home

Post Debate Thread I: A Game Changer?

No huge gaffes, but a game changer? Not to me. What did you think?

< Biden-Palin VP Debate Live Blog - I | Biden's Best Answer: John McCain is No Maverick >
  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


  • Display: Sort:
    I came in past the halfway point (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by andgarden on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:35:55 PM EST
    and didn't see anything remarkable.

    There is no story tonight.

    How about that unitary executive (5.00 / 3) (#105)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:14:35 PM EST
    powers of the VP thing and then Biden responded by saying that Dick Cheney has been the most dangerous Vice President we have ever had?  I almost fell out of bed due to the waves of pleasure crashing over me.  That was pretty good.  That easily covered the cost of spectating for me.

    Parent
    unitary executive (none / 0) (#175)
    by diogenes on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:05:48 PM EST
    I thought Bill and Hillary were the unitary executive.

    Parent
    They're the binary executive (none / 0) (#181)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:09:01 PM EST
    using them in different sequences and patterns you can make anything, go anywhere, do anything :)

    Parent
    Joe Biden done good (5.00 / 6) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:36:09 PM EST
    A thankless task but he did what he was supposed to do - boring. sober, safe.

    I confess that I am pleased Palin did not fail.

    100% agree (5.00 / 2) (#11)
    by CST on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:49 PM EST
    Palin looked competent, and Biden reminded everyone that she was wrong.

    I was glad that there was no train wreck too - but he did seem to answer questions better.

    Parent

    She didn't look competent to me (5.00 / 3) (#86)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:04:32 PM EST
    She tried but didn't rise to the level of mediocrity. And she deteriorated as the debate went on.

    She didn't didn't freeze up in fear. She continued to speak gibberish. She wants even more power and less oversight than Dick Cheney. She couldn't explain how McCain's policies differ from Bush's.

    Not competent. She improved from an Epsilon Minus Semi-Moron to a Delta Minus. (tm - Aldous Huxley)

    Parent

    100% (5.00 / 0) (#92)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:07:45 PM EST
    in agreement. I turned the sound off for a minute or two halfway thru the debate to take a phone call, and she looked a bit panicky. Not Katie Couric panicky, but still kind of in a daze. Her lips continued to move, though.

    Biden proved again that he is a very competent debater; this shouldn't surprise. His rep as a gaffe machine may be well-earned, but the gaffes tend to come when he has his guard down, not when he is front and center and needing to be "on."

    Parent

    Didn't the Delta Minus require alcohol (none / 0) (#101)
    by Steve Davis on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:12:11 PM EST
    poisoning of the fetus? Speaking of alcohol poisoning, I'd picked "literally" by Joe Biden as my drinking-trigger, and I'm happy to say that I survived the debate relatively unscathed!

    Parent
    Not sure about Delta Minus (5.00 / 1) (#133)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:35:07 PM EST
    but definitely the Epsilon Minus Semi-Moron.

    I wonder what that makes Bush?

    I'm glad I didn't play a drinking game triggered by the word "maverick." I'd be getting a liver transplant by now.

    Parent

    I think you take (5.00 / 2) (#144)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:42:09 PM EST
    is politically unwise, and also wrong.  I agree that Sarah Palin had no answers to those tough questions.  It's not because she's stupid or because she's lost.  It's because the Republicans have no answers.  They broke our country.  

    She went off into the weeds sometimes, but she wasn't awful - and the better narrative for Democrats and the ticket is not "Sarah-Palin-is-dumb-with-a-stupid-phoney-accent-y'all-in-flyover-country-don't-still-fall-for-that- or-are-you-really-that-dumb!" but rather, Sarah Palin did her best, but she evaded questions and created her own soundbites because McCain and the Republicans have nothing to offer the country.  They broke us to the smoking shambles in which we find ourselves.

    You don't give the criminal arsonist who burned down your house the contract to rebuild it.  Nor do you give that contract to his buddy who sold him the gasoline.  

    Parent

    Republicans don't have answers (5.00 / 0) (#161)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:55:03 PM EST
    but more seasoned Republicans are better at putting the veneer of credibility on what they say.

    It the difference between (1)using the outline of a speech as a way of reminding yourself of what topics you plan to discuss and in what order; and (2) reading the outline because you don't know what else to say beyond the topic header.

    Palin may not be stupid, although I don't think she is terribly smart either. She may have some sort of "street smart" instinct for connecting with people. Hell, George W. Bush has that too. But if she's not stupid, then she is intellectually lazy. It's obvious that with the possible exception of drill baby drill, she had not thought prior to her nomination about most of the issues about which she was question tonight.  She's a 44 year old woman who is the chief executive of a state. She can't name a single newspaper or periodical that she reads regularly? Not one?  Not even the Anchorage Daily News?  Most people can tell you what newspapers they read -- if they read them at all.

    Not only does Palin know only the most superficial slogans related to any issue, she had to go to debate camp to learn them.  God help me, but even the Governator, who'd never been elected to office before he campaigned for Governor, was far more informed, knowledgeable and articulate than Palin will ever be.  

    Parent

    IMO, you're off base. (none / 0) (#214)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:53:43 PM EST
    The guys in my office were talking about the newspaper thing today - independent of me.  They couldn't name any that they read on a regular basis, and thought the fuss over her non-answer was lame.  

    I disagree with you, clearly.  I don't think she's stupid.  I don't think she's a brilliant policy wonk, but I don't think she's dumb.  She delivered the stupid Republican talking points on the economy as well as most any Republican could.  She got way out in the weeds on some of the foreign policy issues and was clearly out of her depth there, but the non-answers on the economy were, IMO, the standard Republican non-answers: incoherent because at this point Republican economic policy is utterly incoherent.  

    Parent

    Yes, keep talking about the Republican economy (none / 0) (#5)
    by robrecht on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:36:58 PM EST
    Just wondering... (none / 0) (#24)
    by Thanin on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:43:34 PM EST
    why are you pleased she didnt fail?  Is it just being respectful or because this keeps this a nonevent and the media narrative stays on the economy?

    Parent
    I did not want to see a woman fail (5.00 / 11) (#39)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:48:28 PM EST
    I did not want to see her succeed, but I did not want her to fail.

    Parent
    Thank you, BTD (5.00 / 2) (#64)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:56:18 PM EST
    Thats a great answer... (5.00 / 0) (#74)
    by Thanin on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:00:13 PM EST
    but I think its obvious that women, as they've always been, are completely and absolutely capable of being President of the United States.  So for me, if palin had failed, it in no way would have reflected on her gender, but just that palin isnt someone I want as president.

    Parent
    On a more selfish (none / 0) (#78)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:01:35 PM EST
    note, if she failed, Biden would be in a tough spot -- does he go in for the kill or stay hands off? He'd have to win without winning her any sympathy. Good on Palin for being (mostly) coherent.

    Parent
    I do not think (5.00 / 2) (#91)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:07:19 PM EST
    she was coherent. She kept spitting out talking points and slogans without placing them in any substantive context. She wandered from talking point to catchphrase back to slogan and back again.
    Maverick, hockey mom, Joe Six Pack, victory, energy, oil, maverick, reformer, white flag of surrender, terrorists want to kill us, tax cuts, reformer, maverick, victory, surge, maverick.

    Parent
    Politics is rarely coherent (5.00 / 2) (#96)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:09:08 PM EST
    I meant 'coherent' (none / 0) (#100)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:12:00 PM EST
    by political standards (see BTD's comment below). Obviously this doesn't substitute for a real conservative stance on any issues; heck I have more substantive discussions with my conservative students.

    Parent
    She failed. (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:04:14 PM EST
    If you want to take this debate as some kind of representation of men and women in general Biden was deeply knowledgeable and Palin was ignorant and had no command whatsoever of the complex material.

    Personally, I don't see it that way.  There are plenty of competent women in the world and that won't change if McCain happens to choose someone not ready for prime time.  And there are plenty of really stupid guys, the fact that a smart one was on TV tonight doesn't change that.


    Parent

    The symbol matters (none / 0) (#94)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:08:33 PM EST
    You act as if that is not so and you know better.

    Parent
    For me, Gov. Palin is a symbol of the Republican (5.00 / 5) (#128)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:32:17 PM EST
    perspective on the world more than she is a symbol of women.  Ignorance with a flag pin.

    Parent
    The latter (none / 0) (#28)
    by robrecht on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:45:02 PM EST
    Have to confess that I began feeling sorry for her (none / 0) (#125)
    by joanneleon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:29:57 PM EST
    as they released more and more segments of the Katie Couric interview, and as it became obvious that her confidence was shattered, and watching how the McCain campaign was handling her.  McCain is such a creep, I can just imagine how he treated her and what he may have said.

    After a week of it, I started wondering what the Couric interview would have looked like if viewed in its entirety.  Was it ever aired from beginning to end?  If so, I didn't see it.  All I saw were selected segments, and they were always prefaced by pundits with ridicule in the form of expressions or talk.  Plus, Couric went after her, I thought that was pretty obvious.  Instead of interviewing her to find out about her, it seemed like she was quizzing her (with the exception of the question about what she reads, bizarre answer).

    I'd hate to have someone do that to me -- to pick out parts of an interview, ones that were really problematic, airing only those, over and over, and sort of stating the conclusion before showing the clip.

    Now, the gaffes she made were really bad, no denying that.  And they probably would have stood out, even if watching the interview beginning to end.  She choked, big time.  The overall impression may have ended up being the same.  But I really thought they did her dirty with those clips, releasing them one by one, drip... drip...

    After tonight, I no longer feel sorry for her.  What stands out in my mind now is that she's an accomplished liar.  I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone else lie so easily and without the slightest indication that it bothered her a bit.

    Parent

    I agree that she was what you said, (5.00 / 0) (#140)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:38:58 PM EST
    an accomplished liar.  But it's beyond lying not  bothering her, it's that there's an element of relishing it that is repulsive.  I've seen in in George W. Bush, Cheney, Rove and others.  It's ugly.

    Parent
    lying (none / 0) (#173)
    by diogenes on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:01:42 PM EST
    Lying is repulsive whether done easily and with relish by Republicans or by the Clintons.  Obama doesn't seem to be cut from that cloth.

    Parent
    wishful thinking (5.00 / 3) (#188)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:13:56 PM EST
    Obama dissembles with the best of them. All politicians do.

    Parent
    No game changer (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by robrecht on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:36:19 PM EST


    Not a game changer. (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by shoulin4 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:36:34 PM EST
    Just secured the bases.

    No game changer. (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:37:57 PM EST
    They both did great.  Biden impressed with amazing policy knowledge.  Palin more or less successfully  covered up the fact she couldn't actually answer any of the questions.

    The question is whether Palin will be portrayed as someone who "stood up" to Biden, or as an in-over-her-head dilletante.

    I say, little or no effect on the numbers.

    Dilletante? Why that word? (none / 0) (#52)
    by Angel on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:53:00 PM EST
    I like to use words. . . (5.00 / 0) (#68)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:57:17 PM EST
    that concisely but accurately describe the subject under discussion.

    Parent
    Well, spell it correctly. It's dilettante. (none / 0) (#80)
    by Angel on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:02:07 PM EST
    I guess you're saying she's an amateur?  Would you call a male a dilettante?  

    Parent
    I beg your pardon. . . (5.00 / 1) (#95)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:08:46 PM EST
    for some reason, Firefox was not able to find  "dilettante" as the correct spelling of "dilletante".  Thanks for the correction.

    And yes, I will certainly call a male a dilettante and have in fact called myself a dilettante when discussing endeavors in which I am, in fact, a dilettante.

    Parent

    I've seen Obama described (5.00 / 1) (#129)
    by joanneleon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:32:43 PM EST
    the same way -- same word.  I don't think the word gives any impression of gender.

    Parent
    It kind of sounds feminine, like debutante, (5.00 / 1) (#145)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:42:15 PM EST
    but I don't associate it with women at all.  Just with the definition that pops up in google:

    dabbler: an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge

    Parent

    Makes me think of chocolates, (5.00 / 1) (#156)
    by JavaCityPal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:51:50 PM EST
    fine chocolates.

    Parent
    oh lord, Angel, don't start, n/t (5.00 / 0) (#174)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:04:06 PM EST
    I agree, no game changer (none / 0) (#154)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:49:55 PM EST
    But I do think Palin's performance will reassure many people.  She wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought she would be.  And Biden was so boring and at times looked old and mean.  

    Neither of them were that impressive.  I suspect that will be seen as a winner for Palin.

    Parent

    Biden looked old and mean? (5.00 / 0) (#196)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:25:31 PM EST
    What channel were you watching?

    Parent
    I think (5.00 / 1) (#209)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:46:59 PM EST
    you will find a pattern in Brass Tacks' comments tonight.

    Parent
    Couldn't disagree more (5.00 / 1) (#205)
    by shoephone on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:38:46 PM EST
    I didn't find him one bit boring. Not old or mean either. I thought it was a much more interesting debate than the one between Obama and McCain.

    Parent
    A game-bender (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:00 PM EST
    Because a Palin non-failure = a Palin success. Tomorrow's headline: "Biden can't trample Palin!" As if she was just supposed to roll over and die. The McCain campaign successfully set expectations low enough that she soared right over them, despite her awful performance.

    She didn't have the moose in the headlights (5.00 / 4) (#48)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:51:53 PM EST
    look.  But after the first few answers, she devolved into gibberish. And on the one thing of substance she said, she was outrageous! She not only said that she agrees with Cheney's view of the vice-presidency, but she wants MORE power.

    She rejects the notion of Congressional oversight of an even more powerful VP office.

    Just what we need.

    Parent

    What we need is (none / 0) (#67)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:57:10 PM EST
    for the Media to tell it like it is -- which is exactly the analysis you just gave. But they'll call it a "tie" or say that "she did alright" -- not the forceful criticism of her performance that actually makes people vote against the ticket.

    Parent
    No, no big deal (none / 0) (#12)
    by robrecht on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:52 PM EST
    Nope. (none / 0) (#21)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:43:06 PM EST
    Silly argument.  Wishful thinking.  Palin certainly didn't get crushed, but she did provide fodder for this Saturday night.  

    But who really cares about VPs anyway?  Only a big screw-up by either party would have been news.  As it is, the story both is that candidates basically did okay (even thought that's unfair to Biden).

    Parent

    It's not a "silly (none / 0) (#40)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:48:43 PM EST
    argument." McCain has only made the news in the past two weeks for his gaffes, dropping poll numbers, and pulling out of Michigan. You don't think it helps him for his VP to have stood her ground* against Biden? And every one of the lies she mentioned that gets quoted by the Media (even as being false) is harmful to Obama.

    This was a game-bender, even if McCain doesn't end up ahead. It stopped the downward spiral.

    * Obviously he won, but this will go down as a tie.

    Parent

    Nope. (5.00 / 3) (#51)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:52:21 PM EST
    You don't think it helps him for his VP to have stood her ground* against Biden?

    "McCain VP Pick Not As Stupid As First Thought" is not going to help him too much.

    Plus, listening to the way the NPR analysis is going, I'm not sure it will ultimately be reported as a tie.  They were kind of even handed for ten minutes, but now they're (in a very civil NPR fashion) eviscerating her.

    Parent

    It's wishful thinking (none / 0) (#62)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:55:58 PM EST
    to believe that NPR "politely eviscerating" her will actually help undecided voters make up their minds; or that the Media will say something like 'she's not as stupid as we once thought.' She exceeded expectations, and even highly neutral coverage of her gets people distracted from McCain's precipitous drop in the last two weeks. But again, this didn't put McCain ahead, it just stopped his slide downward, something you seem to acknowledge.

    Parent
    David Shuster just said (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:32 PM EST
    that there was no knockout blow. What a maroon.

    Tweety: I thought it was significant that Biden said Cheney most dangerous VP in history. Palin said she wants a legislative expansion of VP powers. That is unprecedented.  Also not going to do more interviews with newscaster, she said she wasn't going to play by debate rules, or listen to Ifill. THAT IS EXTRAORDINARY, says Tweety.

    Shuster now talking about Palin's game plan to answer the questions she wanted to answer.

    Tweety: imagine moving embassy to Jerusalem and keeping the relationship with Jordan the same! I thought I was listening to a person recite talking points, it was like listening to a spelling bee, it was so recited, exactly the way you were taught.

    Mitchell: making blatant appeal for votes.

    OMG. I don't frakkin' believe it. Tweety is making the most trenchant political analysis.

    Mitchell: she made up her own questions and answered them. Format was very limiting. She wasn't challenged when she changed subject.

    It's...... (none / 0) (#14)
    by michitucky on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:40:29 PM EST
    David Gregory

    Parent
    Biden did very well. (5.00 / 4) (#9)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:41 PM EST
    Frankly I was surprised at how well he did. Palin didn't fall on her face, but sounded very rehearsed and her info undigested. At times she seemed to want to get things in before she forgot she forgot it, but the whole folksy bit came off like a Reagan parody.

    Ifill was awful (5.00 / 4) (#10)
    by magster on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:39:47 PM EST
    She exercised no control on Palin's non-answer answers.  

    Biden did as well as he could considering the format.  

    A friend who watched it with me wondered if Ifill (5.00 / 2) (#116)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:24:36 PM EST
    is on pain meds.  Several slurred words and just seemed not on top of things.  I didn't think she was awful, but did seem to be a little slow on the uptake compared to usual for her.

    Parent
    only (5.00 / 3) (#15)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:40:42 PM EST
    someone who was already in the R column could possibly find a reason to support McCain after this debate. Palin did not embarrass herself, but she was not impressive, did not seem presidential, and seemed to do little more than sloganeering.

    She seemed more like a booster for McCain (5.00 / 0) (#139)
    by joanneleon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:37:27 PM EST
    or a person who works for the campaign, hired to speak on the air and sell McCain.

    Parent
    Joe delivered for Obama today and Sarah (5.00 / 3) (#16)
    by thereyougo on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:40:51 PM EST
    just didn't for McCain. She was not impressive, came off as too robotic, not sincere. Joe spoke to us and implored that this is the most important election.

    When Joe said McCain was no maverick in so many ways based on his record in the Senate Palin, let him get away with that and never countered it. Wow, she's such a lightweight, Joe blew her off the stage with this last comment.

    Maddow agrees with me! (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:41:26 PM EST
    About Palin parody of 'folksiness'. Buchanan disagrees.

    When Maddow surrendered (4.20 / 5) (#107)
    by NYShooter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:18:03 PM EST
    her self-respect to become "one of the boys" which led to her own show; her ticket was to trash and slime Hillary 24/7 with such faux, furrowed brow, seriousness, she proved she belonged on the dais with those other two paragons of virtue, Mathews and Olbermann...........she lost me forever.

    But, to each their own


    Parent

    as much as I agree with you about the primaries (5.00 / 2) (#179)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:08:30 PM EST
    this election is not about "boys" versus girls.  That's just what the GOP wants, for us to divide against each other along gender, racial, and class lines.

    Parent
    Certainly, I agree with you..... (5.00 / 1) (#204)
    by NYShooter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:38:31 PM EST
    but invoking Maddow's name as confirmation is  unnecessary & unneeded........for me anyway.

    Parent
    Folksy? (none / 0) (#106)
    by Prana on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:17:30 PM EST
    Who would have thunk?

    Born and raised in Idaho. Hunting and fishing with her dad. Went to school in Idaho including college. It's like, you know, who's folksy in Idaho besides everyone? LOL

    Then she moved to Alaska, not exactly Scranton, PA. More hunting and fishing. Married a dog sled racer & an outdoor worker and is a mother who is raising children in a small town. How in the earth can she act so folksy? LOL

    Leave to Maddow to be - MMMMeooow!

    You can't be serious Tom are you? Or did you really not know her background and where and how she was raised. Have you ever been to Idaho? Meet anyone from Idaho? they are not exactly Newport Beach, CA.

    By the way Jimmy Carter was and still is folksy. But certainly it is feigned and not a product of where he was born and raised.

    Parent

    Very serious (5.00 / 1) (#155)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:50:14 PM EST
    she's pushing it. She's a trained TV announcer, she's been to school and knows how to speak. It comes off phoney.

    I'm from a small town, Pasco Washington, and lived with my grandparents, (grandpa was an ex-rodeo rider and a grandma was registered nurse), in Haines Oregon, a town so small that we checked out books from the town library with our first names. We went fishing with my dad, a cement finisher for 30 years, played in the North Power and Columbia rivers, went home for lunch at the sound of the noon fire bell, and dug gravel out of my butt when trying to learn to ride the bicycle on the dirt roads. So don't talk to me about 'folksy'.

    And through all this 'folksiness', I know how to speak correctly. In fact, in my training as an actor, I bet I took some of the same sort of voice/diction classes Palin probably took to train for television. Oh, I could push the small town stuff too, speak with an eastern Washington accent (yep, there is one), and sometimes I do when I get a bit tired or excited, (dropping 'g's or saying din't instead of didn't), or wear a few more cowboys shirts than I do, but I don't push it, I don't wear 'small town' around my head like a halo. Palin does and really did it tonight, pushing it into parody, as if someone told her this was her strong point and gave her a list of 'folksy' things they cribbed off an old episode of Andy Griffith. She did herself no real favors, and didn't do McCain any favors tonight either.

    Parent

    Like Reagan? (none / 0) (#159)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:53:44 PM EST
    His schtick drove me crazy too, but Americans ate it up.

    Parent
    Yeah, like Reagan. (none / 0) (#180)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:08:36 PM EST
    Republicanism is all about the 1980-1986 glory years.  Well, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 89 and fall of the Soviet Union in 91, that they believe are their achievements, and which I would bet a lot of people nolw think happened under Reagan.

    Parent
    Exactly! (5.00 / 1) (#203)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:37:49 PM EST
    All the Reagen talk with the repubs. You wonder which party is the one who is 'looking to the past' too much.

    Parent
    Yeah, but she sells it. (none / 0) (#148)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:45:52 PM EST
    It's not a put on, but it is a shtick.

    Parent
    Relieved. (5.00 / 3) (#18)
    by hitchhiker on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:42:12 PM EST
    Feels really good that this is done, because imo there's no way she got independents.

    Biden impressed me, and I was not a fan going in.  

    She only made me shout one time . . and that was when she said, "oh golly!" over whatever is was.  Phony.  Staged.  

    She kept the base, but wow, I was glad for the question about how each of them would deal with being president.

    Big reminder moment--this woman dares to think she can lead the free world.  No. Freaking. Way.

    She outraged me (5.00 / 6) (#33)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:46:32 PM EST
    when  Biden through McSame's adoption of Bush positions in her face, and she tried to re-live Reagan's "there you go again" moment with "say it ain't so Joe, looking backwards again."

    Parent
    SNL. . . (5.00 / 4) (#35)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:47:31 PM EST
    will love that one.

    Parent
    That just sounded stupid (5.00 / 2) (#59)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:54:54 PM EST
    that was her knock out? That was her 'there he goes again', or 'I paid for this mic'? Sad.

    Parent
    I thought Biden was great!! (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by befuddledvoter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:43:30 PM EST
    Palin was OK.  She misstated number of troops in Iraq and some other misstatements.  Geraldine Ferraro is now on.  Gerri Ferraro wanted her to hold her own and to do OK as a woman.  She says Palin did good.  But, Joe Biden did well. Both got messages out.  Palin answered what she wanted to answer and twisted what she did not want to.  She held her own.  Joe biden did a wonderful job.

    I agree with Geraldine.  They did no harm.  Palin made mistakes but not serious.  When people go to the polls they vote for the President.  

    Ferraro and BTD (5.00 / 3) (#56)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:53:56 PM EST
    seem to be sharing a brain on this one - not wanting to see a woman fail.

    What her ladyparts have to do with it is a mystery to me. This election has already proved that a woman can be a credible presidential candidate. Sarah Palin is not the standard bearer for female candidates.

    Parent

    Yeah, a little too much protectiveness (5.00 / 1) (#104)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:13:58 PM EST
    of a hard-right conservative Republican for my taste.  Palin plays hardball and, frankly, lies and fudges facts.  The perceived need to not be too rough on Palin may have prevented Biden from getting angry and pointing out her lies as effectively as he could have, but that could also just be Biden conceding the premises too much and being too fair-minded.  While I understand the gender double standard, I think it's a load of crap.  That said, Biden did well and did not give the GOP or PUMA's the condescension or traces of sexism they were hoping for.

    I guarantee you that the GOP was hoping for Biden to fail, and they obviously don't mind getting there by dishonestly appealing to moderates while quietly holding far-right policy positions.  If McCain were to win the election and implement more Republican policies, how would we feel about hoping for her to "not fail"?  

    Parent

    Some PUMAs... (none / 0) (#166)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:56:57 PM EST
    not others.  I think there was a legitimate point to be made that some of the Dem's primary structure and process, and perhaps its overall power structure, are in need of reform and that was the motivation of some who joined in the PUMA movement.

    "Dishonestly appealing to moderates" is a good description, imo.

    Parent

    I'm going to send Palin (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:44:51 PM EST
    a boxful of the letter 'g', because she seems ta be sufferin' from a lack of 'em.

    Save some for. . (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:45:58 PM EST
    Obama, okay?

    Parent
    Obama (none / 0) (#46)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:51:34 PM EST
    doesn't make it an act. Reminds me of a friend of mine who was born in the south, but had lived in Seattle since he was ten. Get him near an attractive woman, and suddenly he was a Kentucky Col.

    Parent
    Is she really (none / 0) (#49)
    by CDN Ctzn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:51:58 PM EST
    that illiterate or is it all a part of the folksy charm schtick? Sadly, people like that kind of BS and it all adds to the perception around the world that Americans are are a little light on the I.Q. scale.

    Parent
    I think it probably started out natural (5.00 / 2) (#72)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:59:28 PM EST
    but now she's playing it up. It's like watching Hee-Haw, where the country folks put on 'country' accents and 'country' clothes and sit on bales of hay in a studio.

    Parent
    Or maybe it (5.00 / 2) (#108)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:18:20 PM EST
    really is her accent.  Slate had a very interesting extended analysis of her accent - and essentially, when she's THINKING about it, she pronounces her gs.   Apparently, Alaskans, particularly in her hometown of Wasilla, routinely drop gs and further have their own version of Canadian raising - which is what we Easterns here as a "Fargo" accent in her voice.

    I may not like her policies, but her accent is considerably more genuine than  George W. Bush's faux Texan cowboy schtick.  (Or Obama's faux I'm'a tell you like it is drawl.)  

    I like regional accents & I don't make value judgments about people who have them.  

    Parent

    Regional Accents (none / 0) (#119)
    by CDN Ctzn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:25:22 PM EST
    are fine but they should never be an excuse for poor diction. When I was in school, a million years ago, our teachers drilled into us the importance of proper diction. We weren't wealthy or privilidged, but we were taught that less than perfect diction, if not caused by a speech disorder, was due to laziness plain and simple.

    Parent
    Not so much the accent (none / 0) (#165)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:56:48 PM EST
    but that she plays it, coming on stronger with it when she feels the need to be distracting and 'folksy', and dialing it back when she doesn't need it.

    I've spent days studying voices and dialects (I've done voice and accent work for stage and radio) and she's pushing it like what we used to call a 'professional Southerner'. It's crossed the line from natural to put-on.

    Parent

    Actually - (none / 0) (#176)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:06:27 PM EST
    - the Slate linguist theorized that she dialed back the accent deliberately primarily when she was offering up clearly rehearsed talking points, but that her accent came out more strongly when she was relaxed and speaking in her own voice.    

    Parent
    That would be (none / 0) (#199)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:30:22 PM EST
    'playing it'.

    Parent
    That would be (none / 0) (#206)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:42:50 PM EST
    'playing it down.'  Her natural, comfortable speaking voice is the more strongly accented voice.  

    Parent
    Right... (none / 0) (#210)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:48:56 PM EST
    Playing it up, playing it down all playing it. And I disagree with their expert, who doesn't seem to be taking in her 'folksy' phrases and winking.

    Parent
    Hmm. (none / 0) (#186)
    by liminal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:12:29 PM EST
    My next door neighbor is from Spain.  She speaks English with a thick Spanish accent, even though she's lived in the State for 40 years.  I don't think that that makes her stupid or lazy.  Her husband speaks English with a strong Appalachian drawl.    I don't think that makes him stupid or lazy.  His Spanish also has a similar tinge.  That doesn't make him stupid or lazy, either.  It's just part of the variation that makes up the world.  

    The rest of the world has plenty of reason to judge the US right now, but I don't think that our weird regional American accents have any part in that.  

    Parent

    Nothing wrong with her accent (5.00 / 1) (#192)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:18:22 PM EST
    it's the fact she playing it up that sticks and comes across as phony.

    Parent
    I wonder (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by kmblue on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:45:11 PM EST
    how this debate came off to people who are not obsessed with this election.

    Present company excluded!   ;)

    I wondered that too (5.00 / 2) (#111)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:18:42 PM EST
    for example: when Palin said taxing the rich destroys jobs, I thought back to Hillary reminding us in the O'Reilly interview that this isn't really true; we raised taxes on businesses in the 90's and had record economic growth because businesses don't exactly plan their futures based on what the tax rate will be.  If I didn't know that though, it's hard to say how it would sound.  At least Biden was clear that taxing the wealthy and not taxing the people who have been hurting is "fairness."

    Parent
    Complete outsider's point of view... (5.00 / 4) (#146)
    by marian evans on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:44:12 PM EST
    Just going on overall impressions (as opposed to policy breakdown), I was impressed with the level of courtesy both speakers displayed to each other - and found both speakers more than "likeable enough".

    It was good to see politicians behaving with some measure of civility. Biden came across as quite urbane, and Palin (whatever you might think of her politics - and she is about at the opposite end of the spectrum from mine) came across as genuine.

    As far as Sen McCain and Sen Obama are concerned, going on their debate (and the primary debates), I find both of them grating. Sen McCain comes across as defensive and mean. I wouldn't vote for that man - the idea of him with his finger on the button, is frightening.

    But Sen Obama bothers me too. He comes across as rude and dismissive. It irritated the heck out of me the way Sen Obama kept interrupting Sen McCain in the first debate (let alone his attitude to Hillary Clinton in the primaries...).

    Most woman recognize that tactic from 10 miles distance (we've heard it all before) - "Shut up, you're taking air time away from MOI. World, listen to MEEEEE."

    There was a wonderful Thurber cartoon (I think it was Thurber)...where you had a man and a woman at a restaurant. The man was talking...the bubble above his head said "Me. Me. Me. Me." The woman listens intently. Frame 2 and so on, shows the same situation - except the number of the man's "Me"s has proliferated. The last frame shows the woman saying one small word: "me." One little "me". At which point the man looks absolutely bored and uninterested. Sen Obama makes me feel like the woman in the cartoon - and I don't know about Americans, but I personally don't like it.

    Hey Biden seems much more "likeable" to me.

    And like BTD, I think it's good for women that Sarah Palin wasn't humiliated...whatever your politics, that's the better option for future women candidates.

    Parent

    a disagreement (5.00 / 1) (#157)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:51:53 PM EST
    i know others disagree, but personally i don't think it advances the cause of women (and women candidates) to put forward unqualified women on the national stage.

    HRC has definitively proved (to anyone who doubted) that women candidates can be legitimate contenders. Palin is a pretender, and it is patronizing to claim that it would set the cause of women back were she to fail. And that her potential humiliation would be related to her gender. Her campaign performance has been an embarrassment (though tonight she met the low expectations set for her) since the acceptance speech, but this is not a reflection on women. It is a reflection on Sarah Palin's ability to campaign on the national stage, and the McCain campaign's choice to put her there.

    Parent

    It's not about Sarah Palin's candidacy, per se... (5.00 / 3) (#167)
    by marian evans on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:57:30 PM EST
    It's about how she is treated. The whole shameful debacle over Hillary Clinton - which history is going to judge the American left very harshly for, in my opinion - has made this more critical.

    All credit to Biden that he did NOT take the sexist path...as so many of the left, and the MSM have done.

    Parent

    how she is treated (5.00 / 1) (#178)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:08:04 PM EST
    I will absolutely agree with you that the left has covered itself in misogynistic shame during the primaries and some of the Palin coverage. That is not good for anyone -- women or men.

    That said, it troubles me that some people, including imo BTD, seem to be setting up double standards for criticizing Palin because she is a woman. "Don't be too hard on her" -- how patronizing is that?

    Until male and female candidates can be treated the same, we have a problem. If we believe in equality, (which I don't doubt for one second) the left should not further the double standard in either direction.

    But maybe I'm just being idealistic and naive.

    Parent

    Frank Luntz focus group loved Palin (none / 0) (#162)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:55:59 PM EST
    His other group on Friday thought Obama had won, tonight they said Palin.  :(  

    Parent
    Joe did a great job (5.00 / 6) (#30)
    by CST on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:45:19 PM EST
    Of not letting Palin get away with stuff.  Like the point she kept trying to make about Obama not supporting the troops.  Biden killed that.  Also the maverick stuff.  And finally when she got to tell her personal story - which is very compelling - he countered with an equally compelling personal story.  So he wouldn't even let her get the high ground on connecting to the middle class.

    He did about everything he should've done.  Every time I wanted to scream at the tv b/c of a Palin lie - he called her out in a very forceful but respectful way.

    almost every time... (5.00 / 1) (#113)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:21:44 PM EST
    I would have ripped her a new one over her dishonesty about diplomacy with Iran.  ALL Democrats should be offended by her "white flag of surrender" remark.

    Parent
    She's being politely. . . (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:48:04 PM EST
    eviscerated in the NPR analysis.

    Tweety eviscerated her (5.00 / 1) (#66)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:56:58 PM EST
    but everyone else has given her a pass.

    I thought Biden was terrific. Best I've ever seen him.  Kept the focus on why McCain is Bush III without using the phrase. Challenged her to name a way in which McCain would be different than Bush and she didn't/couldn't respond.

    Maybe when she "gets back" to Katie Couric on McCain's proposals for greater regulation, she can also get back to Biden on that one.


    Parent

    Format was horrible (5.00 / 3) (#38)
    by Faust on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:48:19 PM EST
    Otherwise my general impression of the debate was it was a microcosm of Palin's general political trajectory. She started strong but as the debate wore on started to grate. In the FP section in particular she simply looked outclassed.

    However, she is a charismatic person and she exploited that to the hilt. She also managed to pass herself off as a near dem at times. The way she skirted the question about gay marriage was something to see. Def a good pol (read: liar).

    So on balance I think she came off as what she is, a powerful charsimatic new on the scene, and Biden proved that he is indeed very knowledgeable about FP.

    I think they both did what they came to do and it will probably be viewed as a wash.

    No game changer is a net win for Obama as I think the polls will not move much in any direction as a result of this debate. UNLESS the media does some hard hard spin on it one way or the other.

    On to the next debate.

    Fair assessment Faust. I agree. (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by Teresa on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:53:36 PM EST
    I didn't find Biden as interesting as I did in the primary, though. Maybe because I expected him to do well and he did. She was better than I thought she would be and I know people that will like her "I'm one of you" approach to the debate.

    Parent
    yeah (5.00 / 2) (#65)
    by Faust on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:56:58 PM EST
    she's REALLY good at the I'm one of you thing. And anyone who doesn't feel that way isn't the one of you that she is talking to. I've met Palin fans, and they really do feel X about her. Doesn't even matter what it is. They FEEL it daangit, and that's what counts. Same thing Bush had it 2k. Apparently people never figure out that voting based on your feelings is a terrible way to vote.

    Parent
    Again, just like Reagan (none / 0) (#169)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:59:15 PM EST
    I couldn't stand him, but so many people ADORED him.  They loved the folksie thing.  

    Parent
    Great Debate (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by supertroopers on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:49:49 PM EST
    Biden did great. Palin did great.

    + for McCain.

    I don't think so (5.00 / 1) (#53)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:53:10 PM EST
    I'm curious about what the poll and undecideds will say. I think they'll break for Biden.

    Parent
    Whichever way they break. . . (5.00 / 1) (#75)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:00:49 PM EST
    I don't think they'll move the polls much.

    Neither candidate said anything that's going to force the principal of the ticket to explain what was really meant.  That's what it would have taken to make a big difference.


    Parent

    If Palin had delivered a knockout (none / 0) (#88)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:06:06 PM EST
    we might have seen it reflected in the polls, but a good Joe and mediocre Palin makes a net Obama win.

    Parent
    I thought Biden won without question (none / 0) (#163)
    by JavaCityPal on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:56:45 PM EST
    but, Frank Luntz had a focus group going and almost everyone called it for Palin. That surprised me.

    Though, had the media not been running those clips of the Couric interview constantly, the bar wouldn't have been set so low.


    Parent

    The CBS group is going Biden (none / 0) (#168)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:58:36 PM EST
    CNN Focus Group (none / 0) (#182)
    by MTSINAIMAMA on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:09:22 PM EST
    Overwhelmingly Biden.

    Parent
    Yeah, I think Biden will come out on top (none / 0) (#197)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:28:27 PM EST
    but probably not do much in the polls.

    Parent
    I disagree (5.00 / 1) (#71)
    by Nathan In Nola on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:59:06 PM EST
    I don't think that Palin did great, I think that she survived. If Biden had messed up, that would be a win, but he didn't. Joe came through, had a wonderful debate, and you just can't compare "getting by" with that kind of a performance.

    Parent
    Regardless of who won, (5.00 / 1) (#47)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:51:51 PM EST
    Tina Fey has plenty to work with after tonight. "Say it ain't so, Joe, Iran is nuke-u-ler? Oh ya."

    Oh God (5.00 / 1) (#60)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:55:22 PM EST
    She said nukular at least ten times.  I'm pretty sure I flinched ten times.  I don't care if Jimmy Carter did it too.  It doesn't make me flinch any less.

    Parent
    nukular (5.00 / 2) (#77)
    by Lil on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:01:35 PM EST
    is fingernails on a chalk board to me. That was the only time I started yelling, "Why can't Republicans say nuclear?"

    Parent
    Because saying nuclear (5.00 / 1) (#87)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:04:47 PM EST
    is unAmerican.

    Parent
    Is it a southern thing? (none / 0) (#171)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:00:51 PM EST
    I don't notice how she says it.  Could it be a southern way of saying it?  

    Parent
    I don't think Sam Nunn (none / 0) (#211)
    by shoephone on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:50:28 PM EST
    pronounces it incorrectly and he's from Georgia. But he's an expert on nuclear proliferation issues... It did bother me when Carter used to say it wrong though. Mispronunciations always bug me. I have a good friend who mispronounces things all the time and she gets very touchy if I try to correct her.

    Parent
    Joe Biden was great (5.00 / 6) (#58)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:54:06 PM EST
    He was loose, authentic, extremely knowledgeable, appropriate, passionate, and confident.  I was proud tonight that he was a Senator of my country.  Palin became stiff and very nasal speaking at times when she didn't have anything tangible to offer the people as opposed to what Biden was clarifying and offering.  I know that stiff nasally thing because I do that when I'm losing a disagreement with my spouse :)  Funny thing is, sometimes it seems to fool him and he thinks that what I'm saying while I'm doing that is somehow more credible.

    agreed (5.00 / 2) (#120)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:26:28 PM EST
    and I felt like Palin kept trying to come up with a quirky one-liner ("say it ain't so, Joe") but it just felt forced.

    Parent
    what I can't help but wonder... (5.00 / 2) (#61)
    by Teresa on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:55:44 PM EST
    did Biden "cry for Katrina victims". I know the circumstances were different but I can just imagine if Hillary had teared up during a debate. Yes, I know I am still a little bitter. Forgive me, please.

    Rachel Maddow was strongly making that same point (5.00 / 1) (#190)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:14:16 PM EST
    whatever you may think of her otherwise, seeing that quite a few here don't seem to like her.

    Parent
    Some other thoughts (5.00 / 2) (#63)
    by CST on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:56:14 PM EST
    Did anyone hear when she called Joe "O'Biden"?

    That was awesome - it's definitely something I would do.

    Also, the one thing that may actually hurt Palin here is her statement about increased power for the vice presidency.  Biden knocked that one out of the park - and the Cheney comparison was perfect.

    Finally, if I had a drink for every time she said maverick I would be trashed right now... I wish I'd thought of that earlier.

    Typically in these situations (none / 0) (#73)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:59:30 PM EST
    I prefer to medicate myself with ice cream.  So it goes to my hips instead of my head.

    But I was up in my home office and far away from the refrigerator. The only way for me to deal with the visceral disgust I felt when she spoke was to liveblog faster.

    Parent

    Well you did... (none / 0) (#89)
    by dutchfox on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:07:00 PM EST
    a FANTASTIC job! (the Live Blog thingie at the top of the page only worked once and I kept having to reload).

    Parent
    Beautiful performance (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by Nathan In Nola on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:57:20 PM EST
    Joe really impressed me... I just really think that he had a near-perfect debate. And I do think it's a game-changer in that he just about sealed the deal tonight.

    I have a problem... (5.00 / 2) (#81)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:02:59 PM EST
    with all these commentators (watching MSNBC right now) who are essentially saying that what she had to say was alright.  Her performance was 'good.'

    What the hell?  This performance was horrific.  Has her bar been set THAT low that some would see this as a good performance?  She said nothing!  She was incoherent half the time.  She didn't answer any questions with any detail on policy whatsoever!  Nothing.  Nothing.  Nothing.

    What the hell was that character she was playing.  Smiling, winking, nasal-ing...can ANYONE truly say they'd like her to have the nuclear codes?  Well...for that matter, would anyone say they'd like McCain to have them, given his impulsiveness and tendency toward gambling?

    yes, the bar was set that low (5.00 / 0) (#138)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:36:56 PM EST
    On substance, though, nearly every one of her answers contained either a lie, a fact fudge, or a splitting of hairs.  If Biden can't call her out on it, we should.  

    In particular, on Iraq - Biden voted for the AUMF to get the weapons inspectors in, just as Hillary did, NOT to invade and occupy a foreign country.  Maybe he was naive to trust the President, what does that say when you can't trust the President of the U.S.?  He tried and got this close to articulating that but it wasn't quite clear.  

    The one answer I really didn't like from Biden was on gay marriage.  "No."  ew.  But I see why he did answer that way; the insertion of the phrase "redefining marriage" blurred the real differences between the two tickets.  Neither supports "redefining marriage" but that was never the issue, was it?

    Parent

    ROBOT PORTER (5.00 / 1) (#97)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:10:33 PM EST
    Are you insane?  You actually believe she won this debate?  Try forgetting that she's cute and that she winks at the camera.  Try going back through the transcript and tell me who you think won this debate.  Imagine it's a job interview for a really important job - say, a teacher, a banker, almost any job.  I would wonder if she's literate!

    Uggh! (5.00 / 1) (#177)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:06:58 PM EST
    The winking at the camera, 'i'm soooooo cute' thing was one of those over top things that really grated.

    Parent
    She'll be back (5.00 / 3) (#98)
    by klem4708 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:10:48 PM EST
    Palin proved tonight that she is a gamer. She didn't fall apart and because of that she probably has a future in national politics.

    But I also think she demonstrated that she is totally unprepared for the White House in 2008.  She was in way over her head.

    Biden--totally exceeded expectations. Thought he was terrific.

    Is this a game changer? Probably not.

    No Game Changer Unless... (5.00 / 4) (#99)
    by santarita on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:10:57 PM EST
    you really listened to her answers.  She didn't answer the question about nuclear weapons.  Her answer on the bailout was about corruption and greed on Wall Street.  She didn't talk about relief for homeowners in trouble.  Her answer too the economy in general was tax cuts.  She didn't trip on the way out to the podium I give her that.

    Biden on the other hand showed a great command of just about everything, especially foreign policy.   And he was passionate.

    The Obama-Biden ticket is great because they complement each other.  Palin doesn't do much at all for McCain.

    How many undecided voters (5.00 / 1) (#134)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:35:11 PM EST
    were really listening to the details of her answers, or even if they were, have the knowledge to know what a messed-up bunch of BS so much of it was?  I don't think a whole lot, which is why they're still undecided at this point in the election.

    I only saw bits of it, but in what I saw, she came off quite well on the surface.  As for the folksiness-- only somebody who hasn't seen the video of her from pre-VP campaign would think it was phony.  That's who she is, and it seems that's who a great many people in Alaska are, not to mention the vast majority of people in "flyover country."

    That it clangs on the ear of Eastern liberal elites and we turn up our noses at it is one of the reasons we don't do so well in elections.

    Parent

    I live in flyover country and she is just as (5.00 / 1) (#195)
    by sallywally on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:23:44 PM EST
    offensive to us as she is to coastal "elites." IMO, she is just awful - and not really "in there" somehow, inside her skin. She may keep her eyes wide open and her mouth in a grin, but there is no feeling in her eyes. I think she's a bit on the sociopathic side....

    I hope to hell she doesn't have a future in national politics...I've just spent 8 years having to change the channel every time some right-wing pol or official speaks. I don't want to have to spend my remaining years doing it!

    Parent

    I Watched The Meter-Thing that CNN Has... (none / 0) (#153)
    by santarita on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:49:48 PM EST
    The focus group were Ohio undecideds.  She got panned when she wasn't answering the questions asked and panned when she tried to score points by asking about Biden's change of heart on some issues like Iraq.  She seldom seemed to hit one out of the park according to that meter.  Biden on the other hand scored well especially when it got to the foreign policy area.  

     

    Parent

    No answers... (5.00 / 2) (#123)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:29:18 PM EST
    I'm glad to hear everyone say she didn't actually answer the questions.  I thought for a while it was me - I kept blinking, double-taking, wondering what happened to the question.  Did I miss a question or something?  And much of her banter was nearly impossible to follow.

    It was almost like someone was holding up the wrong cue cards as a joke.

    a half inch deep (5.00 / 2) (#142)
    by Jlvngstn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:39:45 PM EST
    I guess if you consider not answering most of the questions, demonstrating a considerable lack of depth and patronization not tanking than she must have done well.

    I thought she was a disaster but of course I actually look for answers as opposed to talking points

    I think the debate helps McCain in the polls... (5.00 / 4) (#143)
    by SomewhatChunky on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:40:49 PM EST
    Expectations for Palin were so low.  I watched it with several friends and before it started we were joking about how poorly she was going to do.  Afterwards opinions had changed dramatically.  Especially among those with the lowest expectations.

    I'm not saying  she won.  I'm saying that the Palin persona portrayed in the media was one of ineptitude and incompetence and that portrayal was hurting McCain in the polls. The media can spin it how they want, Americans watched this debate and they can think  for themselves.   At least my little group was impressed by Palin versus what they thought they were going to see.  That seemed to be the same thing I saw on the "real people" groups some of the networks have on after it was over.

    So.... I think it helps McCain.  Remove the Palin anchor that was dragging him down and he floats up......  a little...  It's still about the President and the economy....

    yeah if she had been running for Senate (5.00 / 0) (#149)
    by Howard Zinn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:47:20 PM EST
    I'dabeen kinda-sorta impressed on her first, yet probably unsuccessful, national campaign debate.  VP on the other hand?  Nooooo ... don't let lower expectations tint your glasses rosy.  Remember, she didn't need to just bounce around like a lemur, she needed to dance like Ginger Rodgers.  She achieved the former, IMO.

    Parent
    Here's one sample (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:48:39 PM EST
    Here's one sentence of Palin's from the debate...and believe me, there are more than enough to choose from.

    "In fact, 96 percent of his votes have been solely along party line, not having that proof for the American people to know that his commitment, too, is, you know, put the partisanship, put the special interests aside, and get down to getting business done for the people of America."

    What?

    deja vu (5.00 / 1) (#164)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:56:48 PM EST
    "they misunderestimated me."

    America's know-nothingness streak rears its ugly head yet again; in truth there are some people who say "she talks like me" (and here in KY that's no lie) and trust her authenticity as a consequence.  Whether that's substantially different this year, or whether it will get McCain any votes, I couldn't say.

    Parent

    Yes, I said earlier that the syntax (none / 0) (#172)
    by Cream City on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:01:14 PM EST
    would be boggling -- but I thought it might be that way from both of them, as Biden certainly has in past had me trying to diagram his sentences to find the subject and the predicate, too often twenty-seven words apart.

    But he was good and coherent tonight.

    She has to go back to her training in broadcast, with short S-V-O (subject-verb-object PERIOD) sentences.  It's excellent training, as I can attest, for those of us -- and Biden sometimes, too -- who too easily tend to talk like tin foil in a microwave, i.e., "arcing" this way and that.  

    Parent

    True, Biden is not always succinct... (none / 0) (#185)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:11:00 PM EST
    He can work on this a bit as well, but he at least limited his tangents enough so that we knew what the hell he was talking about.

    Parent
    Aw c'mon, it's a simple message (none / 0) (#207)
    by Newt on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:46:09 PM EST
    She said he's committed to Republican principles, he's a stand up guy voting the right way on bills, but yet he reaches across the aisle and does the bipartisan work that has to be done to take care of business for regular old Americans like me and you.  Maybe it's my blue collar roots, but really, she's saying all the right stuff there.

    If she were only telling the truth, even I would want to vote for them.

    /snark


    Parent

    yeah, a lemur (5.00 / 2) (#170)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:00:42 PM EST
    Good analogy.  I don't agree at all that for her 'first national debate' she did well.  She has debated before.  Now, had I chosen one of my high-school seniors to memorize some talking points and let them loose on that debate and they performed like Palin did, I would say that was an achievement.  Unfortunately, though, I also have seniors who would've undoubtedly done a better job.

    Scary Palin quote (5.00 / 1) (#194)
    by Realleft on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:23:44 PM EST
    "We know what a Vice-President does and that's not only preside over the Senate and we'll take that position very seriously also.  I'm thankful that the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the Vice-President also if that Vice-President so chose to exert it in working with the Senate."

    Has anyone stopped to think why Palin is in this?  That's it right there.  She wants to rule over the Senate.  Count on it.  If you don't believe me, watch that clip and note the look on her face as she's saying it.  Truly power hungry.  Cheney II.  

    Not a good night for Palin, not as bad as Couric (5.00 / 0) (#215)
    by Christy1947 on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 12:48:40 AM EST
    interview, but not good.

    For those who already agreed with talking points, she rattled them off well, probably now schooled to leave no blank moments to be recorded

    But what she filled them with was intentionally nonresponsive, error-filled, grammatically vague in the way Northwesterners simply are not (I am one and we do not talk like that) as if she had memorized the things she was saying or reading and got lost in the middle. I did think she was looking down and reading at some points. If, however she and McCaian had future plans, she kept saying they did and had ideas and plans for change without ever saying what any of them were, part of what you turn into a debate to learn, and I think this plainly intentional failure to set out those plans in favor of cute words and soundbite bits about who was riding into town, and how fresh a breath they were, will hurt because she deliberately did not take the opportunity to lay out any of that as McC himself has not either. She plainly misunderstood the one concerning when it was appropriate  to  use nuclear weapons and ignored the one about the relative danger of a nonnuclear state which doesn't like us getting nuclear, and a state which has nuclear weapons already becoming so unstable that they might fall into hands we had not intended and wouldn't like either, one with the existing attitude and the capability in flux and one with the existing capability and the attitude in flux. Nice question, by the way.

    I had real trouble with her attitude though. Bulling through, being rude and unresponsive to questions and contemptuous of the moderator, rushing and rushing everything, a sort of superior and smug general tenor as she answered, as if she knew she had Biden when she did not and was trading on his restraint to get away with things. She plainly was not listening to whatever he said and lunged on and on using the TV time for her own agenda.

    Apparently she thinks that her bad grammar and diction and stories referring to, not really about, her family and neighbors  and not relevant to narrative or responses will endear her to the base. She chose to refer to them almost as talismans, forgetting that O does not talk about his neighbors but Biden always has and will go cafe to cafe with her any day of the week. What the Repubs who coached her have forgotten is that rural and small town people are not and have never been either inobservant or stupid, and know a con when somebody pretending to be like them is trying to run it on them.

    Big night for Dems (5.00 / 0) (#216)
    by espeaks on Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 01:02:30 AM EST
    To me I think Dems won big tonight. Not just the debate, I would call it a tie or slight edge to Biden. I say this because although Palin didn't really directly answer any questions, she did present herself well.

    What this debate didn't do is convince people other than the Republican base she is ready for VP.

    What it did do is make her a viable nominee for the Republican nomination in 8 years. That all but guarantees 12 and possible 16 years of a Dem as President.

    The last point is why I think this is a big night for Dems.

    Anyone know. . . (none / 0) (#13)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:40:01 PM EST
    what Palin was talking about those times she referred to her "very diverse family"?  Is there another revelation coming?  I'm guessing -- because she's been surprisingly good on gay issues for someone from her religious background -- that she has a close gay relative.

    Diverse (none / 0) (#34)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:46:32 PM EST
    Her husband is part Yupik, her son is Down Syndrome, her daughter is pregnant and unmarried.  Not sure how much diversity you want.


    Parent
    Democrats in her family, too. (5.00 / 5) (#45)
    by Cream City on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:51:03 PM EST
    And actually, in Alaska, that's diversity. :-)

    Parent
    No, I think. . . (none / 0) (#41)
    by LarryInNYC on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:48:56 PM EST
    something else is coming.  Just a feeling.

    Parent
    I agree (none / 0) (#54)
    by befuddledvoter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:53:10 PM EST
    She has said she has a very close friend who is gay.  Maybe it is a family member.  Stay tuned.  

    Parent
    can any of them (none / 0) (#44)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:50:36 PM EST
    pronounce the letter g at the end of words?

    Parent
    Not really!! (none / 0) (#57)
    by befuddledvoter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:54:06 PM EST
    I have never heard an accent like that of Sarah Palin. Is that "Alaskan" or Palin?

    Parent
    Pacific Northwestern accent (none / 0) (#76)
    by Cream City on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:01:19 PM EST
    as I've noted here before.  She sounds just like my relatives in small-town Washington and even some in Seattle, all in family that came from Idaho -- as Palin did.  Also sounds somewhat like other relatives in rural Oregon.

    And as many there came from the Midwest, she also sounds a lot like some Wisconsinites.  Did you listen (I know it was a challenge) to Wisconsin's former governor Tommy Thompson?  He drops g's like leaves from a tree in autumn.

    Parent

    I read an article about her accent. It said (none / 0) (#102)
    by Teresa on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:12:36 PM EST
    Wasilla was settled by people from Minnesota and that's where her accent comes from. I don't know anyone from Minnesota so you'll have to tell me if that sounds right.

    Parent
    I've thought all along (5.00 / 1) (#121)
    by 1040su on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:28:44 PM EST
    she sounded like people I know from Minnesota, so this fits in with that.  Jesse Ventura sounded alot like her as well.

    Parent
    Ya, youbetcha dere (5.00 / 1) (#136)
    by Cream City on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:35:36 PM EST
    It's northern Michigan-northern and western Wisconsin-to-some parts of Minnesota-to-Idaho, etc.

    There are many accents in each of the state, of course.  She's got a touch of the Scandinavian, a touch of the Bohemian (you hear that in Chicago).

    She'd be right at home wit' da Yoopers in Michigan (Upper Peninsula, i.e., UP, i.e., Yoopers:-) dere, or the cutover district of Wisconsin, or on Prairie Home Companion, etc. -- most of the first Western settlers were migrants from the Midwest, such as miners.  And even later in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many (including in my family) had to go west to follow their work as loggers (because the northwoods timberlands of the Midwest were gone, i.e., "cutover" across the region).

    Parent

    You don't listen to Prairie Home (5.00 / 1) (#198)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:29:22 PM EST
    Companion, do you.  Lots of instruction on "speaking Minnesotan."

    Parent
    That's not my accent (none / 0) (#187)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:12:54 PM EST
    though is a bit like it. She more mideast than Pacific Northwest

    Parent
    it's valley girl speak (none / 0) (#79)
    by Jeralyn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:01:43 PM EST
    and her attempt to seem folksy.

    Parent
    Nope, none of my relatives (none / 0) (#141)
    by Cream City on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:39:07 PM EST
    who talk like that are valley girls, by your meaning -- although some live in the lovely valleys of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, among the mountains.  Amazing country.  Good people.

    Parent
    OMG! it's, like, ya know, you're (none / 0) (#208)
    by nycstray on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:46:35 PM EST
    so not there! I mean, like, how could ya even think, like, ya know, that she's, like ya know, VG?! OMG! Like what planet are you, like, from?! I can't, like, believe, like ya know, you even, like ya know, think her, ya know, like folksy accent, is like ya know, like VG!! OMGaaaaawd!

    Parent
    Maddow (none / 0) (#19)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:42:29 PM EST
    met expectations by not answering questions.

    She was folksy in a frenetic, cartoonish way.

    When Biden spoke about his sons and losing his wife and daughter, and got choked up, she responded by talking about McCain the Maverick.

    Buchanan: PALIN WIPED THE FLOOR WITH BIDEN.  SHE HAD THE DETAIL TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.  THERE ARE CONSERVATIVES ALL OVER AMERICA WHO ARE BREATHING A SIGH OF RELIEF. SHE HAS RECAPTURED THAT MAGIC. SHE IS DEAD RIGHT, SHE SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM THOSE FILTERS.  SHE CAN HELP McCAIN IF THE ECONOMY ALLOWS IT.

    Okay, Buchanan... (5.00 / 0) (#117)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:24:54 PM EST
    You're regurgitating Buchanan.  And it's crazy.  She had no detail.  Nothing of substance at all.  Maybe she beat Biden on the 'cute' factor, but if you asked anyone on earth to read the transcript and ask them who won, it would undoubtedly be Biden.  Imagine - you don't tell the reader WHO it was; you just give 'em the transcript and let them decide.  100% of them would say Biden.

    Parent
    Buchanen is a tool (none / 0) (#23)
    by robrecht on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:43:33 PM EST
    Sorry (none / 0) (#25)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:43:38 PM EST
    I was outraged listening to what Buchanan was saying. SHE WAS RIVETING. BIDEN WAS CHARMLESS, ATTACKING McCAIN.

    Maddow: Exciting but wrong.

    Parent

    Buchanon said that????? (none / 0) (#26)
    by befuddledvoter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:44:43 PM EST
    Gosh Darn, to quote Palin.

    Parent
    Biden did very well (none / 0) (#20)
    by kmblue on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:42:55 PM EST
    and Palin did not implode.

    I have to admit, she did better than I thought she would.

    looks like you fell for (5.00 / 2) (#42)
    by Faust on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:49:10 PM EST
    the low expectations game.

    Parent
    Ah well (none / 0) (#50)
    by kmblue on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:52:14 PM EST
    we disagree.

    Parent
    Can someone explain the problem with g's (none / 0) (#70)
    by Lil on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 09:58:34 PM EST
    I'm not hearing it. What bothers me is the o's (from Palin that is)

    I must also say I watched the CNN version (none / 0) (#82)
    by Militarytracy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:03:10 PM EST
    and they had at the bottom of the screen the reaction of undecided Ohio voters broken out in men and women.  I was very disappointed at how women responded to Palin speaking so glowingly about winning the Iraq war while men didn't seem to be fooled by talking about Iraq in terms of winning and losing.  It really ticked me off at first.  I wondered how women could be so easily fooled but then realized that perhaps women tend to feel more distant from the reality of war.  Winning is good and losing is not good and women still don't have to fill out a selective service form when we turn 18 so perhaps that allows us to nurture ideas of winning and losing in Iraq easier.  Would I be easier to fool with that sort of speak if I wasn't seeing and experiencing the cost to soldiers and families up close?

    I wonder about the makeup of the group (none / 0) (#201)
    by sallywally on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:35:49 PM EST
    whose responses showed on the CNN lines. Were they independents leaning one way or the other?

    I was surprised by the women's responses to Palin too. Maybe it was just the rah-rah nature of her shtick, or maybe they thought supporting the troops means winning the war....

    Parent

    Olbermann is rearing back to deliver a spanking (none / 0) (#83)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:03:15 PM EST
    or is that 'spankin'? to Palin.

    I think he goes to far, and I haven't forgiven him for his treatment of Clinton, but I do like to see a good hard and deserved spanking now and then...

    Palin treats debate question as 'optional' (5.00 / 1) (#90)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:07:08 PM EST
    Say KO. Funny.

    Parent
    THAT should definitely (5.00 / 1) (#124)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:29:31 PM EST
    be part of this week's Tina Fey impersonation of Palin.

    I wonder why I never thought of doing that when I was in college and law school taking exams.

    Once place you can't do that is in a courtroom. If the judge asks you question about X, and you say, "I'd rather talk about Y first," the judge is likely to smack  you around. Figuratively, of course.

    Parent

    The measure of how well (5.00 / 1) (#112)
    by kmblue on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:21:01 PM EST
    Palin did is how hard Olbermann spanks her.

    He has zero credibility left, IMHO.

    Parent

    Even a stopped clock... (none / 0) (#115)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:24:04 PM EST
    On style points ... (none / 0) (#84)
    by Robot Porter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:03:36 PM EST
    Palin won the debate.  She seemed more relaxed, and more in control of the conversation.  Similar to her performances in Alaska Gubernatorial debates.

    She also very effectively handled the Bush third term argument.

    Biden at times almost seemed to be pleading about the rationality of his case.

    Unlike the P debate, both candidates seemed more to be aware that we're in a financial crisis.

    However, Palin's problem is she doesn't have the best argument at this time. The McCain idea for the economy just doesn't make sense right now.

    The Pundits will talk a lot about the VP powers issue.  The public won't care.

    I think Palin secured her political future with the debate.  But I don't know how much she helped McCain.  With the current state of the economy, they have a very hard case to make.

    Stylistically she (5.00 / 2) (#93)
    by mg7505 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:08:31 PM EST
    lost. She lost all around. On substance obviously. Her style was almost too folksy, and seemed forced at times. Plus it was inconsistent, sometimes wonk, sometimes Wasilla -- not synergizing the two. She had this weird tendency to sound like she was going to burst out giggling, and ended up sounding smug. Finally, she was just rambling a lot of the time; she would have achieved more with the volume off, for all that I was listening (and I actually TRIED to listen to her).

    Parent
    how deeply we disagree (5.00 / 3) (#103)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:12:49 PM EST
    Her style was awful. She was nonresponsive to some questions and her faux-folksy stuff and reliance on notes/talking points will not reassure independent voters.

    Parent
    The base!! (none / 0) (#130)
    by NYShooter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:33:19 PM EST
    She was talking to the Republican here-to-fore- unenthusiastic Base. She couldn't give a s***t what YOU thought.

    Parent
    i disagree (none / 0) (#152)
    by Iris on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:49:29 PM EST
    I think she was trying to thread the same needle that Bush did: excite the base while making a direct appeal to the working class and moderates, and bash the media to reduce their credibility.  Whether it worked or not I couldn't say; I could tell she was either being dishonest or she didn't understand complex issues, but (not being condescending) not everyone spends a ton of time reading about these things.

    Parent
    um, duh (none / 0) (#160)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:54:41 PM EST
    I am not an independent voter.

    The base was already squarely behind her. The base is not enough to win the election. Independent voters have reacted very badly to Palin's selection, and she did nothing in this debate (imho, of course - we'll see) to win them back.

    Parent

    Palin didn't answer the questions (5.00 / 2) (#110)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:18:31 PM EST
    comically so. She was even rude to the the moderator about not doing so. She went from attack line to attack line, all pre-programmed and non-answers and little or no facts. She was over the top and downright silly at times, coming across as more like a Reagen robot at Disneyland than anything in the neighborhood of Reagan. On my debate team in HS, she would have lost.

     She didn't fall on her face, but she wasn't really about McCain tonight, she was about proving herself. Biden had nothing to prove, but a lot to lose, and he did better than expected picking his way through the 'sexist' mindfield that the Repubs have laid around Palin. Looks like the 'undecided' polls are going Biden's way.

    Not a game changer, but it revealed a little more about Palin that people can take to heart.

    Parent

    I think the debate was ... (none / 0) (#132)
    by Robot Porter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:35:02 PM EST
    ultimately more about Palin securing her political future.

    She can't win the race for McCain, she never could.  And with this current economy, I'm not sure anything can.  Except perhaps Obama doing something silly.

    I think this debate planted the seeds for a Palin '12 exploratory committee. Other than that ... no effect.

    Parent

    I think you're right (none / 0) (#200)
    by TomStewart on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:34:22 PM EST
    it was about Palin showing she's not a fool, not really about helping McCain. I think we saw the planting of an '12 run. Not so much with the voters in general, but with the base.

    Parent
    One can see how ... (none / 0) (#212)
    by Robot Porter on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:50:43 PM EST
    the whole thing will play out.  She'll write a book, get re-elected Governor, do a number of overseas tours and meet foreign leaders, countless friendly interviews, do a joint appearance with Tina Fey on SNL, and in three years she'll be the odds on favorite for the Republican nomination.

    Parent
    Effectively handled the Bush III (5.00 / 1) (#126)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:30:54 PM EST
    point? How? By saying that "change is coming" and "we're the breath of fresh air"?

    Parent
    Meh (none / 0) (#109)
    by cannondaddy on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:18:25 PM EST


    palin is a monkey (none / 0) (#118)
    by pluege on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:25:18 PM EST
    like reagan and bush the lessor, it is a national embarrassment and disgrace that she is a candidate for such an important position - a true by-product of the "American Idol" reduced society. She opened espousing American exceptionalism, but you have to be exceptional first, not ridiculous.

    Hey (5.00 / 0) (#127)
    by litigatormom on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:32:11 PM EST
    You are being unfair to American Idol. They do a better job of weeding out the true incompetents than this debate has.

    Parent
    She's like Bush and Reagan? (none / 0) (#184)
    by BrassTacks on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:10:12 PM EST
    How many terms did they serve as President?  

    If she's like Bush and Reagan, we're in deep doo doo.

    Howard Fineman sounds very angry.  Palin must have done better than I thought.  Uh-oh.

    Parent

    The real question is . . . (none / 0) (#122)
    by Doc Rock on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:28:53 PM EST
    . . . how did Palin play in Peoria?  Did she connect with "Joe Six Pack," as she called it?  Did she halt her slide? Her ticket's?  

    Didn't halt it (5.00 / 1) (#131)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:34:10 PM EST
    She didn't halt the slide - she may have touched the breaks a bit, but just didn't really offer anything of substance.  And, fortunately for her, Biden chose to focus on McCain.  He certainly could've thrown in a ton of zingers had he chosen to.  She mistakenly invoked the saying, "I was for it before I was against it.," calling to memory the bridge to nowhere.  But he left it alone.  He left the Troopergate investgation out of it.  He left the fact that she and McCain are blocking the investigation.  He left out a lot.  Given the fact that he focused on McCain while Palin was trying to throw zingers at Biden, it was a knockout for Biden.

    Parent
    I was literally biting my tongue, (none / 0) (#158)
    by Howard Zinn on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 10:52:40 PM EST
    as Biden might say, when Palin made the "before it before you were against it" line.  Couldn't he have alluded to it?  Or at least asked her if she's read any good political/economic newspapers or  magazines lately?  As a librarian I was appalled.

    She had the gall to call Biden out on a gaffe?  Really?  Do you want to go there?

    Parent

    Roger Simon (none / 0) (#183)
    by dws3665 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:09:39 PM EST
    looks like a younger, dumber Wilfred Brimley on MSNBC just now - "Palin dominated." Whatever, Grape Nuts.

    Palin's Problem (none / 0) (#189)
    by MTSINAIMAMA on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:14:01 PM EST
    At this point, McCain's base should already be shored up. Where Palin needed to score was with independents and undecideds. That Palin's role in the debate is now to apparently shore that base support is an indication of just how badly McCain's internals must be.

    Biden started off slow and then got on fire, and Palin started off strong and faded halfway through. At times she sounded like a PTA Mom addressing the ladies lunch.

    This was not a game changer.

    Dominated? (none / 0) (#191)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:14:49 PM EST
    Yeah, Palin dominated.  How do you even respond to that?

    Losing the base (none / 0) (#193)
    by stevea66 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:19:15 PM EST
    They have been losing their base, though.  The last few weeks have been very tough on them.  Many conservatives are now saying it like it is. "She's not ready for this."  Neither is McCain.

    Someone please call Tina Fey & SNL and ask (none / 0) (#202)
    by Newt on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:35:59 PM EST
    them not to make fun of her "Oh golly" and other down-home, Hee Haw expressions.  

    I don't care if it was fake or not.  Well, it certainly was fake, but still, if we make fun of it, we're the bad guys putting down simple Americans again.

    Please Tina Fey, find another way to make fun of Sarah.  How about her use of Nuke-You-Ler instead?  Or her "It was just a joke, EVERYONE knows what the VP job is..."  Or better yet, Tina/Sarah can respond to questions with non-answers again and again.

    Joe Biden presented himself as a (none / 0) (#213)
    by oculus on Thu Oct 02, 2008 at 11:53:16 PM EST
    bona fide Democrat, and I would vote for him for President based on his "presence" and statements in this debate.