as important as prez?
After a poor week in the media, Palin did only have one way to go. She clearly held her own. She was confident most of the night. There was a slight air of nervousness and informality about her. I would be on that stage too. She tried to identify herself as middle class. To some extent, I believe that was successful. She did get flustered briefly, early in the debate, so she changed the subject back to energy and avoided the question. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised in Palin's content and presentation. Did she win the debate? I don't think so. But she didn't need to win. The fact that she did as well as she did will give the Republican ticket a boost.
Biden did a great job of sticking to answering the question. If he was ever at a loss for words, I didn't notice. He was clearly the more confident, formal candidate. He also tried to identify with the middle class. In general, I don't think people in the middle class believe that politicians have any clue about what it means to be middle class. Maybe that's my misunderstanding. Biden did do a better job at relating his message to the middle class when he mentioned specific towns that he represents and what he knows about his constituents. Did he win? Probably, if we tally up all the specific responses. However, the Democratic ticket may have lost a few points temporarily, because Palin came out of this much better than expected.
I also am put off by her "folksy" talk, which comes off as fake and patronizing. She can't pull off the "log cabin and hard cider" routine like W.
She did manage to control the conversation, by doing exactly what she said: not answering the questions posed by the moderator, but instead launching into a stump speech at every opportunity.
Even this sounded scripted, as if she were reciting memorized talking points.
I think Biden did a good job linking McCain to the failed policies of the Bush administration, and no matter how hard she tried, Palin could not sever that link.
I have been listening to all the news shows and I have heard everything from "Sarah Palin managed not to crash and burn" to "she hit it out of the park". I think the reality is closer to her not crashing and burning.
Republicans keep saying "see, she's qualified - she made it through the debate without a major gaff". SO, is the new standard for VP or POTUS that he or she can make it through a debate without a major gaff? Has Sarah Palin set this new standard for our leaders? Are the standards of Republican party leaders so low that a barely passable performance could be ranked as "hitting it out of the park"?
I dislike Dick Cheney - I think he is the worst vice president in recorded history BUT, that having been said, I've no doubt he could run circles around me on issues of politics or of history. In other words, I may not like his views but he is certainly qualified for the job. In the case of Sarah Palin, I have no doubt that I could "take her" in a discussion on most any subject - and that scares me. She isn't running for student counsel president - she's running for the highest office in the land and she is absolutely unqualified for that job by every standard I am aware of.
Yes, it is true Palin didn't "crash and burn" on Thursday night. In many ways I'm glad she didn't as I think in many ways she represents women everywhere. But she was clearly scripted, she avoided questions, she winked at us, she used an exaggerated folksie accent and overall she was just plain SILLY. She behaved like a cheerleader who was good at memory work, not like a political leader running for the highest job in the land.
I urge everyone to vote for Obama-Biden. This is the adult ticket. Two men who want to serve this country and have not sold their souls for the job. John McCain has done perhaps the greatest deservice of all to his country by choosing Sarah to be VP. He deserves to be left in the dirt he has created on election day.
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