Post Your VP Debate Comments Here

shishkab

actually, i think i only saw her wink 4 times, but even a single wink was offensive. feh.

sweet tea

i can't believe she said that thing about biden's wife getting her reward in heaven.

but mamacita, to give her a teensy bit of credit, i think she did mean talabani.

jaha127

so who do we think won?

sage dog

Subject: VP debate

I thought Sarah Palin kicked ass. And I also thought that she and Joe Biden looked like they could go get a beer together and chill out.

cccc

Palin didn't answer half the questions directly. Biden had his facts downs and was able to counter everything she tried to throw at him. I thought he did a much better job.

I agree that is was a "friendly" debate. This was because they attacked the Presidential candidates not each other. Also, I thought Biden did not want to seem like he was talking down to her.

whynot_31

whenever she didn't know an answer, she talked about energy in Alaska.

People really want to be able to get our oil domestically, so as a strategy, this wasn't bad.

...smart people are likely able to see that she didn't answer a lot of questions, but I don't think they are going to vote for her anyway. Some more hockey moms may have fallen for it though...

jay b

The only reason this wasn't a repeat of the Couric interview was because she had an opponent. When asked a question, she could simply neglect to answer it and then turn and start attacking her opponent over something stupid. This happened throughout the debate. With Couric she had no choice but to answer and we all saw how that worked out.

Why are the people on NBC talking like she did well? I thought this interview was like a high school debate team with Biden as the coach and Palin as the freshman with a cocky attiude and ZERO knowledge or sense.

cccc

Not only that, the moderator, for better or worse, did not push her to answer the specific questions. This is probably because she has publicly supported Obama in the past and did not want to appear to be biased.

Unfortunately, Whynot is probably right. A lot of people in this country (including some of my relatives) love her personality, energy, and “spunk”. I personally think she is extremely pretentious and in way over her head. Hopefully, wisdom will win in the end.

boygabriel

Em26 wrote: I like how Biden hoed out the "maverick". =D> =D> =D>

Indeed he did. He directly responded to a number of her talking points. It was excellent.

I thought Biden did awesome. He's not going to sway any hardcore Republicans, but he was clearly more knowledgeable, he actually answered far more of the questions, and he repeatedly attacked Bush (and McCain's direct similarities to him).

Palin did exactly what I expected her to do: not look as stupid and incompetent as she did with Couric. Palin successfully repeated McCain talking points without getting into any detail, and she deflected questions she didn't have an answer for.

As a guy on PBS said, Palin did fine, but McCain is losing this election right now so he needs more than 'ok' performances.

boygabriel

cccc wrote: Unfortunately, Whynot is probably right. A lot of people in this country (including some of my relatives) love her personality, energy, and “spunk”. I personally think she is extremely pretentious and in way over her head.

You are exactly right. What will never make sense to me is why these are important traits in the leader of the entire country. If I like a candidate's personality that's good, but what's of the utmost importance is their competence for office.

People loved GWB's personality and look where his presidency got us. I don't want 'fun/nice' people running the country, I want wonky smart people. I don't care if Palin is a 'sincere' soccer mom. I don't want a soccer mom as VP.

daver

Mamacita wrote: TALABANI!!!!


It's fuckin Talaban you FUCKING BITCH!!!!

Um.

So is it that you think the Taliban are working with us, or is it that you don't know who the president of Iraq has been for the last three and half years?

Palin wrote: We'll know when we're finished in Iraq when the Iraqi government can govern its people and when the Iraqi security forces can secure its people. And our commanders on the ground will tell us when those conditions have been met. And Maliki and Talabani also in working with us are knowing again that we are getting closer and closer to that point, that victory that's within sight.

And why you gotsta call people "FUCKING BITCH"? That's not very nice.

whyfi

It infuriates me to no end that everyone, Dems included, seems to be content being nice and playing slow pitch with Palin, someone that has a very real chance of being the President. I was just waiting for Biden to go at her, but it never happened. I dunno, it may be part of their (Obama/Biden) strategy - maybe they think that net results will be better if avoid the backlash of being 'mean,' but this farce has gone too far, and someone needs to call a spade a spade.

daver

Boygabriel wrote: You are exactly right. What will never make sense to me is why these are important traits in the leader of the entire country. If I like a candidate's personality that's good, but what's of the utmost importance is their competence for office.

I suppose that becomes a question of what you measure _competence_ by for yer utmost importance. Offhand, I would question less than a single term in the US Senate being the sum totally of high level experience. FWIW.

Boygabriel wrote: People loved GWB's personality and look where his presidency got us. I don't want 'fun/nice' people running the country, I want wonky smart people. I don't care if Palin is a 'sincere' soccer mom. I don't want a soccer mom as VP.

Yah, soccer moms should stay in the kitchen! Barefoot!

I don't think W got "elected" due to his fabulous fun/nice personality... And the pitbull with lipstick? Please. Fun/nice? I must have missed that newscast.

daver

WhyFi wrote: It infuriates me to no end that everyone, Dems included, seems to be content being nice and playing slow pitch with Palin, someone that has a very real chance of being the President. I was just waiting for Biden to go at her, but it never happened. I dunno, it may be part of their (Obama/Biden) strategy - maybe they think that net results will be better if avoid the backlash of being 'mean,' but this farce has gone too far, and someone needs to call a spade a spade.

Well, no one wants to turn this into a race thing...

But seriously. You've one guy with what, two solid years and one and change half assed ones with experience in the big leagues, and one gal with just under two years experience in the other big league. I'm not sure it is in either camp's best interest to open that door.

daver

cccc wrote: Not only that, the moderator, for better or worse, did not push her to answer the specific questions. This is probably because she has publicly supported Obama in the past and did not want to appear to be biased.

What are some of the questions she failed to answer?

And, did you feel that the moderator pushed Biden to answer the specific questions more so than she did Palin?

daver

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: [quote=jaha127][quote=Anastasia Beaverhausen]Oh look! She's whoring out her family again!

right? do her kids go to school ever?!
No, they're too busy underage drinking and getting knocked up.
Wow, _more_ niceness. I can only assume that you are talking about the pics that allegedly showed Bristol drinking, _all_ of which have been proven not to be Bristol. For what it is worth.

I think it undermines real opposition to Palin (which I support) to engage in these untrue cheap shots.

FWIW.

daver

jaha127 wrote: and what extra powers will we give her as a VP?

I was going to vote for the power of flight, but since she sold Alaska's private jet on Ebay, I guess that is out...

alafairnadia

I found the whole debate pretty "special".

Palin failed to address anything that didn't involve Alaska. And she doesn't quite comprehend English.

Biden was incapable of truly nailing her on ... anything. Totally confusing.

I have to say I'm not so sure I really want either of them in the VP seat.

anastasia beaverhausen

daver wrote:
Wow, _more_ niceness. I can only assume that you are talking about the pics that allegedly showed Bristol drinking, _all_ of which have been proven not to be Bristol. For what it is worth.

I think it undermines real opposition to Palin (which I support) to engage in these untrue cheap shots.

FWIW.

Sorry I don't live up to your expectations, daver. I'm a base creature. I'd be ashamed if I actually cared enough to.

daver

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: [quote=daver]
Wow, _more_ niceness. I can only assume that you are talking about the pics that allegedly showed Bristol drinking, _all_ of which have been proven not to be Bristol. For what it is worth.

I think it undermines real opposition to Palin (which I support) to engage in these untrue cheap shots.

FWIW.

Sorry I don't live up to your expectations, daver. I'm a base creature. I'd be ashamed if I actually cared enough to.
OK. I admit it. Bristol is a lush. And a ho. And her mama needs to be spanked. By Boy Gabriel. Twice on Tuesdays.





If only...


And the soccer moms?

sweet tea

daver: by my count/memory, she didn't answer the question about health care deregulation nor the one about her "achilles heel". there may have been others.

i don't recall an actual answer to the question about whether a destabilized pakistan or a nuCLEAR (my god, people) iran would be worse, but i may just be thinking that because some in our bingo game were pretty pissed that she got through that whole bit without ever saying "pakistan".

i still can't believe she said that chipper, gratuitous thing about biden's wife getting her reward for being a teacher in heaven. i really am floored by that. from a social perspective, it seems callous, and from a strategic perspective, it seems really stupid to give your opponent an opportunity to bring up one of the big things that makes him a sympathetic character, a real person instead of one of those creeps from DC.

ps, and i know this is old news, but exactly what party do mccain/palin think has been in charge for the past 8 years? the socialist workers alliance? ultimately, i think they're asking the voting public to be just a little more dumb than i find wise. given how popular bush has (at times) been, i think they'd be wiser to fish or cut bait -- either ally themselves to him and hope there's some residual love out there, or distance themselves for real. this business is like that bit from on golden pond about having one foot on the dock and one foot on a drifting boat: "what do you usually do in this situation?" "i usually fall in."

sweet tea

re: biden

i was actually very impressed. i thought he did a good job not displaying shock that might read as condescension, though that signature smile of his is pretty wild. i liked that he asked ifill for extra time to respond but never seemed to get generally upset.

i thought he was great about demanding to point out when palin was eliding tricky bits about mccain's record, though in light of recent events, a "keating five" mention might have been fun.

i especially liked his command of vote details -- when he'd count how many times mccain had voted for something palin had just proclaimed his opposition to, when he'd point out that a vote she'd criticized from obama was the same one mccain had made. i do think his explanation of votes that were rolled in with other votes vs votes on separate issues was a bit wonkish...but then, i think all these rolled together votes tend to suck eggs anyway.

daver

sweet tea wrote: i especially liked his command of vote details -- when he'd count how many times mccain had voted for something palin had just proclaimed his opposition to, when he'd point out that a vote she'd criticized from obama was the same one mccain had made. i do think his explanation of votes that were rolled in with other votes vs votes on separate issues was a bit wonkish...but then, i think all these rolled together votes tend to suck eggs anyway.

Unfortunately, he made some of that up...

Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.

Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn't address taxes at that income level.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/factchecking_biden-palin_debate.html

Thanks for the specific questions re: Palin non-answers, BTW!

anastasia beaverhausen

daver wrote:

OK. I admit it. Bristol is a lush. And a ho. And her mama needs to be spanked. By Boy Gabriel. Twice on Tuesdays.

YAY! So...you wanna make out now?

sweet tea

hmmm. oops.

not sure i love that, but between you, me, and the internet, it's not likely to change my vote.

daver

sweet tea wrote: hmmm. oops.

not sure i love that, but between you, me, and the internet, it's not likely to change my vote.

And- it made good soundbite! Fer shure!

daver

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: [quote=daver]OK. I admit it. Bristol is a lush. And a ho. And her mama needs to be spanked. By Boy Gabriel. Twice on Tuesdays.

YAY! So...you wanna make out now?
With Bristol?

Or Sarah?

Do I get hazard pay?

anastasia beaverhausen

daver wrote: [quote=Anastasia Beaverhausen][quote=daver]OK. I admit it. Bristol is a lush. And a ho. And her mama needs to be spanked. By Boy Gabriel. Twice on Tuesdays.

YAY! So...you wanna make out now?
With Bristol?

Or Sarah?

Do I get hazard pay?

I meant Levi, but hell, Piper will be of age soon enough.

sweet tea

daver wrote: [quote=sweet tea]i especially liked his command of vote details -- when he'd count how many times mccain had voted for something palin had just proclaimed his opposition to, when he'd point out that a vote she'd criticized from obama was the same one mccain had made. i do think his explanation of votes that were rolled in with other votes vs votes on separate issues was a bit wonkish...but then, i think all these rolled together votes tend to suck eggs anyway.

Unfortunately, he made some of that up...

Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.

to be fair, the same site says this further down:

factcheck.org wrote: [McCain] was absent and didn’t vote at all. McCain did oppose the bill, and he urged President Bush to veto it. Bush did.

that site is great, btw, and i always forget about it. for those who haven't read it: it's hardly only about biden's inaccuracies (or whatever). palin had her fair share, too.

in light of its explanation of what biden was referring to when he talked about mccain's plans to deregulate health insurance, i find it frankly bizarre that palin dodged that question -- their position is pretty defensible. did she panic? weird.

daver

sweet tea wrote: to be fair, the same site says this further down:

[quote=factcheck.org][McCain] was absent and didn’t vote at all. McCain did oppose the bill, and he urged President Bush to veto it. Bush did.

Well, yah, and then it gets MORE complicated from there...

sweet tea wrote: that site is great, btw, and i always forget about it. for those who haven't read it: it's hardly only about biden's inaccuracies (or whatever). palin had her fair share, too.

Totally, I would say possibly _more_ than her fair share...

sweet tea wrote: in light of its explanation of what biden was referring to when he talked about mccain's plans to deregulate health insurance, i find it frankly bizarre that palin dodged that question -- their position is pretty defensible. did she panic? weird.

Er, I'm not sure I would term that a dodge. They were talking about an entirely different topic when Biden interjected the health care deregulation comment. They were talking about the sub-prime meltdown, and Biden threw a) Obama warned everyone two years ago, b) John McCain wants to deregulate health care, like he did for banking, and c) the middle class needs tax relief. After Palin had spoken directly on sub-prime. She chose to go after the tax comments and economy rather than shifting to health care at that time. *shrug* If anyone was dodging questions there, I would say that it was Biden for sure, he never answered at all, he just shifted around and threw a bunch of stuff out.