I’d have to admit, I had trouble watching the Vice Presidential debate last night. I thought Governor Sarah Palin was slightly trumped by Senator Joe Biden’s years of experiences. Governor Palin did hold her own and steered the debate to her comfort zone, while Biden did everything he could to link John McCain to President Bush.
With all the barbs going back and forth, a Governor who crammed and a Senator who admits he “exaggerates” when he’s angry, I knew the fact checkers would be Googling big time. Here are a couple of examples of facts played fast and loose…
Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.
Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.
Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.
Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn’t address taxes at that income level.
Not to mention moderator Gwen Ifill’s non-disclosure to the audience of her upcoming book that could be potentially lucrative if Barack Obama wins the election (or relatively worthless if he loses since his name is part of the book’s title). Aside from far fewer goofs than the debaters, Gwen Ifill did a fairly good job.
The debate itself got a bit long, there were no real got’cha moments, and it was more an exercise of style than substance.
I watched this debate and was pleased to see Palin attack Biden with facts and Biden react by becoming irritated and flustered. The ‘say it aint so, Joe’ moment was priceless.
When the debate was over, I thought of Biden and the words of Chris Tucker from the movie Friday: “Man, you got knocked the f*ck out!!”
I don’t think it was clearly a knockout, IT. She started out stiff and overly rehearsed. Her handlers dropped the ball and all the pundits will be analyzing (accent on the anal) her actual stage performance.
We needed more of those “gosh darnit” moments. We needed her to be Governor Sarah Palin for an hour and a half. We needed her to hit him hard like her “white flag of surrender” comment when responding to the question of a timeline for withdrawl. That one got me going.
There’s also a question about the title or lack of title used when addressing each other and their principles. At one point Gov. Palin started off by saying “Barack Obama and Sen. Biden”, now that was classic. It’s the same with Sen. Biden calling both principles by their first names.
While we’re at it, tell the Obama/Biden ticket to stop dropping Dr. Kissinger’s name. He’s already pissed and we’ve already clarified his statement.
Great job by Sen. Biden using talking points on the Bush Administration’s record of diplomacy with the leaders of rogue nations. I like how he connected that to Sen McCain’s stance on diplomacy… oh wait, he didn’t.
The foilhat’s are insistent that Biden “won”. They are cherry picking all of Palin’s gaffs (and she made quite a few), but as usual fail to acknowledge those of Biden. Who said the liberals have no religion? The Democratic talking points are their 10 Commandments. The Dem ticket is God like because it is “perfect”.
I think all their bluster hides their abject fear of this woman and her connection to the everyday working American people.
So Sarah Palin did not fall flat on her face during the debate, and she actually could pronounce “Ahmadinejad” (albeit doing so in a way that let us know how assiduously she had practiced saying it, much like a child who learns a new word and proudly repeats it over and over). But she answered few of the questions, preferring instead to regurgitate the talking points and slogans with which she had been crammed. This highly scripted, babbling performance, however, changes nothing. Ms. Palin, in her interview with NBC’s Katie Couric, could not name a single Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade. Put her in a press conference or another one-on-one interview and we will see exactly what we saw in the Couric interview: an incoherent, shockingly unqualified candidate for the colloquial heartbeat away from the presidency.
The above diatribe by CARNEYVA says it all.
Sarah kicked Biden’s butt.
They move swiftly from declaring the UuhBama to have won the debate with McCain because “held his own” to the opposite situation for Sarah, that she “held her own” and that means she lost?
Don’t know how they manage to sort out their own application of the double standard and keep it sorted.
But Sarah kicked Biden’s butt.
From what I heard about the interviews and what little I saw in P. Diddy’s crybaby blog #24, I’ve gotten the idea that she didn’t do as well as hoped.
And now I hear about the debates and it seems like she did better.
Good. I might not be voting Republican this year (Idaho is going for McCain anyways so no point in just picking the lesser of two evils), but it is good to hear that they do have the intention of playing to win.
On an aside, McCain is leaving Michigan for Obama.
I’ve got to be honest: I was looking forward to this and expecting Gov Palin to do much better than she did. I’m a fan, and to me she came across as a bit grating and I was getting annoyed at her regurgitation of talking points and not answering the questions asked. I’ve always hated Biden, and last night was the most intelligent I’ve ever seen him. He must have practiced a LOT for this. Being historically moderate myself, I’ve got to say that if I was undecided and I never heard anything from Obama again that I’d have to be leaning that way. Of course, then Obama opens his mouth and his rabid attack dogs as well, and I just can’t in good conscience vote for him.
Don’t forget Biden has had over 30 years in Congress, so he should know a lot more about what is going on there than Palin or Obama.
Give her a few months & she will surprise you. She is intelligent, although most Libs think women are ignorant & is a quick learner. In Alaska it didn’t take her very long to figure out how crooked the Politicians were & she remedied that rather quickly. Obama definitely is not ready to be President, but that doesn’t seem to matter. He also has a rather shaky past association to unsavory & anti-American individuals, but that doesn’t seem to matter. He lies like Persian rug, but that doesn’t seem to matter either. He could probably shoot the Pope & to Libs that wouldn’t matter either. They would still vote for him.
Oh, please. This woman thinks the earth is only 6000 years old, belongs to some holy-roller cult, and knows zero about separation of church and state. Thought you folks had learned your lesson with Bush (“He’d be a great guy to have a beer with!”). Apparently you want to totally dumb down our leadership.
well, if you “Hope” hard enough Carneyva, Uuuuuuhbama will be elected. Then we’ll have retards in the Whitehouse to go with the retarded dems in Congress.
Yup, Sarah kicked butt alright.
Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review, and a magna cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School. McCain barely got into – and out of – the Naval Academy, thanks to the oldest form of affirmative action (also see: George W. Bush), his father and grandfather. And Palin flunked out of West Shithouse State. Let’s not insult truly challenged people.
Carney -
The single most important choice a US Presidental candidate can make is the choice of their VP.
McCain picked a winner.
Biden himself said that Hillary is a better choice than him for UhhhhBama’s VP.
So much for the big brain theory.
And Palin has accomplished more in her 2 years as Gov. Alaska than all of UhhhhBama’s elected service – combined.
Joe got beat by a girrrrl.
So what she was off a bit on numbers. Like she said she’s been at this for 5 weeks.
Explain why the lawyer doesn’t know the constitution or why this VP pick chosen for his foreign policy gravitas talks out of his head about Hezbollah.
carney – obama graduating from a leftist indoctrination institution is actually a negative
Sarah Palin set it all up from the beginning when she asked hairplugs if she could call him Joe. That left the opening for the ‘say it ain’n so, joe’ line
Carney, I don’t agree with a lot of Religions, but that is just me. What someone’s Religious belief is a personal choice. One important thing is she is a strong supporter of the Constitution & the Amendments to it.
Yes she has a lot to learn, but so does Obama & he wants to be President. He is a typical politician, he makes a statement & the next day says exactly the opposite. He is Pro Second Amendment, but wants to outlaw handguns & ccw. This is contradictory. He doesn’t have the experience to make rational decisions. His ideology is also Marxist/Socialist. The USA is a Constitutional Republic, at least it used to be. Government programs always waste money, always have. Obama wants to cut the middle class Income tax & tax large Companies instead. Why do you think these large companies are leaving the US. TAXES that’s why! Our economy is in the crapper now, Obama will totally destroy our economy..
Besides that, we are simply sick and tired of left leaning Harvard elitists.
I absolutely love every Reaganism she dropped. There are two versions of 1984. The book; which will be reality if we elect a Socialist, and the 1984 Presidential election, anyone remember that red map?
Gosh darnit that was beautiful.
“Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review, and a magna cum laude…
And look how stupid he is. Nobody gives a crap about Ivy Leagues anymore, they’re just another school. Harvard’s no big deal, remember, you guys changed the narrative on the importance of what school someone attended – can’t have it both ways (but I liked that you picked up Matty Damon’s retarded talking-point about the Earth).
You would have thought they would have taught Obama in all that fancy law schooling that the job of a Supreme Court Justice is not to “dispense social and economic justice.” Probably the affirmative action that got him in.
Any remarks the left make about Pres. Bush or Sen. McCain and their college records automatically nullify the educational backgrounds of any of their respective Democratic candidates.
It’s a double-edged sword that the left is too weak to get off the ground. No wonder they hobble all over the issues; the fools have no toes.