Palin Did OK Last Night, Except for…

Palin did fine, except that little compassionless moment where she had no physical reaction whatsoever to Biden nearly starting to cry at the painful memory of losing his daughter and wife. I thought real christians are first christians and politicians second. Her lack of any compassion whatsoever and reverting to pure pre-programmed talking points at that touching moment may have been her Swansong with ACTUAL christians.

Be that as it may, she otherwise did show that the camp-out in AZ was a success. She appears mainly like a smiling GOP robotic Caribou-Barbie doll where you pull the string on her back and she says catch phrases like "we need to win in Iraq" or "Soccer moms know..[insert kitchy phrase here]" or "Don't play the blame-game, we need to look to the future"...etc. etc. etc.

The real killer for her performance last night wasn't necessarily last night, but instead her future until the election. She stated matter-of-factly and we all know matter-of-factly that her handlers won't let her near the press to fumble so badly as she did recently. Biden should pick up that ball and run. He should become so friggen availible to the press and discuss so many of his plans for our solidity and from whence our troubles sprang that Palin's (the GOP) only play will to have to talk to the press just to deflect his criticisms and spew the party line from Biden's GOP equivalent.

No matter what, Palin will look negligent if Biden schedules endless interviews with the press and becomes super-accessible to the American people, in stark contrast with Palin, who will behaving like inaccessible Cheney (that comparison between them might not be a bad dem talking point either for that matter...where is the talk of Cheney anyway??) with something to hide..

So her performance in the debate:..so-so.

Her performance (or non-performance, rather) after it can be her real undoing.

Silhouette:

You have expressed my feelings, especially on Palin's inconsiderate, absolutely-no-reaction moment to Joe Biden's tragedy, better than I did.

Thank you,

Dorian'

My jaw kind of dropped when she said, of Biden's wife, "her reward is in heaven!" I guess that may have played ok to Christians who say that sort of thing, and maybe even Biden was ok with it, but I know if it were I, my thought would have been "how DARE you mention my wife, YOU do not get to use her as a talking point."

Silhouette -- Biden's kind of been doing exactly what you suggest in your comment. He's done something like 100 public appearances and many, many press interviews since he was tapped 6 weeks ago. They haven't gotten the press attention like Palin's, what, three? appearances, just because there have been so many of them. I've seen snippets when he says something dumb (FDR on the TV and such), but hopefully the hundreds of hours he's putting in will pay off with voters.

Yes, you are right about that. The new angle for Biden could be to mention his opponent's stubborn refusal to be availible...and to tie it to the "four more years" argument since Dubya's VP MO is to be unavailible and in hiding from the American people...until his trial should the democrats prevail this Fall.

And that's another point to consider. Interviewers should challenge the GOP to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to the denying fraternity with Dubya's reign. Both McCain and Palin should be asked, point-blank, what they will do should either Dubya or Cheney be found guilty of providing false information to Congress to initiate an invasion of Iraq? Will they live out the talking point of being house-cleaners? Or is it all just smoke and mirrors to get elected and keep their buddies from going to jail?

That's a question I'd like to see put to them over and over until their spin dies and we're left with just how alike they really are to the Dubya/Cheney regime.

agreed, roro. I won't even say what my wife called her when she said that.

Palin did NOT do ok. Yeah she neither wet her pants nor vomited onstage, which I guess was the Republican "bar" set for her. But what she did was LIE time and again, and Biden nailed her on it every time.

My jaw dropping WTF moment was when she said that she wanted to make the job of the VP in the senate more powerful. I am really sure that the senators will be quite happy to comment on that little idea. This just shows that she still has zero idea of what the constitution actually says and that when she speaks past the talking points she actually knows nothing. She also tends to attempt to baffle with BS when she has not got a clew about what the question was.If McCain/Palin is actually elected then I believe that we will indeed be in the decline and fall of the american empire. Oct surprise prediction; Palins preggers daughter gets married and so captures the entire MSM that there will not be anything on any of the 24/7 cable news & of course the networks except facts and speculation about the baby. So women voters will flock to the McCain/Palin camp because of this-This prediction is not the personnal opinion of the writer, it is however what I believe is the opinion of the McCain/Palin campaign. They will cynically exploit the MSM seeming inability to concentrate on more than one subject at a time and their focus on bright shiny objects over any truth or real substance.

The one thing I've not seen addressed in any real way was her "I may not answer the question the way the moderator or you want but..." statement. Far from being assertive or "taking control" as I've seen it labeled, I thought it was a cynical hustle. Politics IS often cynical AND a hustle, but to say "I'm above the rules" during a debate is offensive because these debates are GROUNDED IN RULES agreed to by both parties. The rules are absolutely important so that all participants are speaking to the same issues from a common frame of reference, allowing for direct comparisons between them. There's no point in having a debate without rules. Palins dodge was deplorable. It negated the entire purpose of having a debate in the first place.

Timr -- that was kind of a gleeful moment for me, actually. My thoughts were, "ooh! just say you agree with Cheney! Say it! Say 'I agree with Cheney'....yes! she said it! Hahahahaha!"

jcarkzek -- I agree totally. If she were to be VP or (heaven forbid) President, and she were asked by the American public about some important recent development, and then she started babbling about Alaska, something tells me that wouldn't play out as "maverick-y!" as she was trying to come off last night.

I already have explained what really happened, unlike the mindless regurgitation of Palin-bashing we're seeing today as predicted, by the Usual Suspects, whose verdict had been reached weeks ago.

"They will cynically exploit the MSM seeming inability to concentrate on more than one subject at a time and their focus on bright shiny objects over any truth or real substance." ~ TimR
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Well put! I for one will be snapping off the tube and going for a walk if the media cooperates with any tabloid charade in these times of trouble. Advertisers be advised. If the public threatens to boycott the media if they are so tempted to wander, it may check their temptation to do so at the door.

They'd better stick to the issues or lose money by biting the hand that feeds them one to many times.

I thought Biden was exceptional in the debate. He showed restraint, compassion...everyone could feel his pain with the memory of his wife and child whose lives ended so tragically.....and refrained from embarrassing Ms Palin when she misidentified the Afghanistan commanding general. I also thought Ms Palin performed better than I had expected although her refusal to stick to the questions was irritating and, as others have commented, her gollys and oh goshes were wearing after a time. As for her winking, I think she has a tic which may be induced by stress.

To get back to Biden, I thought he missed an opportunity when he commented on Obama's healthcare proposal to cite McCain's NO votes on GI benefit bills.....those are biggies and would have gone far with the military vote.

snobird899:

Thank you for your comments (have we met before?). They are appreciated.

With respect to McCain's NO (or AWOL) votes on not only the GI Bill, but on many other bills for our active duty military and veterans, you are also right on target.

For a related comment on one of Sarah Palin's thoughtless outbursts that must have offended Senator Biden (as well as most Americans who oppose the war in Iraq), please go to

http://themoderatevoice.com/war/iraq/iraq-war/2...

Dorian