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2008
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October
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- Courts Affirm Reality, Dump GOP Lawsuit
- Friday Humor: Wassup 2008
- Obama is such a Decent Person
- Live blogging the Carney-Hackett Debate
- Joe Biden & Bill Clinton in Central PA
- A bit of Halloween fun
- Rock for Change '08
- IOKIYAR Wall Street Journal edition
- McCain in Hersheypark on Tuesday
- Rock for Change This Sunday
- Cultural Warrior
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- KEEP THE CAPS ON
- Carney Interview
- Colin Powell Endorsement
- More Letters
- Amercian Fascism raises its head
- ACORN and NY Times
- Anti-Obama Truck(s): Update
- Post-Debate Thread
- Anti-Obama Truck in Lewisburg Today
- "Increasingly Feisty" Crowd at Palin-Hackett Event
- How the right will try and steal the election
- Voting Abstinence
- Treys commercial
- Former Republican Praises Obama
- The Inestimable Earl Pickens
- Post-Debate Thread
- Pre-Debate Thread
- Poll Numbers with Buzz
- PA GOP gets a case of the nasties
- Biden and Palin debate on SNL
- Friday Afternoon Entertainment
- Post VP Debate Reactions
- Countdown to Meetup & VP Debate Tonight
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October
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8 comments:
I thought Joe Biden did best when he looked into the camera and talked about the middle class. He had a little trouble controlling his facial expressions at times, but I thought he kept an even keel, and was wise to talk either to the camera or Gwen Ifil, and not talk directly to Palin much.
He also said, "Those are the facts" a lot, without calling McCain a liar. I thought that came off well.
Sarah Palin didn't make any horrendous missteps like she did with Katie Couric, but I think it was obvious even to undecided voters that she didn't answer the questions. I'm sure she did well with the people who already supported her, but I can't see that she swayed many undecideds.
Dailykos has compiled a list of online polls where you can say who you think "won" the debate. These polls are ridiculously unscientific (as is the concept of "winning" this type of debate), but they (sadly) help shape the media's spin. Pick a few and show your support for Sen. Biden!
Expand the vice-presidency? I don't think so.
I watched some of the post-debate punditry on TV. The FOX poll showed 89% thought Palin won the debate. A CNN instant poll of undecideds (in OH, I think) showed a slight edge for Biden, with about a third calling it a draw. Consensus was that both raised their numbers, but that Palin had a lot further to rise. In one poll Biden's "seems knowledgeable" went from 79% to 98%. Palin probably stopped the hemorrhaging of support, but I doubt this performance will undo the last two weeks.
Some commentators thought Palin's winks and especially her "shout out" were inappropriate in a VP debate. I think on the whole she was pretty appealing, but it was obvious that she was sticking to tried and true lines: we want to cut taxes and grow the economy; we're looking to the future, not the past. She invoked Reagan a couple times and used the word "maverick" over and over. (All they need is a theme song.)
I think the problem with the "an outsider like me can change Washington" argument is two-fold: first, John McCain is not an outsider after all his years in the Senate, and Biden was able to prove that he's no maverick on the issues that really matter to people in this election. Second, the argument that a governor can come to Washington and change the tone by replicating what was done at the state level is EXACTLY the argument that George Bush made in 2000, and even by his own and his party's admission IT DIDN'T WORK. Palin would do for the tone in Washington what Dick Cheney has done, only she wouldn't have his power (though she seems to aspire to it, since she agreed with the farfetched notion that the VP is in both executive branch and legislative branch). I'm not sure she really knew what that question was about. It was comforting to know that Biden was familiar with Article 1 of the Constitution.
Palin did a nice job of saying she respected Biden for positions where he disagrees with Obama. Biden had an indirect comeback in pointing out that Obama wanted someone for VP who would be willing to voice disagreement. Biden had a couple nice digs, mentioning that he doesn't support the Bush Doctrine (a question Palin seemed lost on in the Charlie Gibson interview) and mentioning that his one large house was his main asset (a subtle reminder about McCain's seven houses).
Anyone else notice Sarah Palin's flag pin? Nice touch.
Palin was flirting with me. That's the most important thing. haha
Seriously, though, I thought Biden was fantastic. His words were crisp, forceful, to the point. He did a good job of correcting the record when Palin made false claims.
Palin didn't make any huge errors, but the Republicans needed more than that from her.
Mostly the debate will be irrelevant, except that every event like this that passes without a significant boost to McCain strengthens Obama's position. Nobody really expected this to turn out so well for Palin that it gave McCain a significant boost, but something unexpected like that has to happen for McCain, or else Obama wins. So last night, "Obama" won the debate.
Even though the debate was mostly irrelevant, I still found it interesting (in the 2/3 of the debate I watched) how well Biden performed. If you imagined watching the debate without the filter of low expectations, it would have been scored a slaughter. In particular, Biden got some major criticisms of McCain in. Hopefully some of those can become part of the McCain narrative.
I agree, I was proud of Biden. I have been a fan of his for a while, especially since the hearings where he had to "explain" to Alberto Gonzalez why we don't torture people, from the perspective of someone with children in the military. I keep hearing people complain about how Obama shouldn't have picked him because he doesn't help with the Electoral College, but I couldn't disagree more. I am so excited by the prospect of having a smart, decent guy in the VP's office for a change.
I thought his best moment was discussing his first wife's death.
And her reaction was soooo classless.
What did she say with her opponent tearing up at his wife's death?
Something like: "And that is why you should vote for us! We are so maverick-y!" ;<)
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