The analysis coming out about last night's debate consistently have reported that there was no train wreck, there was nothing special or that it was Sarah Palin's night. One thing I will say about Palin is that she didn't crash as bad as I thought she was going to, based on the first half an hour. I thought it was going to be a slaughter when the topic was bankruptcy and the mortgage crisis, and Plalin gave a yes/no answer, then procreeded to ramble endlessly about energy. I was stunned. A couple questions later Palin, obviously getting nervous, called Senator Biden "Senator O'Biden." Thankfully, for her sake, her performance didn't continue to decline and she regained control.
But this is what is just killing me, and this is what I loathe about American politics. Everyone is saying she debated well. But if you actually listened to her versus Senator Biden, her answers and arguments sucked. I would bet that over 50 percent of what she said was the same thing over and over again. Half of what she said was populist, homespun, gibberish, and slogans about her and McCain being "mavericks." I was ready to shoot myself if I heard the word "maverick" one more time. Meanwhile, Senator Biden clearly had-- agree with his positions or not-- command of every issue spitting out facts and statistics to back up everything he said. Like one commentator I heard this morning said: Senator Biden appealed to those who respond to rational arguments while Governor Palin appealed to those who respond to emotion. And this is why Palin just drives me insane. She is the embodiment of, the concentrated form of, everything that is wrong with American politics. Her interviews, to any critical listener, are a joke! Tina Fey used one of her answers, word for word, in a parody of her! She obviously doesn't know crap about the world outside of Alaska, but because she supposedly "relates" to people because she's a hockey mom and uses folksy vernacular, her performances are lauded.
To be fair, Biden also tried to appeal to the common man himself, which he had to do considering what he was up against. And he also used slogans and sound bites as well, but no one can doubt that he is ready to be President. This debate was like watching a high school student take on a professor. And, yes, they both stretched the truth as well, and Yahoo posted a fact-check here.
Lastly, I would be saying all of this if I were still a Rush Limbaugh listening conservative. The fact that a large portion of the country trusts Palin, based on what we've seen of her, to be President is terrifying to me. Being a hockey mom, a good parent, down-home, middle-class etc... are not reasons we should vote for anyone. And, thankfully, before this debate more and more people began realizing she was a bad choice. In a week, after this debate is forgotten about, maybe people will continue coming to their senses.
1 comment:
I agree that Biden was in command of the issues... as he should be. She said it best when she said, "I've only been at this for 5 weeks." Biden is the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee for goodness sake.
However, I think your anaylsis of what we need in a President is a bit disingenuos. Before Palin camme along, lack of experience and common-man credentials were touted as what was needed to change washington. Palin out-outsiders Obama and I think that is at the heart of what gets the dems so fired up about her selection.
I would rather my mom be president than Obama anyday. And therein lies her appeal.
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