Howard Fineman
PingBack from http://www.medicalcollected.info/mane/newsweek-palin.html
Obama's view of the future of America - Socialism which is the next step to Communism!!
Under socialism a ruling class of intellectuals, bureaucrats and social planners decide what people want or what is good for society and then use the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax, and redistribute the wealth of those who work for a living. In other words, socialism is a form of legalized theft.
The morality of socialism can be summed-up in two words: envy and self-sacrifice. Envy is the desire to not only possess another's wealth but also the desire to see another's wealth lowered to the level of one's own. Socialism's teaching on self-sacrifice was nicely summarized by two of its greatest defenders, Hermann Goering and Bennito Mussolini. The highest principle of Nazism (National Socialism), said Goering, is: "Common good comes before private good." Fascism, said
Mussolini, is "a life in which the individual, through the sacrifice of his own private interests??realizes that completely spiritual existence in which his value as a man lies."
Socialism is the social system which institutionalizes envy and self-sacrifice: It is the social system which uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to expropriate wealth from the producer class for its redistribution to the parasitical class.
Despite the intellectuals' psychotic hatred of capitalism, it is the only moral and just social system.
Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders--that is, as free moral agents trading and selling goods and services on the basis of mutual consent.
Capitalism is the only just system because the sole criterion that determines the value of thing exchanged is the free, voluntary, universal judgement of the consumer. Coercion and fraud are anathema to the free-market system.
It is both moral and just because the degree to which man rises or falls in society is determined by the degree to which he uses his mind. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards merit, ability and achievement, regardless of one's birth or station in life.
Yes, there are winners and losers in capitalism. The winners are those who are honest, industrious, thoughtful, prudent, frugal, responsible, disciplined, and efficient. The losers are those who are shiftless, lazy, imprudent, extravagant, negligent, impractical, and inefficient. [What about the role of luckbeing in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time? R. R. Pope}
Capitalism is the only social system that rewards virtue and punishes vice. This applies to both the business executive and the carpenter, the lawyer and the factory worker.
THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION CANDIDATE!
NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY HAS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BEEN GIVEN SUCH A FREE PASS BY THE PRESS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE!
I AM WAITING FOR A BLACK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO MAKE IT ON HIS OWN MERIT.
COLIN POWELL COMES TO MIND!
They harassed her until she registered to vote six times!:
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3145562&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/
Yes she scored points,all bad ones,As a white obama supporter ,we have been calling them McSame,but its not,its worse,The biggest Liers ever,They act like little kids,They aren't getting their way,so they do something worse,Calling Obama a muslum,is like calling the senate morons,don't you think they have checked him out,DA,I think it time to check Palin out,she's already lied,saying she has delt with russia,bs,,Quit trying to make her look good,She better go home,and shoot some more wolves from the air before the wolves from washington eat her,McCain or her have no right to even run for president,they are clearly raceist,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Iowa for Obama/biden
"Not all Democrats agree with Mr. Frank that such policies are off-limits to criticism. Last week Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama said in a statement: 'Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie and Freddie. I defended their efforts to encourage affordable homeownership, when in retrospect, I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong.'
"Mr. Davis is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus."
'Rank snobbery'
Camille Paglia, who supports Sen. Barack Obama, has nothing but scorn for the way the media has treated Sarah Palin.
"The mountain of rubbish poured out about Palin over the past month would rival Everest. What a disgrace for our jabbering army of liberal journalists and commentators, too many of whom behaved like snippy jackasses," Miss Paglia writes at www.salon.com.
"The bourgeois conventionalism and rank snobbery of these alleged humanitarians stank up the place. As for Palin's brutally edited interviews with Charlie Gibson and that viper, Katie Couric, don't we all know that the best bits ended up on the cutting-room floor? Something has gone seriously wrong with Democratic ideology, which seems to have become a candied set of holier-than-thou bromides attached like tutti-frutti to a quivering green Jell-O mold of adolescent sentimentality."
I will vote for Obama who is not Muslim, who is well educated, whose wife is not always proud to be an American (reading your statements, if you represented most Americans, I would not be proud of being an American at this time), who doesn't follow the strategy of using hysterical tactics to make us believe their lies, who vated against a disastrous Iraq war....
I will not leave the United States because I have the right as a United States citizen to voice my opinion and vot for whom I think will make a better president. If you can't deal with that, move to a goverment whose policies you can follow. These countries would be places like Iran, Iraq, China... and any other country who has a dictatorship. trr518, you need to read the Constitution and learn to have the tolerance and wisdom of those who wrote it. Shame on you....
I do not understand, HOW, Smart People……… Educated People…… could possibly vote for OBAMA- (OSAMA)…... WAKE UP PEOPLE,……. Do your own research. This man is Muslim decent…. funded By Islam….….. My God!!! He is probably OSAMA BIN LADEN’s, brother……..better yet……shave off the beard and get rid of the turban……The Military has not seen “bin laden” on surveillance in quite some time… Maybe that’s because he’s running for president of the United States. Have you forgotten 911…… 4 more years of not being attacked on AMERICAN soil is alright with me. Are all of the OBAMA supporter’s just uneducated or what? (Most of them do not know what he really stands for, which is nothing, by the way, they are just tired of the way thins have been…… but that’s not a reason to vote for him……. If you really listen to him….. (When he is not reciting a speech someone else has written for him) he does not answer the question outright, he talks around it….. (Don’t take my word for it, go back and listen to the real questions he was asked on the first debate, all he did, was say, John McCain is Absolutely Right.
I would, venture to say, that the McCain is not perfect, but the alternative is far, far worse….. If you like Obama so much go live in Iraq.!!!!! Leave the United States to the True RED, WHITE and BLUE…. His own wife is not proud to be American….. I can’t imagine he really is either…. and that’s what you want to run this country? You’re not a real American.
I don't think Sarah Palin deserves the kind of insults she is receiving. Yes, she may have made some mistakes in interviewing. No, she may not be ready for the VP role. However, the amount of animosity that has been shown to her is ridiculous. And as far as looking at her credentials--I don't see her as any less prepared for the VP role than I see Obama for the Presidency. I do not trust Barack Obama. As far as McCain and his history...I do think his POW experience is worthwhile in considering as one positive factor of many to be considered. I am just tired of hearing all of the insults in either direction. There will never be a perfect president. The best we can do after the election is be united as a country and support our leadership. Our greatest weakness will be our division.
Watch "Palin Piggies" on YOU TUBE Freedom's Watch is a Washington D.C. based 501(c)(4) lobbying organization. Freedom's Watch is supportive of the Bush administration's positions in the War on Terror and of Republican Congressional candidates. The group is run and supported, in part, by several former officials of the Bush administration.[1] The organization states that its goal is "educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families." [2] In the 2008 election cycle, Freedom's Watch purchased advertisements in support of Republican congressional candidates.
While FINEMAN says that PALIN played fast and loose with the facts, I did some fact checking of my own and came up with BIDEN HAVING PLAYED FAST AND LOOSE WITH A HELL OF A LOT MORE FACTS THAT PALIN DID. I AM NOT EVEN A COMMITTED REPUBLICAN, IMAGINE WHAT A COMMITTED ONE WOULD FIND. BETTER STILL, IMAGINE WHAT A TRULY UNBIASED PERSON WOULD FIND. I USED TO LIKE READING HOWARD'S COLUMN, NOW I WILL CONTINUE TO READ HIS COLUMN AND COMMENT ON HIS PLAYING FAST AND LOOSE WITH THE TRUTH.
From "Fact Of The matter"
http://www.need4trth.blogspot.com
Tonight marks a sad moment in American politics. The McCain Campaign has decided to attack the character of 'Senator Obama, to distract us from the fact that today THE DOW JONES DROPPED BELOW 10,OOO. The reason McCain's camp wants to distract us is, because they are CLUELESS, on what to do about the ECONOMY, needed TAXATION, ending a 7 YEAR WAR and OCCUPATION,which by the way was an egregious, extraordinary glaringly blatant MISTAKE, where lives have been lost and continue to be lost, FIGHTING THE WRONG WAR. McCain having publicly blundered and proved himself a liar when it came down to bringing not both sides of the aisles together but just a certain fringe in his very own party in to agreement. Most notably McCain/Palin/and the RNC are beginning to sense America rise above the lies and the smears and a sleeping stupor, and begin to put their eyes on the Real Man of Integrity and Character and Truth. The REAL "Man In The Arena" Senator Barack Obama, whom we see as MORE CAPABLE AND READY TO LEAD than an erratic confused, name calling, angry, ill tempered, untreated PTSD sufferer of delusions of FALSEHOODS THAT he thinks can win an election. McCain is in fact saying, "I'll call him a Terrorist and Lie that he is somehow involved with Osama Bin Laden, if it wins me the White house."
It is the beginning of the negative campaigning (round 3) for the McCain Campaign and perhaps (round TRUTHS you didn't know about John Sydney McCain)from the Obama Campaign. John McCain said today at a rally, "I don't need to take lessons of truthfulness from a Chicago politician." The old guilt by association tactic. IT WON'T WORK THIS TIME. You see, when you are a PATHLOGICAL LIAR, YOU LIVE IN A LIE AD BELIEVE IT'S THE TRUTH.
Creating doubt and questions which actually have no REAL vallidity, because they are just questions to confuse the populace, throw them off track to what's really at stake, As Senator Obama has said, "these are distractions, SILLI SEASON in Washington," with a vile motive to attack with non-issues to distract from real issues.
We the American populace have heard the "War Hero" story. We've heard about the White hat wearing, Sheriffs Badge Bran danging, Riding in on 'Ole Silver, Boots, Belt Bridle and Fake Reagan imitation of calm, Maverick Story about John McCain. The The Corporate Media has almost totally protected and covered and recreated John McCain as Something he never was. REAL. So now that the red phone moment occurred here at home and McCain knew not what to do...The Corporate Medias Facade of the Maverick has as Peter Murphy said in the song "Your Eyes", "The grand facade so soon did burn" After the smoke is clearing we Now see the REAL McCain.....READY TO FALL APART AT THE SEEMS.
HOW DOES MCCAIN TRY TO RECOVER? HE SAYS, LET'S TURN THE PAGE.......
FORGET ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY THE WAR AND OCCUPATION OUR COMMITTING YOUR SON'S AND DAUGHTERS TO A MISTAKE, MY INVOLVEMENT IN TE DEREGULATIONS THAT NEARLY RUINED OUR BANKING SYSTEMS AND LET'S LOOK AT THIS PROPAGANDA AD...
Krohn:
Very poignant - re George "soreass" Soros. Maybe we need to feed him to the Palestinians. It will matter little to Hamas that he hates Jews as much as they do, they still see him as a pig, just as Mahathir (Malaysian PM back in the 90s) correctly identified.
Now we know who is behind Barry Obama's teleprompter. Somebody's gotta be giving the orders, we know it sure ain't Axlerod.
The Antichrist!:
When George Soros failed to obtain the election of his candidate, John Kerry, in 2004, he brooded for a while, even said he might get out of politics altogether, but he just couldn???t stop himself. He has stated publicly that he wishes to burst the ???bubble of American supremacy,??? because he says our preeminence in the world is a detriment to global ???equilibrium.??? So far, he has failed, but he keeps on trying.
And Mr. Soros has made no secret either of the fact that he sees the shortest way to effect political shake-ups, what he terms ???regime changes,??? is through very difficult economic conditions.
America has not yet felt the full force of Soros style economic shock treatment. But others have.
Soros made his first billion in 1992 by shorting the British pound with leveraged billions in financial bets, and became known as the man who broke the Bank of England. He broke it on the backs of hard-working British citizens who immediately saw their homes severely devalued and their life savings cut drastically in comparative worth almost overnight.
When the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 threatened to spread globally, George Soros was right in the thick of it. Soros was accused by the Malaysian Prime Minister of causing the collapse with his monetary machinations, and he was branded in Thailand as an ???economic war criminal??? who ???sucks the blood from the people.??? Right in the middle of this crisis, Soros dashed off his book, The Crisis of Global Capitalism, which demanded a ???third way??? toward economic stability.
Wake up, America, before it is too late!!!!
to bigdadred: You mean all the others that have an all out assault on Palin?
I bet Harvard taught Obama what supreme court decisions to disagree with. Dumb Palin.
Dumb McCain, he's going to run negative campaign ads. Obama doesn't have to. He's got the press!
Dumb Republican supporters. Don't they want lower taxes and lots of free stuff? Vote for Obama's political promises and get free health care, free college education, no cost to tax payers to improve public education and roads.
And Palin doesn't have enough experience to be President. While Obama has more experience than... than... er... ah... Oh Ya! Palin! (except of course in leadership and authoring legislation.. but what an autobiographer!!)
And change? Obama has always toed the mark for the Democratic political platform. Obama wants to change from the Republican political machine to the Democratic political machine.
Everyone knows the Washington insiders know whats best. Everyone knows real people are clueless and believe any thing you tell them. Why, McCain and Palin don't even get along wih their own party! How do they expect to be elected when they go up against their own party machine insiders!?! I mean they actually expect that wanting to do what is best for the country and the people will help elect them! Dumb McCain. Dumb Palin.
The fact that Fox News Network is taking the position of launching a series of all out assaults against senator Obama’s character is a sad day in journalism. They should be ashamed of the immoral and unethical standards that their network displays on a continual basis. What they must be made to understand is that as citizens we rely upon networks for their fair and accurate reporting of events and we will not tolerate anything less, especially when its over the top or maybe I should say as far right as Fox News Network is. If your views are the same share this message with others. It is time to take a stand against Fox and look to other networks for fair and accurate news coverage.
he ACORN does not fall from the tree:
http://justsaynodeal.com/acorn.html
Was I only one apart from my like-minded friends to find that her debate reminded me of the Peter Sellers Party Political Speech which I have copied and pasted for your benefit below. All talk but not much to say really. Sad but very scary isn't it......
PARTY POLITICAL SPEECH
... My friends, in the light of present-day developments let me say right away that I do not regard existing conditions likely. On the contrary, I have always regarded them as subjects of the gravest responsibility and shall ever continue to do so. Indeed, I will go further and state quite categorically that I am more than sensible of the (exact) definition of the precise issues which are at this very moment concerning us all. We must build, but we must build surely. Hear, hear! - Let me say just this: If any part of what I am saying is challenged, then I am more than ready to meet such a challenge. For I have no doubt whatsoever that whatever I may have said in the past, or what I am saying now, is the exact, literal and absolute truth as to the state (?) of the case. - Hear, hear! -I put it to you that this is not the time for vague promises of better things to come. For, if I were to convey to you a spirit of false optimism, then I should be neither fair to you nor true to myself. But does this mean, I hear you cry, that we can no longer look forward to the future that is to come? Certainly not! Voice from the audience: What about the workers? “What about the workers?”; indeed sir! Grasp, I beseech you, with both hands [Aside: I’m so sorry, I beg your pardon, madam.] the opportunities that are offered. Let us assume a bold front and go forward together. Let us carry the fight [noise of a blow being struck] against ignorance to the four corners of the earth because it is a fight which concerns us all. Now, finally my friends, in conclusion, let me say just this: [BIG SILENCE !!!]
Peter Sellers
This can also be heard on You Tube for a laugh (sad but true) as it sounds so much better.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xqNtgVW3Gdo
This is one of the few Democrats that I am proud of!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5ekEuGyvk
White Flag of Surrender - a very careless, insensitive, and down right stupid comment to make when half if not more than half of the mothers/fathers/parents of our soldiers are in support of getting our troops out of a corrupt war that Bush started off lies. All McBush cares about is getting a win tally mark, if he wants a honorable win all he would have to do is just withdraw. A change would be for someone like Obama to stand up and do the right thing for once and get our troops out of Iraq.
Howard I like balanced analysis and you often provide that. The wolverine did try not to embarrass the base. But again, what did we expect after being secluded in Sedona for coaching on her recital. She declared upfront that she was not going to respond to the questions as expected but rather do it in the way her base likes it. If this were an exam, she would have failed and miserably so. She has no clue the limitations of the VP in the government. Instead she thinks that position should have more powers. I can only conclude the reason why she was picked over the more reasonable options available; just to say 'yes' and have no clue what she was responding to. I am sure McCain will be comfortable with someone who needs coaching all the time and not one who advises him on the best position to take!
CherrieBerrie, Howard, Keep up the good work that you do so well. Sarah Palin DID NOT win the debate. Her cutesy winking, smirking, (THINK GWB LAST 8 yrs) Oh wait she's a Hockey Mom, no she's a Soccer Mom, wait she's so cutesy and can read off her cue cards so deftly that she really means what she says. You were right Howard she' a Wolverine in human form. She is the scariest thing I'v ever seen, except for King George, in my lifetime and today I'm 61 yrs young. If she would have been on our Debate Team in my High School she would have been shown the DOOR! You have to answer the questions. AND SHE DID NOT! What a farce and amazingly people are buying it. GOD HELP US ALL!
CherrieBerrie
Howard you are as usual right on the mark! Sarah Palin is a wolverine in disguise, or wait is it a Hockey Mom, wait it's Soccer Mom. Or is she Joe-Six-Pack;s wife?? I'm sooo confused. WRONG!!!
She was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my lifetime. And today I am 61 years young. She came across as a mean and power-grabbing woman with her cutesy, winking, smirking (think GWB last 8 yrs)
Keep up the heat Howard and don't let the HYPE about this marvelous Hockey Mom fool us like King George did 8 years ago. She definitely DID NOT WIN! How can you win when you don't answer the questions. In my High School debates we had, she would have been shown the DOOR!
BTW Blitz67, I don't get it. Your "gut" tells you to vote for McCain because you "trust" him?
All one has to do is look at the disingenuous ads, the VP pick, and the overwhelming rollback on the integrity issue with McCain to see that the John McCain of today does not resemble in the LEAST the man he appeared to be 6-7 years ago.
And his promotion of himself as a POW is sickening. It doesn't qualify him for immunity. I respect his service, feel for him experientially, but many, many, many, many, many, many, many Americans have suffered all sorts of fates that deeply sadden me and they don't advertise their hardship in order to advance their careers.
This is a hard line to take, but come on.... McCain has been shameless.
Yo webmaster... can you format this page so that the ads on the right don't cut off the last word(s) in the discussion column?
Joe Biden was absolutely WRONG on the VP constitutional issue. Look it up. I did, just to be sure. And wow, Joe doesn't know what the VP powers are as dictated by the constitution. Maybe that's because - as Joe himself once said - he has no interest in being VP. Also, in the debate, Joe said he intends to sit in the room with Obama on every single important decision he would make as president. So let me get this straight, Joe's actually admitting Obama's so inexperienced he needs a babysitter?
You're an a**hole.
Well, the fact you censored my last post tells me that I certainly am at the wrong place for advice.. Why do I have to be a democrat or a republican to get help with this decision.. I'm neither. I guess you guys want partisan rehtoric.. I don't have any.. I will tell you, that I think Bush/Cheney are liars and am glad to see them go.. Now, as for the issue at hand..I'm more confused than ever.. And here, if you want some controversy, I'll even go so far as to say that Bush/Cheney gave us 9/11. But, that doesn't reflect a party, just a group of evil people who are, thankfully, about to exit our political system.. I bet you post this, because you're interested in controversy instead of helping with the real issue of just who to trust with our future.
I guess I'm not exactly where I need to be to get the help I need for this majorly important decision.. This site seems to be very partisan.. I'm clouded by the right and the left.. I really need some good thoughtful opinion, but what I read here is just partisan venom..and that goes for the other side as well.. So, like I said, being in the middle, I always have to make this decsion alone and hope it's the right one.. I certainly get no constructive help from partisans.. And I can't seem to get away from them.. I don't like the ripping of the candidates..it doesn't help. People seem to love to reach down to their lowest portion of emotion in politics. And, as a result..the middle is left out in the cold.
I have to jump in one more time here.. The venom against Palin is not shared by most.. I don't exactly know what to think about her yet, but I certainly don't think she's deserving of the hate that's being expressed. She reminds me of my family and really me, for that matter. So, when I read nasty comments about her that transfers to me.. I am very average and it is an appealing thought to have "one of us" in a position of power. The partisan venom does not help with my decision. I have my own eyes and ears.. I watched the debate.. I don't think the woman is a disaster.. She made good points..and the fact that she doesn't speak like a politician is very appealing.. Is she ready to be VP..? I don't know..I'm working that out.. I don't trust Obama, yet. He may very well be exactly what we need.. I wish he could give me more background.. A junior senator is a problem.. He's the top of the ticket..Palin is the VP, so whether she's ready at this moment is a non-issue for me.. McCain is ready..but I don't exactly know if I am comfortable with him either...
I can't read anything on this forum because of the ads on the right...what the crap?
darrelcc: Here's a hint. If Palin had delivered the Gettysburg address, I'd say the same thing.
It was a debate, not a stage for a pre-canned speeches. *That* was the problem. She is expected to respond to questions, not to blab out words strung together in meaningless verbiage, presuming to answer something.
Save your declaration of victory for a call-in Friday on some conservative talk show. I recommend Rush Limbaugh. This isn't about whether McCain is qualified. He obviously is.
Palin is an unmitigated disaster.
First off, let me explain that I'm one of those people in the middle..and that's not a bogus attempt at some agenda nullification. I feel this admin is one of the most disgusting administrations in history. I feel W. and Cheney are liars and align myself with just about nobody..especially the extremes on either end.
But, I have to say that, even though I don’t think Palin is ready to lead on day one, I do like her. The jury is still out on McCain, but I tend to trust him. Obama, I don’t know..
As far as who “won” the debate, I don’t know.. I did catch Biden in some half-truths and some outright false statements. And sorry, I don’t grade on style..to me that has no place, in my mind, to make a decision of this nature.
We in the middle are more confused than ever. I certainly don’t trust the media. Fox cheerleads and MSNBC smears..so what to do?
My gut tells me McCain is the wise choice. I don’t have a partisan bone in my body as I pretty much has a major disdain for both parties. And anyone who votes on a party line blindly is a fool in my opinion.
Having said that, I’ve watch Fineman over the years and it’s hard to take anything he says seriously. Much like Rush Limbaugh, he pushes an agenda. So, we here in the middle, as usual, have to figure this stuff out by ourselves. So far the choice is McCain/Palin..that could change, but my gut tells me this is the wise choice. I cannot give my vote to a junior senator at this juncture.. It’s not logical to do so. Hillary would have gotten my vote, but I don’t have that option if I want my vote to count. I do think that either one of these guys is a much better choice than what we have in the white House now.. And hey media and partisans…I have a few words for you.. The idea that McCain is Bush II or a third Bush admin is just not ringing true with me or any of my friends who aren’t cool aid drinkers from either side.. In fact every time I hear that, it turns me right off.
I need Obama to give me a good reason to trust him and he might get my vote..he has yet to do so.. And that’s how one independent feels.. Thanks.
Wrong it has been confirmed that there was no oversight of the questions at all and only Ifell knew the questions! is that a liberal's admission of defeat?
Wrong it has been confirmed that there was no oversight of the questions at all ans only Ifell knew the questions! is that a liberal's admission of defeat?
This quasi-debate was framed well before the two candidates ever stepped on the stage. The Republican campaign strategists ensured that the debate format favored their candidate.by establishing reduced time constraints for the candidates' responses, negating the opportunity for rebuttals, and essentially " working the ref " indirectly through surrogates and media sympathisers. While I don't believe that Gwen Eifel consciously tried to emulate Larry King, it's hard to explain the journalistic timidy on her part. There were absolutely no tough questions asked by her, and what we're left with as a result is the realization that we could be within one mortality away from having an intellectual bantamweight representing our political fate in a heavyeight arena.
By watching the debate last night, it finally dawned on me who Sarah Palin really is. She's just a local polititian. That's who she is; pure and simple. She acts like one; she talks like one and she doesn't know a lot about the federal government like one. I'll give McCain's campaign credit; they know how to pluck someone from obscurity and make them seem like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. She's only a year and half shy of being a small town mayor with no real knowledge of the pressing issues facing our country. She's a fast learner though, because her coaches have been grilling her since day one and she seems to pick up information pretty quickly which she can recite with near accuracy. However, when asked questions about something she hasn't been grilled over, then her local polititian, Mayberry Mayor characteristics, come shining through. Come on folks, get real! She didn't hold her on with Biden last night; she just made the same over rehearsed, GOP convention rhetoric that initially cast her in the spot light. I personally think we here in the U.S. have sunk pretty low when we desperately buy in to this stuff, and spend so much time on someone that obviously is not prepared to be Vice-President or heaven forbid, President. Please, let's come back to reality.
jlgab, you obviously just despise the woman. You come across like a 14 year old teenage girl. "Eww, can you believe she wore those shoes with that dress"...."Girl, if she thinks she's going to get that fat bootie in those skinny jeans, that girl is dreaming..." If you somehow think you are helping Obama's campaign by posting this nonesence, you are dead wrong.
With Palin's eye-rolling and shout-out antics, she proved she is NOT Executive material, maybe in a few years if she works at it, but she is not ready now.
Ironic how Palin doesn't want us to look back, apparently McBush oops I mean McCain and her are the only ones allowed to point fingers. Do as I say, not as I do. I would like to think the American people want more than a sometimes cutesy soccer-mom voice saying neat phrases. As Palin even admits, she has been at this for only 5 weeks.
Simpleton, the woman could have delivered the Gettysburg Address and you Liberals would be posting the same exact response. We know you think she lost the debate because you are biased and you believe that anyone who doesn't hold your same radical views is just "out of touch". Conservatives always have and always will have an advantage over Liberals. Conservatives are capable of understanding why Liberals see things the way they do. Liberals are completely incapable of understanding how anyone else, Conservatives included, would have the audacity to see things differently. After all, Liberals consider themselves superior in every way imaginable.
This is a repeated post, and must be removed
Mariann Pepitone: You missed the point. Please reconsider your response *after* reading the original post.
The point is not that debaters do not memorize or refer to notes. The point is that debaters know more than just that about what they have memorized or are discussing.
Palin does not seem to know anything else than the words that she has memorized. She is yet to give any indication that she is better than someone with a good memory. It's like a sportscaster announcing that Cubs are in the bottom of the 8th, and fumbling hopelessly if one followed up and asked, "are they leading?"
Palin will likely respond: "Doggone it Pepitone, the Cubs are in the bottom of the 8th which is the inning before the last at bat for the Dodgers and if they are leading they'll not bat the bottom of the 9th, and I was a tough point guard for my high school and have lot of experience in sports, unlike Obama who will raise your taxes".
Mariann Pepitone: You missed the point. Please reconsider your response *after* reading my original post.
Re: Krohn's Faux News clip
LMAO. Gosh darn those college kids and homeless people -- they're stealing the election from us fat white guys!
Maybe the people the young lady was encouraging people to vote for Obama will do so because -- *gosh, say it ain't so* -- they really DO want him to be the next POTUS.
Day 5 of stealing Ohio's election!:
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3130656&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/
Joe Biden exhibited the depth of his knowledge at the debate. In addition, showed his respect for the debate process by addressing the moderator's questions.
By failing to answer many of the moderator's questions, Sarah "Fairplay" Palin showed a lack of respect for the moderator and exhibited total disregard for the debate's rules.
Who do YOU want representing your country? Someone who respects the rules or someone who ignores them?
Mitty why don't you do some fact checking if you're concerned about Obama's "experience".
Go to the Library of Congress and search under Barrak Obama. You are going to be surprised.
----> http://thomas.loc.gov/
Just as I was stunned at John McCains body language (his inability to turn towards or make eye contact with Barack Obama) at their last debate--despite being encouraged to by Jim Lehrer, I am insulted by Palin's "folky" speech. Does anyone out there really respond to those "got-chas, gees, folks, joe 6-pack, say it ain't so, Joe, wink-wink-wink-wink-winks?" So condescending! Even more so, was the fact that political analysts and consultants actually thought she was speaking to "America" and bonding with this hillbilly, ridiculous speech. Americans don't talk like that!
Also, where was the moderator in this debate? I sorely missed Lehrer--as he at least tried to keep responses on tract. Palin was allowed to go off-topic throughout the debate and say whatever the hell she wanted. That's sloppy journalism at the worst and plain indifference at the best.
I'd like to start a political movement for future campaigns--no more false advertising, no "opinionated" journalists, and if you're involved in a campaign, if you are representing a political party, the public does NOT want to hear from you. You are biased, prone to contorting the trutth, and/or are deliriously caught up in your own rhetoric to be much use to viewers. Viewers want the truth, we want it vetted, and we want to make up our own minds. The winner shouldn't be the candidate who's got a better advertising company (campaign). That's irresponsible!
MItty don't even compare Obama to Palin. Are you deaf? Did you not watch the debates and her interviews? She is TOTALLY incompetent to be the next VP especially in the current economic enviornment. Her respones were totally rehearsed, you ALL KNOW THAT! She is totally clueless. All she does is try to act cutsie and play the "I'm normal folk" nonsense. WE DON'T NEED "ONE OF US" TO RUN THE COUNTRY. Look what good ol' Bush did. Do you even make $250K a year??!?!?!?! What is wrong with people?!!?
She didn't fail but she got a D-. That doesn't mean she won lol. Pls don't set the standard low because she's a woman. Don't give her pitty points pls.
Wow, can I edit my comments? I thought I proofread. My meaning was Palin's answers rarely matched the questions and that seemed to put Senator Biden off-balance for a while but he still carried the debate. Excuse the typos...
No one challenged Bill Clinton's or Jimmy Carter's qualifications as governors to be President. And people seem to forget Sarah’s running for the two slot.
Obama had 143 days in the Senate before he began his run for President. (The job of Senator must not be very challenging if someone can take a 2-year leave of absence and not be missed.) And before that, all he can point to is his experience as a "community organizer." But no one challenges his qualifications.
Why do people always emphasize Sarah may be a heartbeat away from President, but never mention Obama is a lever pull on a voting machine away from being President? Are all of these people's concerns due to the fact Sarah's a woman?
And people should recognize that Sarah held her own against a guy who's been in the Senate for forever, and she didn't have to lie, misstate the facts, or misquote the law.
Just the terminology of " socialized" medicine is used because the right likes to frame the issue as being a negative. Nobody wants socialism. So, how could you possibly want " socialized medicine". just like the " Patriot Act", which is very hard to swallow as very patriotic to spy on your citizens. Or how about " insurgents"? Not iraqi citezens that disagree and will fight against us. try " weapons of mass destruction", to imply a nuclear threat, even though they knew there was no such reality.
Propoganda has very deep roots in our discussions.
I thought Joe Biden did great but at times looked flumoxed. Answers rarely matched questions and responses seemed plucked from the ether. How do you debate or respond to that? I wish Gwen Ifill would have said, "No, this is my game and you will play by my rules, answer the question." Her questions weren't particularly difficult but would have required some thought. They didn't fit Palin's script. I also thought Mr. Biden had opportunities to tear in to Palin and didn't. For example, the question was asked about mistakes the Bush administration had made and Mr. Biden answered very clearly. Palin's response was "There ya go again, Joe, looking to the past..." If he could have found a way to say "I was answering the question put to me" or put it more firmer, but it should she was totally inattentive to the actually questions being asked. Inattentiveness scares me in a political leader - isn' that more of the sam?
All I heard from her was "maverick, you betcha, Alaska, energy, joe six-pack, and hockey mom". And what was with that awful wink??? So condescending. Did anyone else cringe away from the screen when the camera went to her? I could see that they wanted her to basically stare-down the American public since McCain wouldn't even look at Obama, much less the camera. However, there's a difference between making eye contact and staring creepily. I will admit, I actually thought she'd gotten her act together for about 10 minutes until I realized that she was essentially reading a speech and completely ignoring the debate at hand. And that voice...ugh. I feel bad for anyone who has to hear her talk on a daily basis.
Biden on the other hand was extremely professional and absolutely a gentleman. It seemed like halfway through he gave up trying to interactively debate with her since she was obviously off in her own little world and just focused on speaking to the public. I almost cried too when he spoke about his family, defending being a single father. He really was speaking from the heart at that point. I wasn't too concerned or impressed with him until last nite. I now believe Joe Biden is a great man and an excellent choice for VP.
No Apathetic, is not spamming! I actually revise my postings and improve them! Of course I re-post just in case some readers miss my comment and/or some people simply don't get it the first time. Simply as that. Obviously I'm not counting on people like you... don't worry, keep believing your own lies. But, again:
THE SERIOUS TOP TEN F A C T S TO KEEP SARAH PALIN AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE (OTHER THAN HER ULTRA LOW IQ).
http://stopmcpalin.wordpress.com/
HERE EXTRA LINKS:
*Report from The Guardian in the UK (respected British newspaper): "Revealed: oil-funded research in Palin's campaign against protection for polar bear"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/01/sarahpalin.climatechange
*Sarah Palin, animal massacre in Alaska wall of shame (NO PHOTOSHOP here!)
http://www.grizzlybay.org/SarahPalinInfoPage.htm
PLEASE CONCERNED CITIZENS, READ AND PASS IT ON!
If you actually do some fact checking instead of simply repeating anecdotal stories, you would find those socialized countries of Europe have a far higher standard of living than the US. That is because they care enough about all of their citizens to actually provide a basic standard of living. Not a middle class life, not a wealthy life, but a fair chance. Repeating a story about a few incidents does not make a statistical fact. There always exceptions. For every person in Britain and France who has had a difficult time with their medical system there are hundreds of Americans experienceing the same and worse in US facilities.
HyperD: you aren't going to convince people by spamming them with crap over and over again.
Time for Change: do you realize how ridiculous you sound be suggesting that we turn over our fate to elitists? this is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. elitists with an over inflated sense of righteousness need not apply.
Great idea historybuff1 vote for a socialist program laden govt. More of exactly what we need. If you need any idea of how out of touch socialized medicine REALLY is read some stories of the poor people left to sit and rot in the medical hospitals in places like France and Great Britian. If you are struck down with any kind of ailment the last place you want to be is in one of those places. Every day people in Britain are literally pulling their own teeth out of pain and desperation to relieve themselves of it... Hmmm sign me up for that. "YYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" (In my best Dean impression)
Are you kidding me??? We talk about how sick and fed up we are as a public of slimy politicians, and here we have an amazing women that went toe to toe with the slimiest the Democrats have to throw out there and came out swinging. She has my vote, and shame on every single one of you out there complaining about the politicians accepting hand outs from every corner and voting for someone else.
Do people think like Palin did a great performance? Most of them say she just did "alright". She did her homework and memorized her lines. That's it..! Is she ready to be President of the USA, in case needed? Not for a minute... Do we want a VP who is just "alright". No, we need someone who is outstanding. Biden was outstanding yesterday. The logic is simple! Don't conform with just "alright". Just because she barely managed to "survive" and considering the expectations were really low, means NOTHING. By the way, McCain finished 894 out a class of 899 in the Naval Academy. Mediocre people think alike? Maybe... WE NEED THE BEST OF THE BEST!
Now, everyone, compare McCain's student record (894 out of 899 in the Naval Academy and who actually got in the Academy using his dad's and grand-daddy's CONNECTIONS since they were admirals) with Obama's intellect. Oh, by the way, how come McCain got to fly (and recklessly crash) 5 planes if he finished at the bottom of his class? Answer: daddy and gran-daddy connections! After coming back from war, he CHEATED his wife (since she didn't look all the good after a terrible accident) and married a millionaire who payed for his expenses to get in the Senate. Obama, who wasn't born with a silver spoon like McCain and studied his tail off, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, Editor of the Harvard Law Review, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. He is far, far more intelligent than McCain AND Palin together! Yes, we it comes to this election Obama and Biden ARE THE BEST BY FAR. Period.
My vote is based in part on the vice presidential candidates, especially in this election. Joe Biden complements and strengthens Obama. Sarah Palin? I don't even want to consider a Lifetime Special where she goes toe-to-toe with Putin, "darn tootin'" or not. She is starkly unqualified--and I could name a dozen Republican women who are well qualified, and likely more.. Her positions on the issues are more extreme than the Republican Party's platform. A "wink" on drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve? I believe her word that she would talk McCain into flip flopping on this, so we could send more Alaskan oil to Japan. But I'm a Mom, too. And I'm a mom with sons who are 19 and 22. They are patriotic. I don't want them to die to fill up our gas tanks. "Drill baby drill," which won't begin to make up for McCain's 20 votes against alternative energy nor reduce our reliance on foreign oil within the next decade, could cost my sons' their lives. I have empathy with Palin's love of motherhood. And I did not nurse my children, assist in the classroom, raise young men to be patriots, and work two jobs all these years so that McCain/Palin can give more tax breaks to Big Oil on the backs, and potentially through the sacrifice of the lives, of my sons. "My friends," vote our collective interests in this election. Vote for health, vote for seniors, vote for children, vote for fairness and the middle class. We have to revolt against being lied to. The people who deregulated us to the precipice of a second Great Depression--the people who have entrenched us in Iraq; the people who give tax breaks to the top four percent of us at the expense of the rest of us--those are not the people who will walk the talk we are hearing today. Nancy A. Parkes, 51, Olympia WA
Sarah for president !! PTA president, checkers club president, but Vice President and, if necessary, President of the US. PUHHH LEEEEEEZZZZ
The reasoning behind some people’s logic that since Palin didn't screw it, then she did well is nothing but ABSURD and MEDIOCRE. She definitely DID NOT PASS the VP standard test last night, period! She DID NOT DO GOOD ENOUGH! Stop trying to defend her.The debate reassured my decision to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. I am more confident now that Obama has the right partner. Biden definitely won the debate, he blasted and lectured Palin. Biden overshadowed her and looked much more knowledgeable about all the issues discussed. Just because she “survived” doesn’t mean she did well. Not at all. She looked like a college student and just managed to dodge the questions, generalize and smile. She was able to appear as if she knew about the issues by giving non-answers, reciting memorized answers, and winking to the audience (very professional, huh?). I’m sorry Sen. McCain but she is definitely not prepared to be a VP. On the other hand Joe Biden, is more than prepared, will provide the experience to back Obama's good judgment, and will be a great VP.
IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS INFORMATION YET. HERE IT IS AGAIN:
THE TOP TEN F A C T S TO KEEP SARAH PALIN AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE (OTHER THAN HER ULTRA LOW IQ).
I was wondering if any one noticed after the debate. Sarah Palin had her children with her on stage. At some point she takes her son from her daughter, I guess to show what a wonderful mother she is. She then holds him for a few minutes and then hands him off to her 7 year old daughter. like a prop she is finished with. I then noticed The First Dude walks up and I'm thinking he is going to get the baby from the 7 year-old but he just steps up to shake someones hand. Also the little baby was missing his socks. As a mother I think my children would be home in bed not being paraded across the stage being used for show.
Enough with this "Joe Six-Pack" crap--this is not American Idol! Joe Sixpack is broke just like everyone else. How is the average Joe suppose to help us Americans?
Enough already! We NEED the smart elitists. I am smarter than Sarah! This isn't cute; Only adults need to be involved in this voting process. Smart adults!!!
Palin was too scripted.It sounded like she was just putting catch phrases together . Biden was more familiar with the issues and his answers sounded more direct and off the cuff. I got more information from Biden.
Sarah Palin did a wonderful job in her performance!!! because that's what it was a well-rehearsed performance, but as the saying goes. You can put Lipstick on a pig but it is still an Idiot!!! For the last twenty-five year I have worked doing a man"s job and the most important thing that I've earned is respected as an equal. I've worked hard and did not try to get respect by being Cute or Sarcastic . Sarah Palin is out of her league and is an embarrassment to me as a woman. She demands special treatment but describes her self as a barricuda or pitbull in Lipstick... I would describe her as a whining b__ch!!! From a real hard-working women who does not hunt defenseless animals but protects the nation's capitol from dangerous, killers, drug dealers and criminals!!!!
The reasoning behind some people’s logic that since Palin didn't screw it, then she did well is nothing but ABSURD and MEDIOCRE. She definitely DID NOT PASS the VP standard test last night, period! The debate reassured my decision to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. I am more confident now that Obama has the right partner. Biden definitely won the debate, he blasted and lectured Palin. Biden overshadowed her and looked much more knowledgeable about all the issues discussed. Just because she “survived” doesn’t mean she did well. Not at all. She looked like a college student and just managed to dodge the questions, generalize and smile. She was able to appear as if she knew about the issues by giving non-answers, reciting memorized answers, and winking to the audience (very professional, huh?). I’m sorry Sen. McCain but she is definitely not prepared to be a VP. On the other hand Joe Biden, is more than prepared, will provide the experience to back Obama's good judgment, and will be a great VP.
McCain should give republicans their money back... McCain's whole campaign is a big circus, going from stunt to stunt. His choice for VP, Sarah Palin is a huge joke. The only thing she's good at, is with non-answers, dodging questions and throwing "keywords" over and over again (of course adding a wink every so often, like in a beauty pageant). McCain owes the country an explanation for putting his political calculations in front of the country. She is not ready to be VP or President in case needed. Obama has shown better leadership and Joe Biden looks, acts and is more than prepared to be Vice-president of the USA.
She is one heart beat from the Commander and Chief position. Our leader will have had two bouts with cancer and be in his seventies. God Help Us All she just might be the next president of one of the largest and greatest nations in the world . Our country is entering its darkest hours, and right now we do not need someone who needs on the job training. Even Pres. Bush's wife said she was not well versed in certain issues but was a fast learner. She can not even speak English. Last night I caught Lame, shucks, darn it, and her winking became a nervous tick. She needs to learn English first... Could you imagine our president saying lame, shuck, darn, and ain't durning negotiations with foreign interests. You expect her to spit next... pull up her pants and say shucks see darn.
I am a Republican Conservative, and a woman. I am against abortion, same sex marriage, passing wealth in a socialist format, and I know the Republican Party is not the right choice for the country right now that we face all these domestic and international issues. If we do not get our most educated and experienced, we as a nation will be in trouble. She is not Abraham Lincoln, for he was educated, knowledgeable, and well spoken. All she knows how to do is say change enough times, maverick enough times and nothing else........God Help Us All.....
Has the intelligence bar been lowered so much in this country now! Palin did not answer most of the questions asked of her. She was abysmal, sticking to the same talking points. I cannot for the life of me understand how she did any better then expected. She bombed. There was no hint of intellectual thought. She proved last night that she is nowhere near to being fit for such office.
Biden's lies are now documented all over the place. Fineman's a little late to the party, so he cuts a big fart to get attention.
COME ON!! So she is capable of memorizing pre-conceived answers and knowing when to use them. Oh, and delivering them with a wink (gag). Guess what? She's more suited to being a talk-show host. The media lowered expecations SO FAR that she is actually getting credit for MEMORIZING. She knows very little about the relevant issues, and is unable to really think on her feet. But heck, she has personality! Let's elect her to the second highest post in the land!
Fineman you are such a POS. She could kick your a$$ & you know it. Lib-fascist d o u c h e b a g.
Good analysis jane.jones at 4:36pm. I agree. At least when it comes to Obama, his Ivy League educations doesn't mean that he will necessarily be a great president, but when you add that with his record, conduct, decisions, experience, and judgment, then you can see a great pattern. You might or might not share my opinion but I think that Obama's background, combined with Biden's vast experience and personal and professional accomplishments, I am confident that they are the best ticket for our country. Note that I'm comparing them with the republican ticket, I'm not saying that Obama and Biden are the greatest and smartest men in the country, but in this election, they are the best, by far.
I don't necessarily subscribe to idea of academic pedigree. An ivy league education isn't dispositve of capability. Case in point- George W. Bush. What convinces me that Obama intelligent isn't based on his Ivy League background. His background in conjunction with his conduct and experience convinces me that this man is capable of successfully handling both the difficulties of being president and choosing the right people to be a part of his administration. Oh and Ms. Pepitone, I think it is accurate to say that Obama "earned" his way with his education in that nepatism didn't play a role in his access to well-reputed academic institutions. He earned his grades which meant he earned his transfer into Columbia, his acceptance in Harvard Law and his position on the Harvard Law Review. Come on now, if McCain wasn't a part of the family he came from, it isn't as clear that he would have had access to the education that he got based on his merits at that time. Now, I don't undermine the excellence that he displayed as a POW. But, that doesn't necessarily translate into the conclusion that he is the best choice for president in this election. If one agrees with his politics, that's entirely different. But, being a stellar serviceman doesn't equal stellar president just like ivy league education doesn't equal automatic executive quality. Our political support is worthy of and deserves a more comprehensive assessment.
IN CASE ANYONE MISSED THIS ONE, HERE IT IS:
I have to agree with the person who said that "she's just like me" is NOT a compelling reason to vote for someone.
Look at the great leaders of the past - how many where "just like us" when you break it down? George Washington? Don't think so. About the closest (that most people probably can relate to) would be Lincoln, maybe.
Does she look like she could run this country, should something happen? Does she remotely look Presidential? Does she even *sound* it? Is she going to talk like that when meeting a head of state? "Hey, heck ya doin'?"
Avoiding the questions because you don't know the answers and pounding the same talking points to death does not "win" a debate. Not paying attention and answering the wrong question - like she did when she talked about other countries getting nukes when the question was something like "when should the US use nukes on someone?" - doesn't win a debate.
Whatever happened to Elizabeth Dole? Was she not "cool" enough for consideration here? I think she would have been an excellent pick - and would have probably gotten me on the McCain ticket. No way now.
Being winked at repeatedly is condescending, frankly. Yeah, she can speak her talking points with great ease, but a leader has to think on their feet and adjust to things happening in the now - and we all know what happens if Palin is asked to think on her feet, and not allowed to retreat to a talking point. Tina Fey, anyone?
I think Biden should have continued to pound on the health care proposal of McCain - because if there is anything out there that has the potential to screw A LOT of middle class Americans, it is that. That law goes in and companies are going to start thinking: "Why do you need group coverage? There is the health credit." Good luck, if you have any kind of pre-existing condition, of getting anywhere near the level of coverage you had before, and you'll probably pay a lot more, too.
My wife pointed something out (she being the middle of the road, practical one (smile)):
If Palin is just like us - represents us - how does she take an $86,000 indemnity for working at home? I don't know about most people "just like Sarah" - but my company would laugh me out of the building for even asking for such a thing.
And my small town mayor doesn't have a lobbyist.
Don't be fooled - she talks the talk, but in the end she is a politician. In almost all cases - and nothing in her record indicates she'd be different, from the "Bridge to Nowhere" to lobbyists) - politics is about power: gaining it, and increasing it. Her thoughts on the power of the Vice President are, literally, unconstitutional.
I know that the party loyalists won't flip (they wouldn't flip for the other side, either - that's the danger of parties, if you read Washington's Farewell Address), so we can only hope that the undecided can see through the smoke and mirrors.
Mariann Poppyseeds! WOW REALLY? Who can make you understand that being a POW DOES NOT qualify you to be president. How many POWs do we have here in the US? Hundreds! That's a HUGE FALLACY, and has no logic. McCain was, in, and never will be brilliant. He has a well known temperament problem and there are big chances that he will not finish a four year administration due to medical issues. Besides McCain's lack of leadership and erratic behavior (just look at him during the economic crisis) and health issues, Palin is far, far from being qualified to be President in case needed (as demonstrated yesterday and the week before, no wonder why she was being shielded by McCain's campaign). Biden has the EXPERIENCE and KNOWLEDGE to back Obama's proven JUDGMENT, LEADERSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE. He, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, Editor of the Harvard Law Review, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. THAT's a LOT. You can't get in those schools if your dumb. Period. No buts or ifs... McCain 894 out of a class of 899 is ridiculous and you might be the one smoking something weird. Oh, by the way, Palin says she has tried drugs, so try another one! You did your best though... but your reasons are disappointing just like your "leader". Obama-Biden is the RIGHT and COMPLETE TICKET.
Mariann,
Yes, thousands have graduated from Harvard, but not many at the top of their class. You still have not responded to your using BlackBrack. You also stated that one of the posters had an unusual name. You wouldn't happen to live in the panhandle of Idaho would you?
Are we supposed to give credit to Palin because she did not stumble and fumble around like she did during her recent television interviews? Are we Americans supposed to settle for this level of mediocrity? This was supposed to be a debate but Palin refused to address the questions and rarely responded to anything Biden said. In short, she was 'on message," a robotic trance in which she was determine or programmed to read her script and not to vary from her message. This was not a debate, it was a reading recital. She is not up to the challenges of national leadership and the sooner we accept that fact, the better off we all are. McCain let many of us down with her selection as his VP candidate.
independent thinker in San Jose, you vote a candidate base on where they gradudated?? well input. Unfortunately I don't have Obama in our community as an organizer or else I would vote for him.
I definitely agree with Wilcoxn at 4:01pm. AMERICA DESERVES A SMART, ABOVE THE AVERAGE PERSON FOR PRESIDENT. We are going to face hard times ahead. We had enough with Bush and his infinite stupidity. Republicans feel proud of their ignorance. We deserve better. Everyone, please compare McCain's student record (894 out of 899 in the Naval Academy and who got in the Academy using his dad's and grand-daddy's CONNECTIONS since they were admirals) with Obama;s intellect. Obama, who wasn't born with a silver spoon like McCain and studied his tail off, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. He is far, far more intelligent than McCain AND Palin together! Yes, we it comes to this election Obama and Biden ARE THE BEST. Period.
Hyper D: You must be smoking the same pot Obama is. McCains dad was an Admiral but that didn't stop the enemy from putting him in that hole he was in. Being a POW is not a joke. There was a prisoner before McCain that was in there nine years. Before he got out of service his wife was in a terrible automobile crash. Not long after he got out they were still married for seven years when his marriage began to fail. His wife had 23 operations and sometimes that changes people. He met Cindy later after the divorce. I watched his BIO on TV. And as far as Obama earning his way thur college who are you kidding. His mother was a college graduate and worked even though she was married and divorced three times. And his father four times. It was his grandmother that put him thru college after his mother died because he lived with her. She was never on welfare or food stamps. They were never poor. I don't know what you have been reading but I read his BIO from the NYT months ago. And it was very interesting. By the way he isn't the only Harvard graduate. There are thousands of them. Obama was also a heavy pot smoker along with being a heavy boozer and an associate of crooked friends. He chose the wrong friends and the wrong church. Graduating college doesn't mean your smart in everything and he certainly wasn't.
The reasoning behind backing the logic that since Palin didn't screw it, then she did well is nothing but MEDIOCRE. She definitely DID NOT PASS the VP standard test last night, period! The debate reassured my decision to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. I am more confident now that Obama has the right partner. Biden definitely won the debate, he blasted and lectured Palin. Biden overshadowed her and looked much more knowledgeable about all the issues discussed. Just because she “survived” doesn’t mean she did well. Not at all. She looked like a college student and just managed to dodge the questions, generalize and smile. She was able to appear as if she knew about the issues by giving non-answers, reciting memorized answers, and winking to the audience (very professional, huh?). I’m sorry Sen. McCain but she is definitely not prepared to be a VP. On the other hand Joe Biden, is more than prepared, will provide the experience to back Obama's good judgment, and will be a great VP.
What I find sad about this whole thing is the death of intellect as a compelling feature of elected officials. Being President of the US is a difficult job and you need to be a smart person to do it well (not that all intellectuals do well or all "light weights" fail because other factors come into play). But in our current environment, if you are smart, you are an elitist and for some reason not fit to lead.
It seems there are a lot of people who say, "she's just like me," and consider that a reason to vote for someone. I wish those people would honestly ask themselves, "Should I be President?" And yes, that is certainly an elitist comment, but what drives every American's favorite institution (capitalism)? It is elitism. CEOs and all good business executives (and as a management consultant I deal with them regularly) are the ultimate elitists. And the reason they run companies, is because they are smarter than the people working on the factory floor and they know it. If they put "Joe Six Pack" in charge the whole thing would fall apart. We need more of that in this country. We need to acknowldege that intellect is valuable and prize it not hide it.
Biden was smart not to press Palin on the issues too much. It was clear from the start that she had no intention of answering the questions being asked by the moderator. It was not a debate at all. Sarah Palin, with her twangy vernacular, winks and smirks, was going down her obviously prepared list of tired, old, Republican talking points. She may be "fresh faced" but there is nothing at all substantive about her that is "fresh" at all. At one point, with affected bluster, she actually challenged the moderator by saying that she may not answer the questions being asked of her, but she was going to speak to the American people directly on what SHE wanted to talk about. I guess that you have to come up with a strategy when you can't fullfill the task at hand. It was a risk. I, for one, winced and did not find it to be a "maverick" moment. Instead, it only highlighted, for me, her serious deficiencies. I can't imagine that she would have the same luxury as VP. The crisis is sub-prime mortgage defaults but "heck" I want to talk about energy.
Fair or not, it seemed Biden had more to lose in this debate. It's speaks poorly of Americans that we would hold one candidate to a much higher standard than another. If this had been anyone but Palin, the critics would be high fiving Biden all over the place. The Dems were smart enough to correctly navigate the polititcal winds on this one. Biden didn't correct her even though he could have and kept his focus on McCain. He was disciplined, respectful and concise and for the most part gave clear answers to the questions Palin ignored. I admit to preferring a more traditional debate where the candidates are judged by their knowledge of the material instead of their "folksiness". In my opinion, there was only one candidate even trying to participate in a proper debate, Biden. The other candidate was ducking (the questions) and jabbing (repeating the same few talking points). When Biden did courteously rebut her, she had no response. It seemed she had exhausted her notes on that issue and had nothing of her own to add.
How very sad it is that Palin, despite her refusal to answer questions, despite showing not even minor knowledge of critical issues, despite her misnaming of a U.S. general (one she chose to talk about), despite her repeated mispronounciation of the word "nuclear" (she, like Bush, says nucular), and despite her constant improper use of our language (and I'm not talking about her accent) was considered to give a passable performance last night. For me to think a debate ended in a tie means that each debater put beef on the table, whether you agreed with how it was cooked or not. In this debate, Biden brought all the food, and Palin brought the flowers and candles.
Independent Thinker: When your talking about Katie Couric, she was fired from CNN years ago because of her voice. The took over the Today Show and did a lousy job. She is now at CBS and they are discussing the possibility of letting her go because of the ratings. Check it out. And when you praising Obama it doesn't matter that he was at the top of his class. He did nothing with his law degree but become an attorney for a crook named Rezko who bought him his house to cover up for the crooked deals he made. For a Harvard graduate he didn't chose crooked associates and attended a racist white hating anti-american church for 20 years. Let me go on record to say Obama is not that experienced in politics or foreign policy. He needs Biden to train him for what he doesn't know yet. Palin doesn't have a need for foreign policy. And while you are critizing Palin she was aggressive at an early age not smoking pot and boozing it up. Obama didn't want to be a governor he wanted to go to the top because he wanted to make history like MLK. He read so many books on MLK he became obsessed with it. If elected god will have to pull us out of the disaster because that's what this country will be in. It takes brains to run this country and he left his at Harvard.
Everyone, compare McCain's student record (894 out of 899 in the Naval Academy and who got in the Academy using his dad's and grand-daddy's CONNECTIONS since they were admirals) with Obama's intellect. Oh, by the way, how come McCain got to fly (and recklessly crash) 5 planes if he finished at the bottom of his class? Answer: daddy and gran-daddy connections! After coming back from war, he CHEATED his wife (since she didn't look all the good after a terrible accident) and married a millionaire who payed for his expenses to get in the Senate. Obama, who wasn't born with a silver spoon like McCain and studied his tail off, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, Editor of the Harvard Law Review, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. He is far, far more intelligent than McCain AND Palin together! Yes, we it comes to this election Obama and Biden ARE THE BEST BY FAR. Period.
Although I am a McCain/Palin voter, I believe Joe Biden won the debate. I am not voting for McCain/Palin because I think they are the best of all republicans, but because Obama is not what he is packaged him to be. My vote for McCain is a vote not for Obama. Obama is far too liberal for this great country AND he has DEEP personal ties to AMERICAN HATERS. Obama is a dirty politician (study his actions in Chicago) and an evil anti-American. He is dangerous and cannot be trusted with running our country. Like him or not, McCain more trustworthy than Obama. Take off the liberal bliders and throw out the slick speaches. Study Obama's actions over the last 20 years (or lack thereof) and his deep relationships for over 20 years with people like Rev. Wright and Ayers, both American HATERS and evil to the core and both who Obama STILL refuses to denounce to this day! Vote for Obama and you are voting for them as they've been his mentors and role models for more than 20 years. Then consider his wife who also has said that she isn't proud to be an American. He is not ready to lead, he cannot be trusted and he has strong ties to evil eveil people. If McCain had ties like these he would've been gone before he even started. But the liberals and the liberal media refuse to speak the truth about the real Obama. A vote for Obama is a vote AGAINST America.
Check out: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace
Your story about the debate should send a tingle up Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermanns legs. MSNBC is so invested in getting Obama elected it is pathetic. I have been watching you and your fellow CNN pal David Gergen...and frankly, you should check your blood lines, you may be related! Why should I expect anything other than commentary from a "so called" journalist that's in the tank for the Obama campaign.
TOP TEN F A C T S TO KEEP SARAH PALIN AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE (OTHER THAN HER ULTRA LOW IQ).
Great, so she can speak in complete sentences! That is soooo- enough to qualify her as VP!! So she didn't totally melt down in front of camera! And Republicans are soo happy about that! and all women are supposed to rally behind her as 1st female VP candidate!
I think American politics has reached a new low. Even high school debaters have more substance than Palin. Even someone running for presiedent of school council in high school knows about issues they have to deal with better than Palin knows about foreing policy.
Oh! And lets not forget McCain huge temperament problems! He is scary... He should not be CLOSE to the red button. Bomb, baby bomb! No way, no how, no McCain!
Obama has the right JUDGMENT and in case needed Joe Biden provides needed experience. McCain is no maverick and has behaved absolutely ERRATIC during the crisis. I was really disappointed with his lack of leadership during the economic crisis. And Sarah Palin... well, she has a great smile. Obama-Biden, the right ticket!
Responding to: snowwhitemother, whose post began with:
"Wow, if anyone complain Palin's ability, please look at Obama, I wonder no one will take a look about Obama?? He is much worst that Palin, . . ."
Dear Snowwhitemother:
Do you have any idea how bad your grammar is? This is not just a stylistic problem -- your inability to express yourself without making an utter mess of the English language completely undercuts whatever the heck it is that you are trying to say. You claim -- WITH NO FACTS WHATSOEVER -- that a US Senator who graduated at the very top of the toughest law school in the United States is "worst" in ability, compared to a two-bit governor who only got through the debate last night by memorizing a collection of answers that other people wrote for her, and reciting them regardless of the questions asked -- your comparison is just ridiculous!
In fact, Palin at her "worst" in her bone-head interviews with Katie Couric made a heck of a lot more sense than your ramblings, like this one, for instance: "what is the different from insider of change?" Do you honestly expect anyone to understand that?! Tell you what, do yourself a favor, give yourself a long break from politics, and sign up for a couple years of remedial English classes at your local community college. Your inability to think clearly or to write a decent sentence is downright embarrassing. If you weren't so uninformed on the question of "ability" among the candidates in this election, I would feel sorry for you.
It's public knowledge that Obama has deeply flawed character based on his choices of friends/mentors/business associtates over the last 20 years. Unfortunately any good qualities he has are overshadowed by this. Nothing else really matters.
It's too bad that of all the good democrats to chose from we get stuck with Obama. It's also too bad that with all of the good republicans to chose from we get stuck with McCain. Give me a McCain/Biden ticket and I'm all over it! In fact Joe said he'd be up for that!
It's all about Character and McCain has more character than Obama hands down. Nothing else matters.....
ShripathiKamath: That really is an odd name you have. It doesn't matter if you memorize the words from a scriptIts done all the time. Obama does a lot of memorizing speeches from his book on RFK that someone gave him to read and he has been using them. And what does that prove. Not a thing. So she made a mistate on a name. Who cares about that. The purpose of the debate is to talk about the issues. Instead of Obama talking the word change why didn't he state what changes he would make in Washington. That word change came from the speeches of Robert Kennedy when he was campaigning for president. If Obama doesn't have the ability to use his own words how would he run this country. Incidently, Bident was looking at his script so he would remember what to say.
Regarding last night painful Palin performance. McCain should give republicans their money back... McCain's whole campaign is a big circus, going from stunt to stunt. His choice for VP, Sarah Palin is a huge joke. The only thing she's good at, is with non-answers, dodging questions and throwing "keywords" over and over again (of course adding a wink every so often, like in a beauty pageant). McCain owes the country an explanation for putting his political calculations in front of the country. She is not ready to be VP or President in case needed. Obama has shown better leadership and Joe Biden looks, acts, and is more than prepared to be Vice-president of the USA.
EVEN MORE ON THE VOTER FRAUD THAT IS GOING ON IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES!:
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3129737&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/
DON'T SAY THAT I NEVER WARNED OF OBAMA'S NEFARIOUS CAMPAIGN!
Everyone, compare McCain's student record (894 out of 899 in the Naval Academy and who got in the Academy using his dad's and grand-daddy's CONNECTIONS since they were admirals) with Obama's intellect. Oh, by the way, how come McCain got to fly (and recklessly crash) 5 planes if he finished at the bottom of his class? Answer: daddy and grand-daddy connections! After coming back from war, he CHEATED his wife (since she didn't look all the good after a terrible accident) and married a millionaire who payed for his expenses to get in the Senate. Obama, who wasn't born with a silver spoon like McCain and studied his tail off, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, Editor of the Harvard Law Review, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. He is far, far more intelligent than McCain AND Palin together! Yes, we it comes to this election Obama and Biden ARE THE BEST BY FAR. Period.
"Flag Pin" is such an irrelevant issue.
As I was growing up, I learned in Bible School that outward displays of your commitment were meaningless, and even harmful. The classic example was the Pharisees, who apparently wore their piety on their sleeves, but not in their hearts.
I'll take a true patriot who lives his convictions (serving as a community organizer) over one who wears a diamond-studded flag-pin (and asks for tens of millions in federal earmarks for her town of ~7000) any day.
Wow, if anyone complain Palin's ability, please look at Obama, I wonder no one will take a look about Obama?? He is much worst that Palin, and Biden did pretty good last night, why can't he be a president?? he could be 10 times more qualify that Obama who is empty suit with tons of promise,,,...and the only explaintation is....Obama throw the race card at the beginning to get elected....and you people never think Biden is 65 years old in Washington more than ever, what is the different from insider of change?? I guess only answer is he can change Obama to make Washington unchange.
To: Mariann Pepitone
Let's discuss accomplishments, shall we?
Grew up without a father in an impoverished home.
Attended Harvard University on his own merits,
Ditto Harvard Law School.
Editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Taught Constitutional Law at University of Chicago
State Senator for 8 years
U.S. Senator for Illinois
Has run one of the smartest, most well-organized presidential campaigns in history, beating out the Clinton machine, no small feat
Married to a smart, equally successful woman
Involved and caring father of two well-composed, well-adjusted daughters.
As a white man, those would be hugely impressive accomplishments. But as a black man, they are stratospheric. I would imagine, though, that it's the "black" part that really bothers you.....
oh Mariann,
You just shot down any credibility your arguments might have by using BlackBarack. Racist.
Ok BC in SD CA, compare McCain's student record (894 out of 899 in the Naval Academy and who got in the Academy using his dad's and granddaddy's CONNECTIONS since they were admirals) with Obama;s intellect. Obama, who wasn't born with a silver spoon like McCain and studied his tail off, is a graduate of Columbia University, has a law degree from Harvard, 12 years in politics, four years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and manager of one of the most impressively flawless and forward thinking presidential campaigns ever. He is far, far more intelligent than McCain AND Palin together! Yes, we it comes to this election Obama and Biden ARE THE BEST. Period.
Palin is George Bush in a skirt.
Mariann - You are right on..... You mentioned Obama was a heavy pot smoker but you left out the part about his admitted heavy cocaine use.
Just keepin it real... :-)
How many different ways are we forced to say that it is frightening to think of Sarah Palin as the captain of our ship.
TOP 10 REASONS TO KEEP SARAH PALIN FROM THE WHITE HOUSE (ONLY FACTS):
Please read and share!
*EXTRA link here (she looks "hot", surrounded by dead animals -wolfs, polar bears, moose, etc)
aunkmaa: No, I am not kidding you. You and many other commentors are full of hate and jealousy because you can't compete with what she accomplished. Give me a break and you know its true. And what did BlackBarack accomplish in his lifetime but a heavy pot smoker, boozer and a real estate attorney for a crook who bought him his home for covering up his crooked deals. Obama wants to be president for the sake of making history not for changing the policies in Washington. I am not like you. I can see thur him like a book without the cover. But its people like you that would vote for a candidate who formerly was a racist, white hater and anti-american who was forced to wear the flag pin although he really doesn't want to wear it. I think Palin did a good job and Biden does better than Obama. And that's why he selected Biden. Because Obama cannot run the country but Biden can behind the scenes.
HyperD - And you think Obama is the "best of the best"? Now that's laughable!!!
Wexford45, please.
http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2008/07/how_to_talk_to_a_sceptic.php
You still didn't answer why Palin would regulate CO2 if she doesn't think it causes any trouble.
People are Jealous???? You gotta be feakin kidding me. No one is going to deny her Performance was freakn Outstanding.. however she was competing against herself... the expectations was low and she surpassed them otherwise she had no clue what the freak she was talking about, like say the name of the General in Afghanistan (McKiernan) or that he stated that the so-called Surge Principles would not work in that country. She looked absolutely gorgeous!! otherwise she is scripted just like ole GW. So no one is jealous or hate her for her smarts but maybe her BEAUTY!!!
Posted By: Mariann Pepitone (October 3, 2008 at 2:11 PM)
MsOvetta: I just made a point about men and women being jealous of Palin because she was chosen as the VP for McCain and now you put yours on the board. There are many men and women in this country that never accomplished anything in their lifetime just like you and they have a hate for certain individuals that did. And I am not referring to owning a restaurant, bar, building, etc. I am talking about what Palin accomplished at a young age besides taking care of a family. She has the money to get a chef but she does her own housework and cooking. Plus being a governor of the state of Alaska. Obama and Biden have never ran anything in their life. In fact, what real job did Obama ever have. When Obama won the senate seat that is the first real job he ever had. What did he do as an attorney, nothing. Rezko bought the house and lot for him. Michelle had a job and she made a good salary. Being a community organizer is not a real job. Many people can do that. Yes, Palin did win a beauty contest but that didn't stop her from her goals and she made them. Now, what goals did you make.
Palin is and was the same person: well trained in the art of delivering precanned lines, whether they be through a teleprompter, or through a few sessions of cramming catch phrases. An inexperienced hack devoid of all intellectual curiosity otherwise. It is insulting to Joe six-pack to claim that Palin represents him.
It'd also help if the self-proclaimed populist answered the questions that were asked.
It is like a spelling contest where the contestants prepare by cramming dictionaries. You need to know how to spell the word, but it is not essential that
"Ms. Palin, the word is INTELLECTUAL"
"Doggone it Gwen, I am not going to spell that word, I want to spell the word that Americans want to hear, because I am a populist and I will speak to them directly"
"E-C-C-L-E-S-I-A-S-T-I-C-A-L. Ecclesiastical"
Palin has a lot of words memorized, but knows little of what they mean. Which is why she can string a bunch of verbiage, use time, and make no sense.
It was sickening when self-proclamation first arrived in sports, it is worse when someone who could be our President in the next couple of years overuses it.
Yes, Biden gave a lot of facts last night and communicated well. But his facts were "made up" as he went along with respect to who and what the Vice President has authority over and McCain voting to not support the troops. Don't be mad at me, just check the facts. More empty suit rhetoric... Now that's more of the same!!! :-)
Mariann Pepitine you must be insane. Were we watching the same debate. Palin is a one trick pony. I knew, despite the spin of low expectations that, given a script Palin would not look like a moose in headlights. Palin has much experience with prepared answers. the debate, if you could call it that was nothing more than a speach, she was stumping. When pressed by reporters, interviewers, or by voters who have asked her questions, she has not been adept at showing she belongs in this race. It would serve her campaign well to put her out there with full access.
McCain, Obama, and Biden have been vetted by the public as well as the media, Palin has not. I am more interested in what she has to say off the cuff. We already have a president who can read you some talking points, we don't need anyone else near the White House who is not well versed on the issues of the day. I am offended that Palin throughout the debate continually deflected questions by answering off topic. She even had the audacity to say she would rather speak directly to the American people than to answer the questions as they were proposed or the way Biden wanted her to answer. The fact is, I as a voter wanted to hear her answers, she gave me none. She looked more like one of the good ol' boys than did Joe by continually spinning and refering her answers only to the topics she knew about. I don't care what papers she reads, I don't care if she doesn't know which supreme court decision she most disagrees with, but I do care that she has enough of a grasp of the issues to intellectually speak about them. She does not. You can only cram so much into your head in a few short days, or weeks.
Sarah Palin is definately an engaging new figure on the political landscape, but as for putting her in the White House a heart beat away from being the Commander In Chief, . . . please! Let's call a spade a spade, she needs to study and do more homework before she tries to take, let alone pass this exam.
Do people think like Palin did a great performance? Most of them say she did "alright". Is she ready to be President of the USA, in case needed? Not a minute... Do we want a VP who is just "alright". No, we need someone who is outstanding. Biden was outstanding yesterday. The logic is simple! Don't conform with just "alright". Just because she barely managed to "survive" and considering the expectations were really low, means NOTHING. WE NEED THE BEST OF THE BEST!
Biden ignored every reference to his own documented views that Obama is not fit to be Prez. Another flip flopping dem on the hook like a fish. Sarah wins because she's honest, down to earth and real. Unlike Obama who is a crafty snake oil salesman in a suit - Obama promising stuff he knows he can't deliver on is called what? After palin is VP for 4 years she'll make a fantastic Prez - She is the one we've been waitnig for.
The philosophy that since she didn't screw it, then she did well is so MEDIOCRE. I'm sorry but she didn't pass the VP standard! McCain return the money to your supporters. The debate reassured my decision to vote for the Obama/Biden ticket. I am more confident now that Obama has the right partner. Biden definitely won the debate, he blasted and lectured Palin. Biden overshadowed her and looked much more knowledgeable about all issues. Just because she “survived” doesn’t mean she did well. Not at all. She looked like a college student and just managed to dodge the questions, generalize and smile. She only did good by giving non-answers, reciting memorized answers, and winking. I’m sorry Sen. McCain but she is definitely not prepared to be a VP, not now, not tomorrow . Joe Biden, on the other hand, seems more than prepared and will be a great VP.
Yes, Palin was so thrilling last night-I feel like giving a "shout out" to all that actually thought the Fembot was programmed right-wink wink
Mariy: I agree with you 100%. There has been a lot of jealousy among women and men over the choice McCain made of Sarah Palin. McCain made his choice because she represents the same issues as he does and she is pro-live like McCain. People are talking about the economy and Obama uses the word change which he copied from the speeches of RFK and using his speeches adding words of his own. What speeches could he possibly make in Washington that McCain can't make. I think Palin did good on the debate and she would do good as a VP.
Okay America, have you forgotten that Ms Palin is a beauty pageant winner??
Beauty contesants are taught how to react in the form of entertainment - how to speak in front of audiences - how to act, etc. Of course she is an excellent choice for the Republicans- she already knows how to act -just drill her about a couple of key points and she will fool the public and walk away with the trophy.
Great strategy Republicans!!
If you really could not understand Biden, you may need to consider "re-education". He actually dumbed it down. He was concise, used facts to back his report, and stayed on topic. But if you're saying three syllables or more is showing off, well...
Seems a lot of bloggers were given too much extra credit.
Well BC - Mensa is brilliant. Therefore, Mr. Obama is brilliant - literally, academically and logically. Palin may be sitting on 90-110 - maybe, and logic is not an option.
And I wonder what exactly is noo-ka-lar in the schema of foreign policy?
But she would be an excellent first lady, teas parties, dishes, winking to pops and all.
Let me see with the usual crowd's argument against Barak HUSSEIN Obama. I emphasized his middle name since name association is so important to you folks - which is sad for kids stuck with the name ADOLF or DAMIAN.
Do you really think McCain was thinking for the country when former Wasilla (pop. 4000) Mayor Palin was selected to be a heartbeat away from the Sen. (4 bouts with cancer) McCain?
Sterberg - Obama is not even close to brilliant but I will give you articulate. But being articulate never trumps having integrity and character, which he is lacking in both. You obviously haven't done much research of the facts. His past is so dirty, he should've been disqualified long ago. His contributions from, and relationships with, felons and soon to be felons who are currently being prosecuted by the government are appalling. Yes, Sarah Palin is not the best choice, but she with McCain is not dangerous to our society like Obama. Go read HARVYBING's post and go to his links full of undisputable and verifiable facts. Then you can give an informed and more intelligent post based on facts.
Everyone is worried about change. As all of us should remember each election
are promised many things but one must understand a president has many cards
on the table to observe to run a nation.Would you want it? As far as Palin is
concerned she held her own as the other lady Hillary Clinton did. Palin has been
there done it ,seen it as Mcain has .Our Nation is a beautiful Nation, we only
want to preserve it for ourselves and later generation.I say keep the War overseas
believe me you don't want to have massive war in your front yard or back yard.
And take care of those soldiers there and when returning home. Many of you would not
volunteer I know most of young want their cake and eat it too. Read ASK PLUS
he has it right what the VP duties are. Biden has a lot to rechew again.
Andrew Wander (oct 3 2008 11:00AM
Do you people that support Pail really think she is qualified to be President if something should happen to Sen. McCain?
If you do, you need to look deep into yourselves and see if your really Pro-McCain/Palin....or just truly Anti-Obama.
I'm saddened by how our country is right now. It doesnt take a genius to see what has taken place under this administration. Sen. McCain is a one trick pony - foreign affair tough guy. That's all. Being prior Navy I respect his service, but that service doesnt make him at all qualified to be the President or have that "dimwit" (who knows how to not answer questions with just rehearsed talking points) to be a heartbeat away from the most powerful position on the planet.
McCain/Palin - TERRIBLE choice.
McCain/Palin supporters - SAD
By reading nearly all 300 some odd postings on your blog it was clear who had not bothered to listen to what was said by either candidate. Most minds seemed to be entrenched in one camp or the other. With so few posters showing any real knowledge of the facts, like those with a shopping list of so-called fact buster comments; three actually numbering their posts, this exercise may seem trivial. I applaud everyone who has taken time to post any comment! It does not matter which way the wind blows for you; you have done what our Founding Fathers intended for us to do, speak up and speak out! BRAVO!!!!!!!!!
A suggestion for those making a counterpoint list; just as I have my students create a bibliography for their essays maybe you should list the sources that you found that support your findings. We may talk, speak or even yell back and forth about what we believe in our hearts to be factual, yet no one can credibly argue against a fundimentally supported fact. And I mean a fact recited from a source that is more than widely accepted as fair and unbiased. The candidates have gone back at each other when they felt an inaccuracy has been spoken by their rival/s during both debates and in other public arenas. Merely finding a publication that supports what you believe to be true will only cause another person whom disagrees to find their source to contend against yours. Yet if your source has shown no bias to either side and points the reader to public records that support theirs and your contention your point has been credibly made, whether the other side is willing to concede your accuracy or not!
I do hope Americans do not fall into the type of contentiousness that berates those who hold opposing or disagreeing views. We need to be serious people that can disagree without becoming petulent and insulting. I am in opposition to Mrs./Gov. Palin's views so far expressed on the issues facing our country; I will not slander, berate or insult the Governor. She and I love this country! Mrs. Palin is a public servant dedicated to her beloved Alaskans. I judge her actions because our Founding Fathers have charged every American to stay vigilant in doing so of all who we send to Congress and the state houses of every republic in our land. Nearly all of these people have our best interest at heart, even those with whom we do not agree. I implore my fellow Americans to follow the principles of descency in airing our views with one another, sharing our common viewpoints and coming together in acting on what is best for all Americans!
I agree with many who said Ifel did not do her job....she allowed Palin to ignore questions and change the subject several times as she did not want to answer the questions that were asked...Ifekl was the biggest loser. So far as Biden goes...he reassured me in many ways that he is not only capable of stepping in if needed but has both the bearing and knowledge to represent us well abroad. Palin irritates me with her cutsy, folksy uneducated sounding speech and the winking and nosewrinkling...who is she trying to connect with? That sort of behavior appealed to me in High School when as I was mostly interested in just one thing (and that was the sort who usualy provided it) but I want more out of a candidate for the second highest office in our Country, much less the highest. McCain is not only a fool but irresponsible for selecting her over the many qualified people available...he has proven that Country is not only not first but third after his ambition to outshine his father and grandfather...both of them are an insul;t to intelligent, concerned voters.
While Sarah Pailin was able to speak in coherent sentences during the debate, she still lacks the knowledge and experience to be a possible US President should anything happen to McCain (God forbid). To give her credit, she did know some stuff about energy, but as a voter, she did not do anything to convince me that a McCain Pailin ticket would work to the middle class's benefit. I still think that the Obama/Biden ticket connects more with the average Joe, which consititutes over 90% of all Americans.
If Joe Biden has been in the Senate for 36 years, why does he know so little about the Constitution, particularly concerning the office of the VP?
BIDEN: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.
WRONG - Article I of the Constitution is about the Legislative branch, and section 3 defines the role of the vice-president as president of the Senate, and again, that’s the Legislative branch. The vice-president also presides over all impeachments, which are tried solely by the Senate, unless the President is impeached, in which case the Chief Justice presides. This is all within the Legislative branch.
BIDEN: "And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit."
WRONG - The Constitution is, indeed, explicit that the vice-president is the president of the Senate ALL THE TIME. The vice-president VOTES only in the event of a tie, but he is ALWAYS the president of the Senate. There is NOTHING in the constitution about the VP supporting the President or giving him his best judgment at any time.
BIDEN: "The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous."
WRONG - The vice-president is always the president of the Senate; that’s why Article I, section 3, provides for the election of a president pro tempore to run the Senate in the absence of the vice-president. The vice-president VOTES only in event of a tie, but he is ALWAYS the president of the Senate. Therefore, the VP has the constitutional authority to direct the day to day activities of the Senate, if he so desires, as did Adams, Jefferson, etc. in the early days of our republic. In recent years the VP has chosen to leave this duty to the president pro tempore, but the VP has the constitutional power to run the Senate any time he wants. That gives him Legislative responsibilities. What's really dangerous here is not Cheney or Palin, but Biden running for an office he obviously does not understand.
She's so nice.
I saw her winking at dad in the audience.
I heard her "ther' ya' go Joe" cutsie retort. Nice.
I loved how she says "Up in Alaska" and ends a lot of her sentences with "there" and "you know". Cute. I love how she talks about Joe six-pack and regular people. I love how she infuses "bad guys" and "good guys" into foreign policy. It's wonderful that she can change subject expertly and ignore questions to get her handlers points across. It's good to know that she can say the exact same things she said in her RNC speech in a different arena. I also agree with the GOP that she wasn't "that bad" and because she didn't completely fall on her face, she did better than expected.
But all-in all. She's an awful politician. I hate to go against today's GOP line but, we do need politicians in the White House. Sorry. No mommies or tea parties.
To BC in SD CA -- the sad thing about your position is that it doesn't even sound like you and your ilk believe it any more. Has it finally gotten through to you, has it finally aroused your collective sense of guilt, what you have wrought with your destructive tactics and your laughable clown of a president for the last eight years? Does the fact that America is finally waking up and in all likelihood will elect a brilliant, articulate statesman (Barack Obama), in stark contrast to the ideological, destructive buffoon George Bush -- his leagacy as Worst President in History all but certain now -- has that fact taken all of the partisan wind from your sails? Why not be happy? Why not celebrate the fact that finally America will stand tall again and lead the world? After eight years of shame, ridicule and incompetence, I am ecstatic that change is almost here!
I believe that Palin did very well for a candidate that was not in politics for 36 years. Governors are not expected to know politics like senators. Their job as governor doesn't call for that. However governors have been president of the United States without foreign policy. Bush, Carter, Clinton and Reagan. In my opinion the debate was a tie. The networks would give Biden the win because they are pro-obama. I like Palin and McCain however, McCain is not as aggressive as Obama, Biden or Palin. He needs to talk about what he would change as president which Obama has not done. Obama talks about change but change is just a word. If you use it then do it.
The Choice is Simple:
If you want
EXPERIENCE AT GETTING IT WRONG,
Vote for McCain/Palin.
If you want,
JUDGEMENT AT GETTING IT RIGHT,
Vote for Obama/Biden.
After watching the debate: I was concerned ( not for Palin's lack of knowledge), but about the people behind the answers that she delivered. Does anyone not find it a little scary that in the absence of John McCain (God forbid), someone would be running the country from behind the scenes. Sarah Palin has no interest in, knowledge of, or idea how to govern the United States of America. So with that said, who would be running our country really? At least with a Barack Obama absence (again, God forbid), one could be assured that Joe Biden would really be commander and chief, and after all isn't that the job the two are appling for: in the absence of the elected President of the United States .
Something to think about......
Don’t be a hater she did very well at the debate and all you hater’s out there got PUNKED! Joe Biden looked like a deer caught in the headlights, at times surprised that she could even stand up for herself or McCain. By the way if you yourself had gone to a top rated school just maybe you would know how to spell children. Just so you know I would take a perceived airhead over a cokehead any day!
Here's a good post:
For rhe folks following demographics, let me first say I am a 39 year old married woman, white, middle class, own my home in a semi-rural area of Montana.
I do not want a leader to whom I can "relate".
I don't care if I can see myself sitting down and gossiping over coffee with my vice president.
That's what my friends are for, and I love them, but I don't want most of them in power, either.
I want to elect to office people who are smarter, better educated, better informed and more inspirational than myself.
I want leaders who understand the Constitution of the United States and respect its precepts.
I want leaders I could be proud to follow.
McCain/Palin does not fit that bill.
I think she is right.
Folksy is not a major executive trait. Knowledge is.
> vaminuteman wrote:
> Why is it when I read the political boards it’s most often the people
> voting for McCain/Palin that come out with the insults and pointless anger
> driven arguments? In this string of posts I’ve seen someone defending
> McCain with bigoted rhetoric and another call Sarah Palin “Sandra”.
> Seriously, people like that are the reason our founding fathers put
> electoral colleges in place. They wanted everyone to have a voice in the
> political process without giving each individual enough power that the
> uneducated and ignorant masses could gum up the process. These people are
> the reason our county has had to suffer the last 8 years at the hands of
> the chimp in chief and his masochistic handler.
what?
people on both sides of the political spectrum emotion driven respondents and it's rediculous to postulate otherwise. your response is just as guilty of insulting and pointless as your whole argument rests on dismissing people who support McCain-Palin as angry bigots. that's preposterous and in fact one of the reasons that politics in this country are so polarized!
i also take issue with your assertion that the founding fathers put the electoral college in place as a mechanism to limit the impact of uneducated ignorants on the election process. that's not true at all. the electoral college was put in place to ensure the independence of the president from the legistlature and the numbers of electorates from each state is based on representation in congress.
i realize you wanted to portray yourself as above everyone. or at least above everyone on the other side of your position. however the phrase "chimp in chief and his masochistic handler" is just as insulting, pointless, and angry as the comments you claim to adhore! i would even add that your comments come off as bitter. bitter that your party did not win the white house in 2000 or 2004.
at the end of the day the paralysis in washington d.c. is rooted in partisan gridlock. every president that tries to stick with an extreme liberal or conservative agenda gets stalled. that's why clinton's first years were wasted trying to press for health care reforms that were extremely liberal. that's why many of the extremely conservative initiatives on bush's agenda didn't get anywhere. the only things that ever get through congress are either things that benefit everyone in congress or are compromises between liberal and conservative positions.
the only way extreme liberal or conservative initiatives will be passed is by having a super majority in both chambers of congress and control of the white house. period. but how likely is that to happen? not very. so that's really the problem i have with Obama. he's an extreme liberal and i don't want to live in the socialistic state that he envisions for us all. for as much as people want to claim that McCain is the same as Bush, the fact that McCain is more of a centrist is a huge deal. more things will happen in washington d.c. if the leadership wasn't so partisan.
Did Palin fall flat on her face? Depends on how you look at it. While not the train wreck of her previous interviews, she still answered nothing about the policies that her ticket represents. Our country is in serious trouble at home and abroad and the constant smiling, winking and "aw, shucks" demenor is too much to take when so much is at stake. I am an 'average', middle class citizen. I don't need my favorite aunt running the country. Biden spoke in a serious tone about serious subjects.
I am still waiting for an answer from Paliin that is actually hers, not her handlers. I doubt that Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, or Helen Clark ever winked at the camera when discussing economics or war.
WILL THE FANNIE MAE CROOKS EVER GO TO JAIL ? THE BAIL OUT CRISIS WAS CAUSED BY A HANDFUL OF CORRUPT CONGRESSMEN AND
FANNIE MAE OFFICIALS WHO BOUGHT UP 7 TRILLION DOLLARS IN BAD DEBT IN ORDER TO PAD THE BOOKS AND COLLECT HUGE SALARY
BONUSES FOR THEMSELVES.
HERE ARE THREE VIDEOS THOSE CORRUPT FANNIE MAE OFFICIALS & AT LEAST FIVE CORRUPT CONGRESSMEN DON'T WANT THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE TO SEE:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheMouthPeace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2WKtp01yOw
One Of The Crooks Is Rumored To Be The Next Attorney General Under Obama. If That Happens, NONE of them will ever
be brought to justice.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=67068
Voters need to stop participating in the 'partisan' politics that have put us in this predicament. Enough of people on the right (of which, I am a part) pointing to all of Biden's twisting of facts. Enough of people on the left (of which, I am not a part) saying that Palin just spewed rehearsed lines and had to 'memorize' responses and not answer the questions asked. Fact is: both candidates had their talking points to get across, both candidates got facts wrong and twisted the record of the other ticket, both candidates did their fair share of not answering the question(s) asked and soap boxed it for a while.
Who won the debate? Both. Biden accomplished what he needed to: no gaffes to open his ticket up to criticism. Palin held her own and, I believe, accomplished what she wanted to: 'I'm one of you and am looking to change the way politics works.'
The question is...who would you vote for for President. For me, it is McCain because I believe I have a better chance of keeping more money in my pocket. I like the idea of a true outsider being at his side. While I'm not voting for Obama / Biden I look at them as a solid ticket. I actually have been following Obama for a number of years and what he lacks in experience he has in intellect. He is smart enough to know when he needs to source others for advice and counsel which is why he chose Biden.
just stop and think... can you see Palin at a global conference standing beside world leaders saying "gee whiz - we really had a good meetin' today - doggone if we didn't come up with a plan to end that darn war in Iraq!"
Just remember - you Americans have been embarassed by Bush and his lack of professionalism on the world stage for 8 years. Don't you want more respect? Don't you want to be represented by someone who is seen as professional, well spoken, and intellgient? No one will take her seriously. No one. Your country is WAY too good to be represented like this. Raise your bar!!!
Fellow Americans,
Never before in the history of our nation have we faced such a grave crisis: one of the most radical political figures ever to be nominated by a major party is just minutes away from becoming President of the United States.
That man is Barack Obama.
He promises to change America forever. If elected, he will do just that — but in ways you may not like.
Remember Obama is the most liberal member of the United States Senate.
He received a 100 percent Liberal Rating from the National Journal, making him the most left-wing Senator in Washington — more liberal than even Democratic senators like Ted Kennedy.
If you look at Obama’s record, you will understand just how dangerous this man is.
He even has terrorist friends he won’t denounce. One such man is William Ayers, a leader in the radical terrorist group the Weatherman Underground. The group bombed several government buildings, including the Pentagon, killing civilians and police officers.
In 2001, Ayers said he had no regrets for his actions and wished he could have done more.
The ties between Obama and Ayers are tight. Both served on two non profit boards and they worked closely together. Ayers even hosted a political event at his home for Obama.
Obama has acknowledged he is a friend of Ayers and defends his association by saying he, Obama, was only 8 years old at the time of the Pentagon bombing.
However, Obama has no explanation as to why he is still a friend of Ayers.
Obama has even been endorsed by radicals such as Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan.
No one can deny hearing about Obama’s relationship with the America-hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
There should be little doubt that William Ayers and Louis Farrakhan and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright are rooting for Obama — because he is one of them.
In keeping with such friends, Obama has promised to meet with radical leaders like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without “preconditions” even though Ahmadinejad has promised to “wipe Israel off the map” and “destroy” America.
Even radical Hamas terrorists have praised him.
“We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election,” Ahmed Yousef, senior Hamas leader was quoted by ABC radio as saying.
Wake up and take off the blinders people! McCain/Palin is a much safer bet for your future, like them or not!!!
Palin was GREAT. Come on, at least you can say that. She showed she is ahead of Obama on experience and straight talk. I don't see how anyone can vote for someone who has not admitted the surge worked and in the next breath claim our soldiers are bombing civilians. This guy wouldn't pass the FBI verification process just by having Willaim Ayers as his friend, and the liberal media wants this dangerous man as president? Give me someone who actually knows policy and will bring reform to America, just like Hillary said, ready to go on day 1. The only person would be John S McCain.
I think our need to have energy independence was best addressed by Sarah during this particular debate. I don’t think the candidates have spoken enough about this concern that is reeking so much havoc on our economy. Our country is going to heck in a handbasket. The high cost of fuel has driven up the production and shipping cost of everything. Consumers have nothing left over after filling the tank and paying more for the necessities of life to spend on extras, save or invest. We need to get ourselves out from under our dpendency on foriegn oil. Families everywhere are wondering where else they can cut back to cover the cost of fueling up the family vehicle to get back and forth to work and take care of the necessities of life. There is no money left for relaxation and family fun. The stress level continues to rise. Most areas of the country have seen a sharp rise in their electric bill as power companies pass their increased production costs on to consumers. The price of a gallon of milk is almost as precious as a gallon of gas. The cost of every consumer product has risen sharply. Americans are stretched to the limit. Jobs are being lost, foreclosures are increasing at an alarming rate. Seems even the family pets are suffering the high cost of fuel as almost daily a sad new story is on TV about shelters being forced to euthanize record number of surrendered pets from those forced out of their homes due to foreclosure or they simply can’t afford to feed them anymore. The energy crisis in our country is far reaching and needs immediate attention. Our economy is in a sorry state of affairs directly related to the high cost of fuel. We have become so dependant on foreign oil that we have neglected to fully utilize such natural sources of energy such wind power & solar power. Along with modern technology such as plug in cars, hybrid cars, v2g technology ,and regenerative braking, technology we still seem to be floundering as a nation as to devising the best plan utilize all that is available to us and lift ourselves out of this mess we are in. We need to take o ur closest look at which candidates put our economy and energy crisis at the forefront of their agenda. I just bought a newly released book on Amazon.com called The Manhattan Project of 2009 by Jeff Wilson it is very interesting. He has been doing some interviews on talk radio etc.
Governor Palin has shown herself a quick study of sound-bite rhetoric, and she was never going to do a " deer under headlights" routine; this is far too self-reliant a young woman for that assessment. Palin is smarter than many about the pundant world ever gave credit to and it showed last night. Yet, most damagingly, Gov. Palin also irrefutibly showed why George Will fears Mrs. Palin's application for the second closes person to the nuclear button and nearly every other major decision a next-in-line chief executive may have to make on America's behalf.
Palin should have answered all of the questions put to her; by doing so she could have put to rest the idea that she does not have any answers to those questions. Instead there are even more examples of why Gov. Palin lacks the knowledge and wisdom to be either VP or Chief Executive. Spouting sound bites during a point when the American people needed desparately to be comforted with her knowledge of the issues of the day doomed Palin and McCain effectively by the affect of what Mrs. Palin does not know about the job/s she is applying to do. This took me off of the fence and landed me squarely into the Democratic camp.
There is simply no other choice that makes sense! Why does the Republican handlers have this woman recite talking points aimed at the other sides credibility that are so easily shown as wrong, twists the facts and in some caes just plain lie? Public information refutes so many of her/their allegations; the Republicans still have her repeat these errors even after they have been publically proven otherwise, contrary and/or wrong! George Bush (W) often has stood before the nation to bear information to us that he either knew or should have known was not true. The Democrats have been pinning McCain with the idea that McCain is no different than Bush on nearly every wrong decision Bush has made; citing example after example of just how often McCain publicly backed and even praised these catastrophically stupid moves. The top three moves Mr. Bush made and McCain supported gave me many doubts about a McCain presidency; Going to war against a nation who had not and could not harm Americans, ignoring all of the signs on the collapse of the financial markets and deregulating even further as a sort of red-carpet runway to doom; taking our military away from the central front on terror in the world in Ahganistan and Pakistan, allowing the threat we had all but contained and could have completely removed to become more powerful and entrenched in this region, that will cost several more American lives to now destroy. Mrs. Palin avoided any question put to her in last night's debate that would have eased the minds of those like me, who have attempted to keep our minds open to any credible info on why her team leader was Mr. Bush's chief water carrier on Capitol Hill on all of these issues. Palin was inaccurate, evasive, unclear and even insensitive to Senator Biden and to common Americans like me. "Joe Sixpack", is such an overused cliche to view the American every-man. Soccer moms, good ole boys...you don't win me by insulting my intelligence; you don't sway me with sound bites and a wanton display of your lack of knowledge and judgment of the issues that are adversely affecting my life. Sarah Palin miserably lost the debate and many American votes last night; a hole that seems she and her boss will not dig their way out of by November 4th!
Once again, the Repubs are p______sing on our heads and telling us it's raining. "Aw, geez, gosh, golly,"....... Palin seemed to be caricaturing herself a la SNL. By the way, does anybody actually talk like that? It was so contrived and I can't believe any intelligent person found it convincing. Palin shows up at a debate, announces that she isn't going to answer the questions, then proceeds to NOT ANSWR the questions and present a barrage of canned sound bites. Has she been taken to task for this by the media? NO! Come on, you guys, get a backbone. Palin gets a pass because she came on stage and managed to speak MOSTLY in English? No one will admit it but her performance was still worthy of a SNL skit-- ten to twelve non-responsive answers; numerous flat-out non-answers; and a few nonsensical answers -- and this passes for a solid performance. To add insult to injury, Biden was the best debater of this entire election cycle-- period-- yet his performance is not receiving the accolades it deserves amidst the chorus of "Palin exceeded expectations". What have we come to when one can win a debate simply by showing up and not fallng off the stage? Pathetic.
I agree with Demnred - Hillary was held to such high standards, and passed over, yet this "soccer mom" is considered to be more qualified than Hillary to be thisclose to the highest office in the land? Clearly it's only okay for a woman to be on a presidential ticket if she's a nonthreatening mommy type. I would have rather seen Condoleeza Rice on the ticket with McCain. I thought Palin was annoying the way she kept winking at the audience and I didn't feel she answered the questions. I thought Biden definitely won.
Personally, I want my president and VP to be smarter than I am, I want them to know everything about running a country and I could care less if they look like a nice person to sit and have a beer with! Based on the results of the last two elections, I'm in the minority on this.
Ok Palin did not get as toung tied as she did in her interviews, but that was only because she was not pressed to answer directly and yet there was still no substance! She spent too much time with her notes!
THERE ARE NO CUE CARDS IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
PEOPLE DON'T BE A FOOL WE CAN NOT AFFORD THIS AIRHEAD IN OFFICE, YES! SHE IS STILL A AIRHEAD!
Gov Palin did herself good last night from my view that when prepared she could actually talk and not be some young pretty thing for the GOP. Now the question is will grandpa continue to keep her under wraps allowing her to talk only to selected news media outlets. Given the Mavericks behavior to date he acts more like Darth Vader for Dubya. Look none of this really matters he signed off on the bailout plan loaded with pork and in an interview shorlty thereafter when asked his response was and I quote "that's the way business is conducted in washington but when I become president that will change because I will veto the pork or something like that" No prez has been granted line item veto therefore I don't know what the maverick is talking about. He could have shown some leadership by displaying his maverick qualities by not voting for the bill with the so called sweetners.
This article sums Palin up for me! Palin reverted back to her beauty pageant and journalism days where she had to preform for the cameras and I can see why neither of these worked out for her, it's too much of her, she is too animated and full of crap that I personally find insulting to the intelligence of her viewers! She is no more than a D rated actress. I found it hard to follow her most of the time she takes her listeners all over the place with little to no substance. My husband and I spent much of the time trying to remember just what the question was because she would go off taking about something that had NOTHING to do with the questions put before her, it was a hot mess if you were hoping to get a better understanding of the McCain/ Palin plan! Nothing was said that really made sense but when she spoke about drilling in Alaska and her experience in Alaska, topics she know EVERYTHING else came off as sound bites pieced together and often out of order!
Palin confirmed to me that she is in no way ready to be VP. Her dependence of cue cards or notes, taking every opportunity to read them while Biden spoke and often while she spoke only says to me she still don't know. THERE WILL NOT BE TIME TO READ CUE CARDS WHEN RUNNING THE NATION!
NO CUE CARDS IN THE WHITE HOUSE!
Palin didn't do as poorly as expected so everyone is calling it a success. I for one felt she was over rehearsed and come off as insincere in some of her comments. when she didn't have an answer to the question posed she'd revert back to the only topic she knew anything about .....energy. I thought she was unprofessional and didn't particularly care for her folkys manner of speaking. She came off as a bit of a joke.....giving a shout out to some 3rd grade class, winking to people in the audience. I prefer my leaders to be educated and well spoken, after all they will be representing us nationally and internationally. She makes Dan Quayle look like a scholar.
Why is it that people that didn't go to college, or those that school/grade shopped by going to several poorly rated colleges (e.g., Hawaii Pacific, Idaho), have to feel so threatened by others who worked hard and went to quality universites? Isn't this what we want for our childere, that is, to work hard and go to the best school possible? What parent could possibly be proud of someone who partied through 6 colleges in 6 years, at low quality scools and still received poor grades?
Palin side stepped every issue with rhetoric. She clearly said nothing the entire time. She did not address any issue directly.
What Palin DID do is recite every vague fear mongering tactic that the GOP has been force feeding the American people since Reagan! (Did anyone really forget that Reagan screwed the people and then used "I don't recall" as a defense in National court!) Isn't the state of the stock market proof that "trickle down economics" does not work.
As for people who agree with Let's Get Real. Do you really want a "real person" running this country? Do you want someone who is educated and understands the "dry and boring crap" as you so eloquently put it. Or would you rather have a candidate who understands being a "hockey mom", in control of the entire worlds finance and enough military power to end this whole planet!
Personally I don't think I can recite Supreme court cases either. But whoever I vote for better be able to. I certainly wouldn't vote for any of my uneducated friends and neighbors to be VP or President. So why would I vote for someone who is "folksy" but doesn't understand the immense responsibility of the position she is so dangerously close to!
Please people vote for someone who at least understands the issues we all face in this great nation of ours!
@ mcmillje - which world do you live in?
do you have any idea about what is going on around you?
I do not want to know about Wasilla and all that sh*t. I want to know how this ticket is different from the current one. stop smoking pot so early in the morning.
Prior to the debates my opinion of Sarah Palin was that she is as dumb as a box of rocks. However, she obviously took good notes and studied them very hard leading up to the debates. She even memorized most of her notes very well and she still got the name of the General wrong. Bless her heart. Maybe she just couldn't locate that bullet-point quickly enough to correct herself. Even so, the only thing she did was prove that she is a good crammer and that she can either memorize and/or read bullet-points well. Due to her hours and hours of practice, she was able to hold her own. It was clear that she was well practiced. She could not get away from her rehearsed bullet-points. She did take a couple of good jabs at Senator Biden, but she offered no real substance or knowledge nor did she answer many of the questions that were asked of her. Instead she kept settling back into her comfort zone-- "Energy" & her bullet-point rhetoric and over-used, worn-out catch-phrases. Whereas Biden, on the other hand, came across as very experienced, knowledgeable and thoughtful -- more down to earth. People like Sarah Palin because she is very attractive and she happens to be themother of a baby and a child with a disability but that doesn't qualify one to be VP of the US. She can call herself a soccer mom all day long. Neither that nor all the winking, smiling and cutesy-ness qualifies her to even come anywhere near VP material. Sarah Palin tried hard to redeem herself and she may have succeeded in doing that but I'd say that she'd make a good talk-show host. But a good VP? I think not.
Loved the headline. It sums up just how cretinous the left-liberals have become in this campaign, and how little their analysis resonates outside their comfortable circles. And it's bad. paint-by-numbers journalism.
I just don't get it! I do not quite understand why so many people think that Palin did well in last night's VP debate?! She did not address the questions asked, several times ignoring them altogether - she simply showed up and threw up, so to speak! After watching the debate and the reviews afterward, it absolutely amazes me that a lot of the critics think Palin did well based on her smile, her polished delivery and personable 'folksy' approach. More importantly - please correct me if I'm wrong - but isn't a debate's main purpose is to gauge how well each candidate can answer the questions, not how well one smiles, or winks, to the direction of the camera? No disrespect to Palin, since I think she is a good speaker, but she cannot hold a candle to Biden's 30+ years of experience. The fact that Palin considers herself to have foreign policy experience due to the proximity of Alaska to Russia is a complete embarrassment to any level of intelligence I thought she initially possessed. I think Biden did very well, especially when he made note of McCain's promise of change and how it does not differ from Bush's last 8 years - how does that make McCain a maverick?
You people in the media have got to be kidding. Sarah Palin won hands down! Although she did not have all the years in the Old Boy’s Club, Sarah proved herself as knowledgeable and informed. Why don’t you in the media do the American people a service and point out Bidens lies on McCains record? Oh I forgot.... your in the tank with Obama.
I am disappointed that the American people are even giving this woman a thought. She has nothing to say that would ever make me change my mind about her or McCain for that matter. I live in Arizona, humm, what has McCain done here? My uncle lives in Alaska and has run a fishing boat for years with people who work for him, he has actually talked with Russian fisherman and he too can see Russia from his house, does that make him an expert on foreign policy? My grandfather was in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked and he watched his fellow shipmates drown and go down with the ship. I watched him suffer for years with anger problems and post traumatic stress syndrome, did that make him qualified to be President? I mean he did it for his country!
How dare Gov. Palin compare herself to me! I am a single mother of two inter-racial children, who's father died for his country because of the 1st Bush's Gulf War! I myself served in the U.S. Navy and was proud to do so, I believe in our Country, I just don't believe in our leaders right now! I feel like I am going down with the ship. I own my own business, I have no health insurance, I can't afford it...how has the Republican Party that is in office and could be in office helping me, oh yea, by giving tax breaks to people who can afford health insurance!!! Thank God my kids father left him his military insurance benefits, at least they can stay healthy. Oh and Gov. Palin, being a single mother isn't easy, you can't afford to put your kid in soccer, so I couldn't be a soccer mom. And now I have a daughter in her second year of college, who wants more than anything to be a doctor, like she told her daddy she would do(should I throw in a smile and a wink here so you can feel more endeared to me!), worried that there might not be financial aide so that she can continue, by the way she got a scholarship and that still doesn't pay for University now-a-days, under the "No Child Left Behind" rule.
People say racism isn't a problem regarding this Presidential Race, racism is always a problem, just ask my daughter who is now 13 how many times she has been called the "N" word in school! And you wonder why that might play a factor in the Obama campaign...people say he is whiney, I have never once heard him say, anything whiney! He has not played the "Race Card" as we like to label blatant discrimination! I mean come on you would rather vote for a President who has a skirt behind him smiling and winking than a Black man from Harvard!! Please America get over yourself! Prove to my children and yours that things really have changed and vote for the Real Change!!! OBAMA/BIDEN a change you can believe in!!
For all you folks complaining about the "Liberal Media" please identify one for me to subscribe to. All I see is a concentrated corporate media too timid to investigate where the heck George Bush was during his final year of "service" in the National Guard, too intimidated to investigate serial lies by the Bush White House Gang, too lazy (?) to investigate the role of Cheney in doctoring pre-war intelligence, and now, too unprincipled to call Palin for her unresponsive and uninformed performance last night (the press wants to keep the "horse race" aspects alive so that they can sell more papers and more TV ads). And, by golly, how could the press minimize Palin's miracle-working in raising Civil War General George B. McClellan from the dead so that he could take command of our forces in Afghanistan? Now THAT would be news! I betcha Joe Sixpack would agree [wink, wink]!
I was surprised with the media's reaction that Gov. Palin's performance exceeded expectations. Sure when the expectations were set so low. When the country is going through a serious financial meltdown, we have to ask ourselves this question. Do we need a simpleton who does not appear to understand the questions or is so self-involved that she does not care to answer the questions, to be managing a national crisis? Or do we need someone who is stable, intelligent, articulate and has the basic decency of answering the mediators questions. For any independant minded person watching last night's debate it should be very clear that Gov. Palin avoided most of the questions and had an agenda of her own. She might as well have skipped the debate and given a stump speech with all the prepared sound bites. By avoiding the questions that were asked she gave the impression that she did not care about the issues as long as she got her talking points off her chest. Senator Biden's performance was exceptional, his presence was gracious and he appeared to have a command over any of the questions that were thrown at him. Why have a debate and a moderator with questions if one of the candidates chooses not to answer most of the questions.?The attempts at winking and folksiness would have been tolerable had they followed an answer to the question that was asked. Gov. Palin just plain insulted our intelligence.
Wow! You were that impressed. Someone from Newsweek that impressed. One of the problems with the media these days is they try to dismantle (strike that) compare a 35 year vetrain in the Senate with a no Harvard education, down to earth famale mom. I considered the following. I saw her say I'm one of you. I know what healthcare is all about. I have a handicapped son and I understand what not having health care means. This was from her core. You can say what you want but I felt that. (By the way, with the economy in such a mess, I don't know where the money is coming from to fund either program. I doubt it will be for at least 4 years or more.)
As for the middle class, several times she referred to hard times to being on a soccer field, hockey field and even said I listen to what these ladies are saying and feeling. To the person who feels, she displayed a connection. I don't feel from any of her remarks that she wasn't going to take care of the middle class people worse then Obama. She had a gleam in her eye and her heart was solid. The problem with Newsweek is common people shouldn't strive for high political office. Only those who attended Harvard, Yale, or Penn are allowed the forsight training to be leaders in politics. Not a person who attend UI in northern Idaho.
If you were truly listening she referred to herself as a maverick. In everything she's done she's crossed the eisle in her own state. Her approval rating is pretty good in Alaska. She's a woman that is kinda different. She has shown she is extremely loyal to her leader but has a difference of opinion. Oh yea I'm sorry each time Biden tried to connect her to Bush, her comments were mistakes were made by this adminstration, and will be if I'm elected but we learn and move on. Wow, pretty powerful. But the harsh reality, even with all these pretty solid examples people, Newsweek as a group finds it hard to find anything good to say about her.
Oh ya, If I believed everything I heard from the Obama Camp, I'd benefit the most. See I have nine children. We make less then $100,000 year, we have 2 handicapped children, we've lost almost half of my retirement because of the stock market, I have 3 children still in college, my wife almost died while having our last child without insurance. Yet we are all alive well broke and struggling just like every other middle class American. I'm worried if my job is slated for the next round of staff reductions. I served in the Military for my country as well. I don't drink beer either but I am one of the very people she was trying to reach and she did.
So much of what Biden said, his facts, were simply made up. They were falsehoods or inaccuracies said with authority.
I am amazed how the standards have been lowered to accomondate a female on the ticket. We the public held Hillary Clinton to a higher standard. We expected her to be as knowleable as the the guys. Why is Palin getting a pass? She is setting women backward. It looks as if we have to get special treatment to be able to perform with the guys. Also, if she winks at me one more time I'm going to scream. Talk to me about the issues. Don't play cute.
To Mixed Bag....
So when I read between the lines of your post this just comes down to black and white for
you. So predictable and so sad. This election should be about character and integrity -
not race and color. Chose to stick together at all costs..... We will see next month how this
all shakes out. I think there will be a big shift when the truth about him comes out.
Howard, you're really giving Palin too much credit. She came off as very phony, whereas Biden was very sincere and authentic. Palin was the Chatty-Cathy doll I had as a child. You pull her string and she says the same silly phrase over and over again. Palin spoke at a frenzied pace as if she had to get the words out as fast as she could for fear she would forget everything that's been crammed into her short term memory. She sounded absolutely ridiculous. The polls over the next few days will reflect as much.
i am insulted. insulted by the repubs picking palin in an attempt to capture the hillary vote. i am insulted that they think i'm that stupid. i'm an independent and had wanted to vote for mccain, hoping he would pick a vp that could do the job if he circled the bowl. now i'm just insulted by the repubs thinking all women are so stupid that we'd vote for a woman on the ticket solely because she's a woman. she's an embarrassment. there are so many bright, articulate, middle class women in politics and she's the best they could come up with? and it's like she hates women, making them pay for their own rape kits in her state and supporting a ban on all abortions, including pregnancies resulting from rape and incest. that is insane!! she should be at home caring for the handicapped child that she chose to have, because in this country we are given the choice. instead she leaves her kids with a full time nanny paid by the state gov. nice! how many middle class working moms have full time nannies that come with the job? any woman who votes for her (by voting for mccain) should have her right to vote revoked. she will bring women's rights back to the 1900's, before we were allowed to vote. i plead with all the women out there considering voting for her. please do some research. all of the hillary supporters, please support anyone but mccain/palin. your vote is worth more. to have to fall back on the wink and smile, "youbetcha", and "shout out", my god, save this country if that's what the people really want. it's just insulting. oh, and all the men out there thinking of voting for her because she's ok to look at, really? little man in the pants gets to vote now too? grow up and research all of the candidates before you waste that vote on her.
Good article. The debate alone can not determine the future of the country.
Looking cute on the camera is not going to be enough to fix our economic problems at home and other problems abroad. We need a President and Vice President who can change the course of the economy and foreign policy by adapting new policies. That is definitely not McCain-Palin.
After reading some of these comments I am truly afraid for this Country. The hatefullness, bigotry and downright racist remarks - worse yet the lot that spews them don't believe their bigots. God help us all.
During the 2000 campaign, I had a lot of respect for John McCain, and felt he had been ambushed by dirty politics by George Bush's army of dirty tricksters. Now, McCain appears to be adopting the same tactics, embarking on a strategy of "whatever it takes to win," regardless of the damage to his integrity. His choice of Sarah Palin best illustrates this--all I saw in the debate was someone who memorized some lines on limited subject areas and regurgitated them regardless of whether they were on point with respect to the question asked. I am not a huge Obama/Biden fan, but when it is so obvious that Palin has not a clue regarding basic issues regarding the world and our economy, it is scary to think that she could be a hearbeat away from the presidency. For those who might consider voting for McCain, it must be done with a hope that his health remains sound, for surely anyone who is honest with themselves cannot truly envision this lady--nice as she may be--as leading our nation during a time of crisis, the likes of which have not been seen since the 1930s. Even my hard-core Republican friends are questioning McCain's judgment in choosing someone so out of touch with key policy issues. Bottom line, Joe Biden came across as someone who could easily step into the office of the presidency. Sarah Palin came across as a nice lady you might talk to at a hocky game, but who has not a clue regarding delicate issues abroad and, perhaps more importantly, economics at home. We as voters want to see candidates demonstrate a working knowledge of the important issues of the day. Joe Biden did this. Sarah Palin, unfortunately, showed only that she can memorize a few talking points and regurgitate them. Although she did not fall flat on her face, as many feared, in my opinion, it was one of the worst debate performances I have ever seen--all rhetoric and zero substance by Palin.
I would like to know why you covered part of all these comments with your ads?
Gov. Palin's performance ranged the gamut from unresponsive and scripted to meandering and incoherent. Folksy words and winks don't establish competence. I listened to the commentators after the debate, and I couldn't believe they watched the same debate that I did. Evidently the Couric interview lowered expectations so low that even Gov. Palin's babbling convinced them she established her bona fides for the vice presidency. Shame on the new media!
A very find article, I am truly surprised. I know it must have been painful for you to write it, it tells me that she did far better than expected. There may be hope for the liberal media yet, I hope so. I long for the days of real "news."
Where do I start. I guess I'll start by acknowledging that the media is biased and has been for years now so I don't know why this seems to be news to people and why anyone uses media to form their opinions. We are in an era where we must fact check for ourselves if we want to get as close to the truth as we can. Next, I would like to acknowledge that every politician lies...duh! Seriously, if you don't get that they all are making a career out of politics and therefore are going to do things to advance in that career (such as lie or bash other politicians) then you've been living under a rock. So in the end you must vote for the candidate that has your priorities in mind. If a republican candidate came along that showed me he cared about social welfare issues, education issues, health care issues before he cared about how to "win" in Iraq then he would totally have my vote. Unfortunately, I haven't seen this in a republican. Now lets get to Palin. I am sick of any candidate trying to pull the I'm like one of you card! Don't insult me. I know that a Mayor, Gov. or Sen. does not get paid anywhere near what I as a social worker gets paid or even what a CPA such as my father gets paid. Our families are not the same. Your children go to better schools then I did and mine will your family has a nicer house nicer cars and can afford to do all the things I can only dream of and save for years to hope to do one day. So stop it, it isn't cute. Thank you Biden for at least admitting that you are better off then me at this point in your life. Not to mention I don't want a VP or president who is like me. I consider myself fairly educated and well rounded and I enjoy politics, but I couldn't tell you how to help our economy right now or what I would've done after 9/11. So please be a better politician then me. And finally, to all my fellow women please do not like Palin because she is cute or folksy or a woman. Like her because you have looked up how she handled herself as Mayor/Gov. and you feel she is qualified. I dislike her because I think she is insulting to women and I don't think she is qualified. She wants the American people to embrace Prolife, well lets see isn't that a spiritual belief? I know I was raised Catholic went to Catholic schools and protested abortion clinics when I was 16. But not all Americans are christian or hold the prolife belief and they shouldn't have to and over turning Roe v Wade is saying to the people that your spiritual beliefs are the right beliefs and therefore everyone should share them. Don't we have something called freedom of religion? Ok I should stop...for now.
How much more are people going to keep making excuses for lackluster performances and long winded off topic verbal spewing coming forth from the Palin camp? Politicians stack the cards in their favor on many topics to make them come out on top but I can't listen to people say she exceeded their expectations. That is easy when you don't expect much to begin with.
She is CLEARLY out of her realm from Alaska and doesn't have the basic competency of what it takes to hold a major public office. She can't recall basic facts about benchmark topics a VP should be familiar with. She says alot but doesn't have a point.
I think people in general are too kind in regards to her in their feedback. I didn't learn a darn thing more about the McCain/Palin ticket then after the conventions 5 weeks ago. That is sad. Could anyone imagine someone with as little basic training handling a 9/11 type of situation or carrying on a basic conversation with foreign diplomats? Lets get real here folks and stop giving her credit for a debate that was as uneventful on her part as they get. Is this truly the best the McCain camp could do to muster up a proper/capable VP?
I have been as open minded through these last 20+ months as i can be but this is just insulting and rediculous for Republicans to entertain any further. It almost isn't fair to watch her against J.Biden...she isn't in the same universe.
To the idiot who keeps calling Obama anti American and who is just plain in shock that Michelle said she wasn't proud to be an American, get a clue. There are those of us out there that don't live in a bubble and have the luxury of white, economic, educational, and other privileges that the Majority enjoy. Growing up Black/White/Native in an all White town, I enjoyed the benefits of education and being in the economic middle class, and realized to a further extent only after I left that the World isn't exactly all puppies and roses. So is Sarah Palin ready to be the VP or even the Pres. No. Does she represent most women I know? Certainly not-- no matter where they are from or what ethnic background they happen to have--- and another thing, Obama denouncing a person b/c the public wants him to is ridiculous and insulting. No one seemed to bat an eye when Palin's precious son-in law who happened to get her daughter pregnant before marriage or finishing high school made blatant racist remarks...anyway, McCain/Palin is simply more of the same so people like you can stay ignorant and in your own little world that God forbid should come crumbling down around you if Obama/Biden got in the White House.
Palin is a woman that will fore go values, and truth for sound bits and misleading remarks!
It is sad that woman are willing to put this woman in office... Prepared!!!! Remember People..
PREPARED!!! is what she IS... She knew hardly anything before her STUDY SESSIONS.... too PREPARE her. Yes she stalked her prey.... the American people... Shes bagging those that want to vote and negate the FACT she is just being PREPARED... When she was not PREPARED the wolveirne had no teeth an you the Press even saw that.... WOW
ARE ANY OF YOU SERIOUSLY THINKING OF VOTING FOR THIS WOMAN.
I am a mother of (4) Wife and I work in the Auto industury... You know the AMERICAN Made!!! FORD-LINCOLN-MERCURY.... UNLIKE THOSE WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS COST THIS COUNTRY TO HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE! I DO PALIN DOES NOT GET THIS WOMAN VOTE!!!! BEATRICE....
I as an American feel insulted that the VP candidate for the Republican Party felt she could ignore the questions.. Gwen Ifil failed as a moderator in not having follow-up questions and presssing both candidates to answer the questions. Ms. Palin stood there and just throw out all the talking points she memorized and had no substance in her answers. The Republicans will insist she won the debate and the Democratcs will say that Biden won. The people that lose are the ones that wanted a debate to hear about issues. If they don't want to answer the questions why not give them each 45 minutes so they can both just talk over the talking points, which is basicly what Ms. Pailin did. I'm mad as hell. I've had enough with a President that knows very little and I will not vote for a tickent that has a person that does not have the experience ,.
It seemed to me that Palin could have become PTA president with that debate, but I'm not sure that Vice President is the role for her. She has yet to connect how her experience in Alaska will work in international politics. Yes, she identifies with the small town, but this role is not small town. As someone who has never been to Alaska, I don't really identify with that state's politics and I find it off-putting that she relates national problems to small town decisions.
I am still an undecided voter. I am extremely frustrated by the media's unbalanced treatment and analysis of the campaign. Although it makes me sympathetic to the Republican party, sympathy is not a reason to vote. So, I've watched the debates and conventions trying to find substantial in what any of the candidates speak about. They tend to say general things about how important health care, energy sources, taxes, and education are - who is going to argue that these things aren't important? I don't like anyone referring to previous president's terms as indications of what the current party representatives will do. Tell me what you're going to do (without saying the word change) and don't rely on the mistakes of the past to benefit your own agenda.
P.S. I had to add more one thing: when are Republicans going to let Ronald Reagan die? I guess the debate wouldn't have been complete without Gov. Palin's entirely predictable, but excruciatingly worn-out and overused reference to the late Pres. Reagan. I guess since Bush has proven so inept, Republicans must constantly recall the Gipper. Talk about "looking backwards".
Palin was better prepared for her positions last night, and surpassed expectations merely by being able form and complete whole sentences. Biden was respectful, knowledgeable, and presidential. I was comfortable thinking of him taking over the Pres. duties from day one. I was, more to the point, comfortable with him taking over the VEEP duties on day one, which we know one of these two will do. I was appalled at the thought of Palin taking over either VP or Pres. duties. Biden won the debate. Paoin won the ability to continue her candidacy with a straight face.
What some have said about her is true: Sarah is a quick study. But I had the feel that she had been pumped so full of rote memorization that she felt she had to get out in 90 minutes that there was little or no thought behind what she was saying. It was confirmed in my mind when, late in the "debate" Biden mentioned his own experience as a single Dad and nearly broke down. He is known for speaking off the cuff, often to his detriment. He frequently wears his feelings and thoughts on his sleeve, so I have no doubt that this moment was not staged. Palin never missed a beat, but went quickly on to her next point. I don't even remember what it was, but her (non)reaction to Biden's obvious moment of wearing his heart on his sleeve was swift and cold, as though she had not heard him. It was the one moment that I sat forward in surprise and dropped my jaw. She just had to get that next point in before time ran out, and I saw clearly how she had been coached for this debate. I don't know if anyone else caught that moment as vividly as I did, and I don't think it said that she was an uncaring person. But the people who coached her left no wiggle room for her to be "real", as I think she would have if she had been alone with Biden talking about the subject. The only other moment that really stood out for me was her "understanding" of the VP's role. OMG! Haven't we had enough of a Cheney type VP?
I think both McCain and Obama is equally qualified to run the country but should anyone of them not be able to, and a vice president has to step up and do the job, we cant honestly believe that Palin would do a better job. Sure she is qualified, but in limited areas. I applaud the lady, I think she is intelligent and articulate but she is not qualify to be president should Mccain not be able to. She is limited in a time when this country needs a person with unlimited knowledge and unlimited ability to do something about it. We need someone who is first aware of the A-Z problems so they can delegate the right person to do the right job. Palin appeared to have recognized at some point last night that she didn’t know enough so she tried to get around with a wink, a smile, and trying to show how Obama & Biden’s differs to cover up her inability to answer the question being asked. Do we really care that they differ in 1 out of 10 issues. They are supposed to. It shows independent thinking.
Did we watch the same debate? She came off as a real person..not reading crap or dry and boring like Obama. She is eloquent and folksy at the same time. How can some of you not see how fabulous she is? She scored a home run and further shows how good a candidate she is. As if Hilary would have been more qualified some how after being first lady! I was blown away by her the first time she came on the air at the convention. Biden was very nice but seems to forget what he voted for and lies about some facts she presented. You can't fault Sarah for Katie's interview. I can't think of too many people who would rattle off cases the Suprement Court passed they disagreed with. Give me a break. That interview made Katie look bad too.
Last night Gov. Palin proved only one thing: she is trainable. She didn't answer the questions put to her, she merely recited by rote what she had been groomed to say. The more I see of her, the more I question the judgment of Sen. McCain in choosing her for the office of VP. Not that Biden was perfect in last night's debate, but at least I felt he has a basic, sound understanding of the issues this country is facing.
After listening to the debate, I think it would have been more appropriate if Ms, Palin had asked Mr. Biden not "May I call you Joe", but "May I call you Mr. Vice President."
The woman said absolutely nothing of substance. She evaded questions, repeated herself endlessly (e.g., "Clean up the greed and corruption on Wall Street", which she said verbatim at least five times, and her increasingly tired and tiring characterization of herself and Mr. McCain as "mavericks"), spoke in generalities when specifics were called for, winked at the camera like a game show host, could not remember correct names, acted all cute and folksy, spewed irrelevant patriotic slogans, and basically parroted the party line without adding anything to it or proving in any manner, shape or form that she is anything more than a small-time hockey-mom politician who should stay in local politics. More than anything, she was reminiscent of Nicole Kidman in "To Die For."
But still, for all that, she scares the heck out of me; the prospect of having such an essentially clueless, yet blatantly ambitious, person in the White House should Mr. McCain be elected and pass out of this world, is unbelievably frightening. She may not have embarrassed herself, but she would embarrass the United States still futher, and someone with her lack of experience, judgment and diplomacy is, I fear, more dangerous to our country and our world than a nuclear Iraq.
I am insulted and disgusted by the way Palin stereotyped the middle class as 6-pack joe and soccer moms.She never once brought anything intelligent or different to the table, her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Biden was excellent, he preciously and clearly stated what the differneces are between Obama's Policy and Bush's aka. McCain's.
The first thing that one of my co workers said this morning is .... I LIKE Sarah. This was from an Obama supporter. It won't change her vote, but it did change her opinion of Palin. You place too little credit on how well she presenter herself. Whether you felt she answered the question completely, she looked directly into the camera with every reponse. I wasn't quite sure where Biden was looking, but certainly not at the home audience.
What difference does that make. Well, it does tend to make people feel more comfortable with the answers, as if there is nothing to hide. If you think that doesn't make a difference, I would like to remind you that both Bush and Reagan, both inept Presidents, were elected because people LIKED them, not for their policies or experience. Can it happen again? Of course.
You can predict all you want about your candidate, but the bottom line is whoever gets the vote out will win. Obama has incredibale numbers with the Youth and Blacks. These 2 groups however, have the WORST record for actually going out and voting. Only time will tell whether they break or uphold that record.
Sorry, you said Obama was new too. Yes he is, but at least he can speak English and is well educated. He also has a thinking VP. You do not expect him to pull on his pants say shucks see darn and spit.... I think a main qualification for the job is to speak English. One is thinking when they can answer questions given to them in good English and know what they are talking about.. I for one am tired of a dancing joke telling administration. I want truth and dignity in our highest office......not wink wink...
In every other profession, having the knowledge, aptitude and ability to accomplish one's job is a prerequisite for getting the job, that is except vice president of the USA. No wonder the country is going down the tube faster than a fireman down the firehouse pole. When a candidate (Palin) can spout rehearsed lines, like a parrot taught a few words, regardless of the question or issue, and is said to have won and showcased her readiness, it maybe time to start looking for another country to live.
lol deconlinesales
Thursday's Vice Presidential Debate convinced me that Gov. Palin is truly unable to talk beyond a few rehearsed talking-points.
I registered to vote for the first time ever this week. I am in my 30's and up to this point, never really took advantage of being in a country where voting is one of the great things about this country that many other countries can't claim to have.
Seeing the state this country is in, both economically and diplomatically, I strongly felt the need to register and vote for what I feel is right.
I will be voting for Obama come this november 4th. McCain is to be respected for all his service to this country, but he is out of touch with the bulk of those that make up the majority, most notably lower and middle class.
Obama could have told us nothing of his economical plans and i'd still lean towards voting for him. He grew up poor and can understand the plight most americans are suffering from. McCain owns seven houses (and couldn't even remember how many he had) and 13 vehicles from what i've read. I honestly don't see him doing much, if anything to help anyone not in his financial bracket. Trickle down economics might have worked during Reagan's time, but it's a new century with new challenges.
Even if McCain was to be trusted with the economy, selecting Palin as his VP was disastrous. When claiming that her proximity to Russian made her qualified in foreign policy, I had to cringe. Add to that the growing reports of scandal within her home state and her inability to answer any questions for anyone, and you have someone whose skills limit her to a low level government position at best.
It's too late for Mccain to drop Palin. His standings overall would've been stronger, had he selected someone that the people would see as more experienced and well known. All she brought was a "wow" factor that was short lived, and was reduced with each interview she did. It doesn't help that her "folksy" attitude (both in speech and in mannerisms such as winking etc.) only appeals to a certain set of people. Polls indicate that she is alienating a large number of undecided female voters as a result.
Sadly, you can't really trust any politician, no matter how honorable and forthcoming they may seem. Obama and Biden have their own issues and skeletons in the closet, but they are far more qualified and likely to win this coming election because many people are tired of the way the economy is going and I think that's whats on people's minds more than the war in Iraq.
Regardless of who wins, it should be country first, not Iraq with their 59 billion surplus. It's time to take care of Americans, not other countries.
The person with the lowest score in my opinion was Ifill. She asked fairly open-ended questions, didn't keep Palin on track, didn't seem to be in any control as moderator. I don't think the country has any better idea of what Palin really knows and understands because she wasn't asked the right questions. My opinion is that Palin confirmed her poise and her beauty-queen training, but more importantly confirmed that she can't put a sentence together and spends a long time saying nothing of substance.
McCain gambled that if voters liked what they saw when they looked at his running mate they could forgive or (worse) not care what she says. The positive response that her performance has drawn from many quarters, including professional journalists, is the clearest evidence we have to date that the dumbing down of America has finally succeeded.
Jeez... this is very near to the same tone and rhetoric that the left was using after the convention; trying to 'talk America out of liking this woman" and it has reached the same fevered pitch....
I suppose that the debate was a success, and the polls will reflect that in a couple of days.....
As a middleclass women, I feel disrespected by Palin. Why would she choose to present herself so casually during a vice-presidential debate? I speak casually too: at home with my family, out with friends, etc. However, when I am at work I speak and act professionally: I avoid slang, I say you instead of ya, and I don’t wink at my customers. I feel by behaving professionally I am showing respect for my workplace and the people I interact with during work hours.
Why would she think she needs to speak to us in this manner to prove she is one of us?
(She is no longer middleclass, by the way, she may have been born into a middle class family; but so were Biden and Obama.)
Note to Sarah Palin:
Middleclass people are educated. They may not have graduate degrees but they are more than capable of being spoken to as thinking adults with out the patronization.
As an undecided voter, i must say that Palin did a good job for someone who is not intune with congress and is an unknown outsider. However, Biden has been around for decades and he knows the facts and schooled her about answers to the important issues people want to know. I would have to say for the most part if McCain was looking for her to turn the race from Obama to himself, he lost. This debate has sealed my vote for Obama because i didnt hear anything about how her plan was different that Bush. She didnt respond to any open end questions when Biden gave her space to respond. Im going to the navy this January and I dont want to and im sure my future collegues dont want to be fighting a "forever " war.
Hmmmmm......
Hockey "Joe Six Pack" Mom or seasoned senator with many years of diplomacy experience. Who do I want as second in command? Do I really have to answer that?
I took offense to Palins gestures of winking and smiling into the camera like she was trying to sell me a brand new tube of toothpaste. Did she truly think that my vote would be swayed by that behavior.
Sarah...ANSWER THE QUESTIONS OR GO BACK TO ALASKA! Do not get in front of the television cameras and insult our intelligence thinking that people will vote for you because you are "folksy" and are "just one of you".
I want leaders, not "mavericks". Will McSame and Palin scoff, laugh and wink at Putin when the going gets rough? Do we really want to risk that? I certainly don't.
I think the American people have earned the right to see what Obama and Biden will do in the next four to eight years together. I see great healing ahead for America!
P.S. - GO JOE!!! Great job last night!! Sarah, not so much!
Obama/Biden '08....I know I'll be able to sleep the night of November 4th knowing I did the right thing.
Many of your points are valid and well taken. Palin was not a clear winner but you gloss over many of the mistakes and mis- statements made by Senator Biden. I believe that there were over 10 factual errors in his statements and rebutals. He needs to look into the Constitution and the legislative and executive branches. Also, I am hard pressed to see what significnat change that has been promised for so many months by the Obama/Biden ticket he articualted. He never addressed how he now wants to end the war, set a date, gradual withdrawl, white flag of surrender, go with the Generals' recommendation, etc. I am all for chnage but what I am not for is change just for the sake of change and no clear definition and focus on what this change is going to accomplish, it is called accountablility.
The last thing is I am constantly tired of being villianized for being successful. My first job was for $8,300/year and I now make over the magic $250K which immediately makes me a bad person. Why is it that I have to always give more money to an orginization (government) that can not manage any large undertaking successfully as I increase my productivity? It sounds vaguely like make more and give it to the government so it can mis manage it. Where does Obama/Biden explain what will happen with my new 39.5% tax?
Please......obviously if you lke the old way of politics, which really hasn't done much good lately, than its understandable why you'd like Biden. When it was just Obama and McCann, Obama was a fresh new change and McCann was old. After they picked there VP's those statements were turned towards the VP nominees, with now being old a good thing and limited experience a bad thing. Interesting. Face it she may to casual for some of you but when the job needs to get done she'll get it done. Besides if Obama wins, his lack of experience will be in the Presidential position. If you really had to choose which seat to have the least experience shouldn't it be the Vice? You may not like her mannerisms or her "folsky" ways. Oh well. I like her, she's casual and she gets the job done. I was going to vote for Obama, key word WAS. So gosh darn it, golly gee, folks....... and wait shucks. with the economy going to the toilet, i've read the flow of illegal immigrants has slowed, you can always increase that flow again,,,just the other way,
Palin said the word "maverick" at least five times last night.
Hi, Six Pack Joe here wans to commint I can't ford beer no more but that's OK since I got a DUI 20 years ago. I can't ford Gas. I can't ford to see a doktor and neether can my pregnant wife or 5 kids. I work from 5AM to 8PM 6 Days a week an on my way home the donot munching police are hiding behind a Bush waiting to arrest me for DUI even tho I can't ford beer no more and don't drink cause I got a DUI 20 years go an runnin me thorugh the system genrates you mony! Since I got no insunce the state government kidnapped my kids for not taking them in for a check up every six months even tho they did not need no medcal tention and the federal goverment sens dem mony to do this. Sinc joe Six-Pack ain't gonna get no helth insurance on his useless 5000 tax credit that means ya'll gotta keep on a rasin my kids cause I ain't go no insurnce and I wont be a getting no hep from yall. I think we need a man in that thare office whos gonna get me some insurnce and help me boys getta ejucation so are cuntry will be a lil betre off than it is right now an we dont need no bleecher qween telling us dem rich folks who make $10 an our are gonna get another free ride. Those thare url compnees alredy gots a lot a mony but we poor folks needs some insurnce an som skoolin two, Why dem folks think that haven my boys stand arond lookin at Irakees is gonna solve all are problms is gonna solv anything is beeond me. Yall give em a gun and thay ain't got no bullits in um till yall want somone shot. Heck yall give my boys sum bullets and let them shoot all dem Irakees and oter cuntries up an they can *** on home and help grow some corn and we can make are own gas and shine two. Now go hed and givum sum bullits and getter done yahere?
Republican viewers see what they want to see. So do the Democrat viewers. Nobody changed their mind about Gov. Palin or Sen. Biden because of this debate. She got her message out to her base: he did the same. Sen. Biden obviously knows more about the issues and about the facts. Gov. Palin obviously knows the facts don't really matter: it is the message and the way it is delivered that counts. I do think Gov. Palin gave the same answer to about half of the questions which was a bit confusing to Sen. Biden. It is hard to actually call this a debate. It was more like Sen. Biden tried to debate the questions while Gov. Palin gave a campaign speech which related to the subject matter generally but not specifically.
I find both Obama and Biden odious. They really are more of the same, including even the message of "change," which is unchanged from all the promise of change we've been fed as long back as I remember. Truly, the more it changes, the more it's the same thing!
Obama and Biden appeal to my conservative instincts. It can get worse.
An increasingly senile old man with a foot in the grave, who will probably be succeeded by a pretty woman skilled in demagoging the eyes of her hearers away from ignorance like an illusionist pulling rabbits out of a hat - hard to see how that answers anyone's need for some stability in troubled times.
Another point. Palin is cute. She is charming and clever. She delivers zingers with style. The effect is like a piece of candy that gives a tasty first impression with a growing unpleasant backtaste to follow. Who won a debate is not determined by its effect an hour or a day later, but five weeks later - on November 4.
I would gag having to vote for Obama and Biden, because I want to gag on what I've seen the last forty years. I'm glad that in California I need not go there. But I must say that I'm starting to hope Obama overcomes the vote fraud and unadmitted racism that skews the polls. 4 more years of heckuva job Katrina people has to be scary in times when outcomes will be felt upon our hides.
One of the comments here talked about how Palin is a "Washington outsider". If Gov. Palin is indeed a "Washington outsider", then why on several occasions did she respond to questions exactly as a "Washington insider" would by not answering the question? That's not being a "maverick" or a "straight talker". At one point, she stated (paraphrasing) she would not answer the question the way that the moderator or others expected. How is that any different that what politicians have done in the past? She tried to talk the talk, but didn't walk the walk in that respect. No "straight talk" when asked about certain issues, only deflection into another topic. We in America call that being a hypocrite.
I feel absolutely nauseous when listening to Palin. When "not" answering , again, the question of "what does the Vice -President do?" She let it out that she was looking forward to the President respecting her opinions, disagreeing with him & the Vice President having more power!!!! I am convinced that this woman will be slipping Mr McCain a few mickey's in his coffee & we would find him suddenly taken ill due to "job Stress" I can just see the headlines now..the woman is dangerous....She also reminds me of those Holiday Inn Express ads , you know the ones where the guy is performing brain surgery & his patient asks about his credentials & he says he has none but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express the night before, Sarah Palin must stay there too!
I am a Republican Conservative, and a woman. I am against abortion, same sex marriage, passing wealth in a socialist format, and I know the Republican Party is not the right choice for the country right now that we face all these domestic and international issues. If we do not get our most educated and experienced, we as a nation will be in trouble. She is not Abraham Lincoln, for he was educated, knowledgeable, and well spoken. All she knows how to do is say change enough times, maverick enough times and nothing else........God Help Us All....
So Palin didn't drool on herself or freeze, as she did in the Couric interviews (she had three days of intensive practice to assure us of that), and was once again allowed to have notes in front of her, so NOW she's ready to be the President? People think she BEAT Biden?
I guess eight years of such low levels of "success" has us tripping over ourselves to applaud mediocrity? It's really sad what's happened to this country.
Sarah Palin, as she says " Bless her heart" is simply trying her best to "walk the walk and talk the talk", but so is my 10month old and he isn't running to become the VP of the United States of America. My little guy can actually get his point across without even speaking clearly, Palin can do neither. She'd do a lot better if she'd slow down, added a period to her sentences, and actually answer a question or two "clearly". If she's not capable of doing that maybe we can have multiple choice questions from now on. I'd love to have a woman VP or president for that matter, but not this one. As one famous comedian once said "you can't fix stupid".
"Biden, keeping his cool, repeatedly pounded away on all three messages."
True, but bc of the pre-debate build up, no one was listening to what Biden said.
I had hoped Palin would add a little intelligence to the debate, but I was sadly disappointed. Biden cleaned the floor with her. Winking at the camera did not help at all. Cutesy is not what we need on Capitol Hill. She was not able to answer questions, so she avoided the issues altogether, then started reading her lines again. You have to "know something to say something" just like her boss, sticking to the old stuff that has gotten us in the mess we are in now. The "Old Guard" must sit down and let someone attempt to get us out of this mess.
Palin did better than I expected, but I still was not impressed. Her "down home" attitude was somewhat insulting to me -- I want someone that knows the facts and spout them like a professional. Dropping her "g's" is insulting to me as a woman. Additionally, she failed to stay on point and respond to the questions. I'm amazed that the moderator, Ifill, did not stop her and guide her back to the questions rather than just let her spout off on something totally out of context. Also, I got really tired of hearing about "hockey mom" and "maverick." Those were two overused words in my book! Not all of us are hockey moms, and we certainly know that McCain is NOT a maverick as he's voted with Bush a goodly portion of the time. No, I'm not a died-in-the-wool Democrat -- I've voted Republican in the past -- I tend to vote for the person I feel is the most competent, and in this case, a McCain-Palin package just doesn't inspire me -- it downright scares me! Of course, I'm not all that thrilled with Obama, but I just don't think we can handle another 4 years with a Republican -- how much more can Obama screw it up than it already is!
She didn't answer the questions asked! Biden looked knowledgable and presidential and that's important because so much of the VP's job is to interact with other nations. It dirves me crazy that this woman expects to be tied to the White House but doesn't know anything and will refuse interviews because of that.
PALIN's LIES:
Obama will raise the tax on lower-income families
Obama voted against the surge...when McCain did too!
She never defended McCain on anything Joe brought up.
I could list others but her voice is so grating I had to tune her out.
And Biden didn't "practice" his tears, I've seen old interviews with him and he always chokes up when talking about his late wife and infant daughter.
And I wasn't a Democrat until McCain picked Palin!
Anyone who thinks Sarah Palin did any better than mediocre is obviously deluded. I'm a Canadian, so I won't be voting and have no investment in either the Democrats or the Republicans. But I must say that the debate was entertaining. Palin didn't answer most of the questions at all - likely because she couldn't - and she made a lot of mistakes. I even rewound my TV a few times because I'm sure she said "nucular" instead of "nuclear" - a la George Bush. To have someone who communicates like she does as your VP would be an international embarassment. She comes across like a gun-totin' hick - not credible internationally. She carries a lot of the negative American stereotypes. (sorry.) And to think she's a heartbeat from the presidency...She makes Bush look good.
Joe Biden on the other hand blew me away. He was articulate, he knew the issues, and he addressed all of the questions. He was intelligent and personable. He was FAR superior last night. It wasn't even close. Not by a long shot. I could easily see Biden as president if needed. He was confident all the way.
Almost makes me wish I could vote. (almost! )
It is clear that Palin lost in substance. She should be glad she didn't make a fool out of herself like she did in those interviews. I guess the 3 days intensive preparation at least got her informed on some issues. However, she failed in three fronts:
1) she could not answer questions whose answers had not been provided to her
2) she could not defend, argue, or debate with Biden because she just doesn't have the knowledge/position
3) she didn't help McCain
If she were qualified as VP, almost anyone who could make a good speech would.
Snowy25 - Where do you get your laundry list of false and mis-information?
Directly from Rove? or is it FOX NEWS?
You may think you are some significant operative, but in reality,
you are just a pathetic pawn, one who will be swept into the dustbin
of history. FAREWELL.
Biden was a real gentleman on last night - he could have ripped Palin but he took it easy on her and decided to rip McCain by nullifying McCain's right to be called a maverick when it counts AND to advise Americans to make an educated choice in selecting the Obama/Biden ticket!
Palin was awful...this was a VP Debate NOT a high school debate...I have not seen more slang, eyes rolling, attitude and teeth sucking since I was a Teenager! And I'm apalled that this race is so close - America wake up and vote for real change!
Obama/Biden08
Butterfly Nana -
You stated: "She has more experience than all three of the others... I don't know how anyone can say that being a governor or mayor does not count! Give me a break! That is experience no matter how you cut it!"
She has MORE experience than all three other candidates? Wow. She has been in the political arena for a total of 10-12 years. She was the mayor of a town with 7000 people at the time. That's the size of some high schools in America. Yes, she was the governer of a state - their population is 640,000 at best.....it's like she was the Governor of El Paso.
Palin has to be kidding. You Betcha!! Hockey Moms. Say it ain't so Joe. Is this the best she has? Apparently she went to school before NCLB. Stick to hunting and leave the government to someone more qualified please. Shes just a question dodger. MCain and her are just full of the same old #$@$. I cannot believe that anyone takes her seriosly at this point. Maybe the people in the sunbelt are stupid enough to believe this idle garbage but we have had it with the middle class getting screwed by the Republicansand the corporate dirtbag elite for their own undeserved windfalls. It is time for a real change. VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well Fineman,
You certainly show who signs your check don't ya? She won alright. And I fail to see how Bidens answer stating he would continue Obama's policies if he were to pass. And yet Palin says she and McCain do disagree on things, what do you expect from 2 mavericks. Hmmm Biden admits he will support an Obama agenda regardless of how he feels about it. And Palin states teh opposite. How is this considered a loss again? If bowing to the party or doing what you feel is right, regardless are my choices come Nov. Sign me up for a McCain/Palin ticket right now.
I was really looking forward to hearing what Sarah Palin had to say. I really liked her convention speech and felt like she spoke to moms like me. After last night, I hate to say it, but I don't think I can vote for her. She seemed very nervous for the first half of the debate last night, and I didn't like that she never seemed to answer the questions she was asked, instead talking about the same things, that sounded really rehearsed. The killer for me though, was what she said about Dick Cheney being right about the power of the VP. I cannot stand to have another Cheney in the White House--look where that has gotten us! It is a blatant disregard for the Constitution, which Biden pointed out. He clearly knows a lot more than her about the Constitution, and foreign policy. And I didn't like that she lied and said Obama wants to raise taxes, when everyone knows he wants more taxes for rich people only--and that's fine by me!
While surprisingly Palin performed better than expected, given her interviews with Couric and Gibson, the only place she coud go was up. Her non-too-subtle attempts to play cutesy with the American public by way of the occasional wink and a few "you betchas" were amusing at first. But, when you couple that with her inability to refute Biden's position on McCain's healthcare plan, voting record, foreign policy, so-called maverick stance, etc., it made you wonder: While you might feel comfortable having Palin over for pie do you really want her in the position of potentially leading this country in the event something were to happen to McCain? We are already experiencing 8 years of one "cutesy" president and look where that got us.
JOE BIDEN’S 14 LIES TONIGHT
1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.
2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.
3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”
4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.
5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.
6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.
7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people's health insurance coverage -- they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false
8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska -- she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it's not a windfall profits tax.
9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.
10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation -- he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.
11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.
12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.
13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”
14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won't pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.
Palin did better than expected, but Biden won the debate on substance. Style on the other hand is in the eye of the beholder. To me Palin's "folk" persona wears thin after about 30 minutes, but to many I suspect she has a certain charm.
Both distorted certain things, Biden to gloss over his own disagreements with Obama and Palin either to discredit Obama or distance McCain from the last 8 years of Bush. No surprise there.
I suspect this will not change the dynamic of the race much, if at all. McCain needs the economic package to pass the house and then he needs a clear victory in at least one of the two debates to come. This seems unlikely, given the first debate topic was considered his strongest and his style is unlikely to improve to the point it will make a difference.
You can't win a debate if you don't answer the questions! Don’t' know how to answer the question? Just talk about something else. More arrogantly, tell us that you are not going to answer the question and are going to talk about whatever you feel comfortable with. This was supposed to be a debate, not a speech!
So far Gov. Palin you have not answered the questions in personal interviews, debates, or investigations. Sounds hauntingly familiar... like our current VP. The main difference (lipstick aside) is that he actually reads some news magazines and when pressed could probably identify them!
When Biden brought up Bush's record in office Palin's response was " Oh there you go again Joe bringing up the past, this election is about the future." Then she attacks Obama for wanting to raise taxes. How does she know Obama will raise taxes? Well Democrats always raise taxes don't they? So, apparently past actions by Democrats are a way to judge how a Democrat will behave as president but totally meaningless when asessing Republicans. Republicans only want to focus on the future these days. Odd behavior for the party that makes a fetish of traditional values. But then McCain and Palin are new style Republicans. New style Republicans are kind of like born again virgins, they have no past.
Palin Lost - because she stuck to scripted vague generalities - and I am a McCain supporter. Biden made a major, major error - he listed Dafur, Lebanon, Afganistan that he would invade or the US should have invaded. That admission, together with his vote to invade Iraq, shows he is a hawk.
On 9/12/01, I said the only thing worse than these attacks will be the US government going NUTS in its over-the-top response, throuwing money everywhere to show the Feds responded to an isolated incident. As long as the Arab world is having families of 5 + kids and low non-oil GDP (less than New Jersey) creating lots of poor Muslims, there will be a few radicals ready to commit genocide. The BHO/Biden response would have been the same in 2001 with the media forcing them into poorly reasoned action - just like the bailout vote today - a rush to take action from a Congress that has a 22% approval rating.
I have been watching debates like this one for a long time and can understand that all of the politicians twist and bend realities, but Biden claiming that Obama never said that he would meet with Ahmadinejan when he did so several times on network TV is the most blatentley dishonest pablum in quite a while. Either that, or Senator Biden lives in an alternate universe
apocalypsemeow,
Actually Biden failed horribly at choking up. They were rehearsing real tears for the last week.
It seems there are two kinds of people in the US. Those that can see through BS and those that cant. I see through the BS, and Palin is a caricature, not a real person. She personifies sound bites, rehearsed rhetoric and that god-awful consistent reference to Joe-six-pack and hockey moms. I don't want Joe or the hockey moms in the white house. I want someone who know what they are doing.
Palin is not it. Obama/Biden may not be the best candidates around, but in this case I'm voting for the lessor of two evils. A McCain/Palin Administration would absolutely ruin this country. We already have an arrogant idiot in power, we dont need more of this.
This title is rather deceiving. She "Scored" nary a point! Her performance, at best, was akin to a toddler's first-stage-show, where she was expected to trip and fall. None of that happened, the reason for the obvious perception. In the coming days, and after a revisit, the reality of her babbles will click in the mind of the voters. What a hug-wash of mambo-jumbo.
I agree, Gwen Ifil, the moderator, was the clear looser. She was bamboozled by the RNC into a sub-per performance. It was obvious that Palin never answered any of her questions, and there were no follow-ups. What an evasion. I believe Katie Curric would have put some stains in Palins under-pants.
Sarah crammed hard and it showed, bless her heart. Usually, my students don't score above a C when crammed answers appear. When they fail to answer the questions asked them, they fail. Why are so many journalists (e.g., Noonan, Lowery, Barnes) so generous in grading, especially when their credibility is all they have? I would certainly never want Sarah to defend me; she let solid body blow after blow to McCain go without counter blows because she didn't know his views and record well enough (granted, some were simply so obviously true, they were indefensible). I disagree with those journalists who say Sarah will no longer be subject to mockery by SNL. When you unilaterally change the debate rules you agreed to and slip into a psychotic cocoon of prepared answers to questions no one asked, it gets funnier every time it happens. Watch for SNL to make hilarity hay out of the debate this Saturday night.
Palin delivered a well memorized speech. It was painfully obvious that she couldn't add to the information given to her before the debate; therefore, she just ignored the questions put to her and kept repeating her lines. Whenever she did go off script, she spoke in that piegon English which makes her speak as if English were her second (or third) language. Again I have to say, her accent is more like Fargo, North Dakota. In all my years living in Alaska, I have never heard anyone speak as Palin does.
Could there be such an ailment as 'speech dyslexia'?
hardworkingamerican,
Well I'd suggest you first become a mayor, then a governor(with over a 90% approval rating), then you might have a shot. Or you could be a community organizer while amassing a bunch of racist or flat out crooked ties, join the senate for a couple of years (with a 9% approval rating) while voting for the Dem aganda 96% ( who passed the fewest laws in American HISTORY)of the time or voting present, and then run for PRESIDENT. Nevermind VP, your shooting too low.
If it's the empty suit your questioning, TAKE HOPE, CHANGE, AND MORE OF THE SAME OUT OF EVERY SPEECH AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE? OH YEAH, I'm Barack Obama, and I'm running for president. LOL
I felt Palin did all right considering who she was going up against. All I have heard all week was how Biden was going to rip her apart and she has no chance, they were wrong. I hear a different tone about her now. She got under Bidens skin a few times when she confronted him on how his opinion differed from Obama's. Now to be fair Biden won on supporting Obama more then Palin did to support McCain on some issues and both stretched the truth just as much as the other ( factcheck said it was pretty even when it came to taking cheap shots, so please save the he said she said crap, they were both guilty of that). I honestly thought she was going to get embarresed but she wasn't and Biden acted like a pro and kept his mouth in check and that surprised me too. Biden tore up Obama and Clinton in their debates so for a hockey mom to stand her ground against a great debater like Biden says a lot about her. Personally I think Obama is one of the sharpest guys out there bar none and he has good intentions, learns fast and has a lot of potential but I would be more comfortable with a Biden/ Obama ticket. I just don't think he is ready yet, his credentials are not that much better than Palins as far as experience goes ( a community organizer ? give me a break anybody that is part of a schools PTA organization can make that claim). I think if i had to pick a winner that would be Biden but only by a narrow margin and I tend to lean towards McCain so I am trying not to be biased( yeah I know good luck with that one huh). I do believe that Palin will have shifted some votes McCains way and set a lot of people at ease about her. I remember the Katie Couric interview and thought they were both ill prepared, Palins response vs Courics stupid questions, that whole interview was a waste of time. Oh and one more thing all those lame references to McCain, being another Bush is a bunch of BS and not even worth mentioning, I just do not see McCain as Bushes "Mini Me". Sorry if I offended anybody just trying to say whats on my mind, PEACE
This is in response to comment from user 'ara9557':
Palin did not make Biden cry. If you were paying attention to the conversation when he actually choked up a little, you will recall that he was talking about his son. He's a little worried about his son in the military...as all military parents worry and want their kids to be ok. He's only human, and so what? It shows he's sensitive. I'd rather have someone up there that has passion and direction and shows his heart then some gussied-up robot that can only regurgitate what has been force-fed to her. At least he answered the questions posed to him. He didn't try to dodge them. I thought he was very gracious and kind to her, choosing to smile politely when you knew exactly what he was thinking. I find Palin absolutely nauseating. She can't be some hardcore 'Barracuda' if they were afraid that she might be bullied last night. I'm a woman, and I can tell you that Sarah Palin does not represent me. I cannot relate to her in any way. I don't buy it when she calls her family middle class, either. She doesn't know about the real struggles of the American people. I muted my tv last night and realized that when I can't hear her, she looks like a great package. Too bad she'll need to talk in real life. And if bloated McSame keels over in office, I shudder to think that she would be leading the country. God help us all.
Gwen Ifill wanted so badly to hang with the popular girl that she did not dare ask Palin about Roe V. Wade. nor did she stop the brunette bimbo from going off on tangents and refusing to answer the question....but she did make sure to shake Palin's hand (which must have been such a thrill!) and giggle"See it wasn't so hard was it?" Gwen, popularity is like so lonely.
I felt like I was watching a highs school debate for Class President. Smart Joe Biden, the kid with all the answers has a real solid plan on how to improve the school, while popular Sarah promises soda machines and shorter days and sunshine and unicorns for all.
absolutely a disgusting mockery. oh and I'm sorry, but I thought people actually answered questions in debates...gee I am such a dummy.
In one of the comments that I read, the writer said that we now know that Palin can field dress a moose. Well if you're referring to Biden as a moose, you're right! As for who won, it was a draw. But I do admire Palin's strength and determination. She has the ability to connect with middle America on a real life level. The media is referring to Mrs. Palin as being "folksy". The definition of that word is to belong to the common people; to be friendly or neighborly. Sarah Palin is doing just that, connecting with real people. She did falter a couple times, but she's human, not a robot. Mr. Biden is an Obama puppet. Prior to being asked to run on the Dem ticket, he clearly stated his lack of confidence in Mr. Obama's abilities as a leader for this nation. In last night's debate, Mr. Biden stood his ground and is quite obviously intelligent, But he too made mistakes. But the mistakes don't concern me the way that his attitude does. At times he laughed at Mrs. Palin, not just a smile, a chuckle. He came off as rude, disrespectful, and unprofessional. While these attributes won't entirely impede his ability to fill the office of vice president, they do affect his ability to connect with the people of this nation. We need a vice president who can interact with Americans and understand the issues that concern us. Someone who knows about family budgets, medical bills, saving for their children's future and dealing with everyday issues that affect middle America. The Palin's are not wealthy, nor is Sarah one of the Washington good ol' boys (girls). I believe that she will be a positive influence for Mr. McCain and the people of the nation. I also believe that when Barack Obama says he wants change he too means it. He has some great ideas and good points. But he lacks the experience and focus to carry out the tasks. Perhaps in the future he would be better prepared to run a nation. His choice of Biden as a running mate greatly concerns me. If Americans choose Obama/Biden and if, God forbid, anything were to ever happen to Mr. Obama and Joe Biden became president, our nation would endure a great downfall of epic proportion. Either way, whether we choose Obama or McCain, our nation will have rewritten history. We will either have an African American president or a woman VP. And either way, God's will shall be done. My prayers go with all of the contenders in this race.
I am amazed at how media paints pictures and then thinks that is how the public all thinks! My expectations were very high going into this debate and I was not disappointed at all! Palin did exactly what I thought she would do... and that was hit a home run...made the winning touchdown...or scored in what ever sport you wish to relate this debate. She called him on looking at the last eight years...my take...if you are going to look at McCain for the last eight years then you need to look at Obama and where he has been the last 20 years...and the people he has hung out with are far more frightening than the past eight years of the Bush Administration (and let's just set the record straight...the problems we have had the past eight years began in the previous administration...A DEMOCRATIC ADMINISTRATION! If the past eight years are influencing McCain...then the anti American pastor of 20 YEARS is influencing Obama!!!!!
The Dems are just scared spitless because we finally have a REAL person who is from the rural middle class that is looking us in the eye and saying ... "No, I am not part of the good ole boy club... I don't know everything there is to know and quite frankly... that is what makes me the a better candidate"
She has more experience than all three of the others... I don't know how anyone can say that being a governor or mayor does not count! Give me a break! That is experience no matter how you cut it!
Get real America... Obama is full of hot air but he doesn't have the record that gives me confidence to vote for him. And NO I AM NOT a GOP.... I am an Independent. McCain's history including his time in the POW camp that convince me he is the man for this election!
You know the funny thing is that I think Palin would make a great president.
If she were to be president, I believe, change would really happen and we would head a right direction. Unfortunately, that is not the case. She is running for Vice-president, and for that position she truly does not qualify. Her position right now is to stand pretty and relate to folks..... As vice-president she has nothing to offer to the country, because it will be McKain who runs the show. McKains policies, unfortunately, are very similar to that of Bush administration. Even if Palin does stand-up for the middle-class and against corruption in the government and Wall St. it is McKain who is calling the shots. As Bidin said last night, the responsibility of the vice-president is to advice the president. I fear that Palin will not be taken serious at the White House with the number 2 position, just like Bidin didn’t take her serious at the debate last night.
It's obvious most who post here are expressing views that were already formed before the debate even took place. I would not vote for a Republican for dog-catcher this year after 8 years of a "Perfect Storm" Republican administration. But I was prepared to give Sarah credit where it was due. I did not have the notion she would fall on her face in the debate. I've seen enough of her to know she's got an engaging smile and makes a real pitch to the men who are watching her. She's also a quick study. But come on, Palin-pals, didn't you notice that every time Biden replied to her attacks on Obama that she simply ignored the points he made about McCain and gave her smiling recital of rehearsed talking points? She simply ignored what she had no answers for, and there seemed to be many moments like that. She made so many obvious plays for support, but with most of them, they fell flat unless the watcher was already a committed fan or hers.
I don't hate Sarah, but I wish she'd spend more time with her family instead of reaching for a status she frankly doesn't deserve. I don't want just a folksy Mom running the country. I want the best and the brightest to be in charge of our federal government, and that could be a man or woman, white or black or brown or yellow. Sarah, though appealing, does not appeal to my sense of reason. I do not think she proved she was capable during this debate. Smiles and winks and talking points do not win my vote. McCain and Palin will just continue the failed economic policies of the Bush administration, and I think most working Americans are just sick and tired of being "trickled" on. Look at the mess we have right now, both in domestic and foreign policy.
HardWorkingAmerican - You are living proof of the effectiveness
of blind, ideological brain-washing. Good luck with that.
History and enlightnened America are finally leaving you behind.
One of the responsibilities of the VP is executive oversight ot NASA. With all of its troubles, can you imagine Palin investigating NASA contracts and space flight schedules? As an engineer, I have always relied on VP visits and Biden is one who I would trust in our facilities.
There were two things I didn't get from the debate. Like others, I wanted to hear about how one candidates views and ideas would bring about the kind of change this country needs right now. I got more of an answer from Sen. Biden than I did Gov. Palin as far as which party could bring about the type of change this country needs.
When it came down to it, I didn't get any message from Palin that a McCain Presidency would be any different from the Bush administrations policies.
Second, in the debate, I was looking for which candidate talked and came across as more Vice Presidential. In that respect, Biden took the lead and never looked back. The "down home, folksy" talk is alright to appeal to voters. But at the end of the day, when discussing policy with other US or foreign leaders, that "folksy" talk just doesn't cut it. This is a time that this country is facing a myriad of serious problems, which require serious answers. The down home spin did nothing to address these concerns.
Switching to the credit crunch issue, if I'm hearing correctly, the Republicans want to give tax breaks to large corporations and are also looking to come up with an insurance to assist home owners. But if I'm hearing the economists correctly, its those corporations (banks, mortgage lenders, etc) that got us into this mess to begin with. If I'm understanding the Republican plan correctly, they want these corporations to "bail us out" of this mess. I have no problem with that concept. The problem I have is that the Republicans continue to believe that the "corporate world" can get us out of this financial situation without the proper oversight. Yet it was lack of oversight that created the atmosphere that got our country into the mess it finds itself now.
If a doctor performed surgery on you that was done wrong, would you continue to go to that doctor to correct the issue? Or would you look for another doctor who could correct the surgery? By putting the money back into the hands of the corporations, we are telling them that it's ok that their lack of being able to regulate themselves is alright, and oh, by the way, we're gonna give you more of an opportunity do continue to do the same thing.
This credit crisis has proven that corporations are unwilling to control their power. If they are unwilling or unable to control that, who will? Do we as Americans simply sit by and watch while the rich get richer while the middle class and poor get poorer? I'm not looking for our government to be the answer to all our problems. Nor do I want to see our government get bogged down in socialistic programs. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes, government needs to step in, especially when the corporate world oversteps it bounds (which it has). This is just another example of trying the same policies but expecting a different result. Not going to happen folks.
At the end of the night, this debate only re-affirmed my commitment to help elect Senator Obama into the Presidency. Neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin have convinced me that their ideas will bring about the kind of change that will move this country forward. So who won? If your talking about what the media and both parties wanted us to get from it, then it was a draw. But if you were looking for real substance in a candidate, Biden came through better than Palin.
There was one question that really brought this home. When both candidates were asked about what they would do should (heaven forbid) either candidate found themselves thrust into the Presidency, Biden came across at that point as VERY presidential. Palin's answer, while ok, just didn't have that Presidential sound, look or feel to it. It was that question that made me determine that Palin, while good, is simply not good enough for the office of Vice President.
I've read a lot of these comments, because I was curious if other people's impressions matched my own. I am not overly knowledgable about politics, but I have tried to follow this campaign fairly closely. For the person who posted the comment about non policitcal junkies and their impressions, speaking as at least one non political junkie I can say that I was not overly impressed with Governer Palin. She carried herself well, but that seems to me to be a matter of style over substance. I was annoyed by the winking, because I felt it was unnecessary and almost patronizing...as if 'regular' Americans care more about the way something is delivered than what is actually delivered; I was offended by her refusal to answer some of the questions that were posed to her. She didn't just start to answer the questions and then turn the conversation to other matters. She flat out refused to answer what was asked, and then pawned it off by saying she was going to talk about what Americans what to hear, not what the moderator wanted to hear. What I wanted to hear w
