My Thoughts on the Vice Presidential Debate
My thoughts on the debate just after it’s conclusion, this could change after I have had more thought on it.
I thought that for the most part neither candidate made a major mistake, but Sarah Palin made the biggest one which I will get into later. In my opinion she made two mistakes, one might be considered minor but one more important. Biden had one point that I have a major problem with and I will also get to that later.
For the most part Sarah Palin came off as an everyday person, she speaks as though she is one of us and that is refreshing. Joe Biden also seemed more down to earth than Obama does.
I thought that there was no runaway winner here,(which means Palin performed well considering her opponents experience debating), neither candidate did anything to take votes away from the other. Considering that Palin is new on the national scene I thought that she performed as well as can be expected, and she may have appealed to undecided voters. Joe Biden’s tactic was to not put his foot in his mouth and to promote Barack Obama while bashing Bush. He succeeded at both.
Joe Biden did call one of John McCain’s policies the real bridge to nowhere. I forget which issue it was, I apologise, I think it was on the economy. The issue drew laughter from the crowd and seemed well received.
Sarah Palin did nail Biden on his comment that paying taxes was patriotic as well as his comment that he would be honored to be John McCain’s running mate. She also brought up Biden’s comment that Barack Obama wasn’t qualified to be president, this must have struck a nerve as Biden came back to that comment in his closing statement.
She called Barack Obama’s plan for Iraq a “white flag of surrender”, a great line. She also brought up Obama’scomment about American troops air raiding villages and killing civilians in Afghanistan. But on foreign policy is where I thought her minor slip up came. While talking about the Iraq war she mentioned that General Petraeus and “the leader of al qaeda” both agreed that Iraq is the central front on the war on terror. The reason I thought this was a mistake is because it appeared as though she didn’t know the name of the leader who made that comment. In fact both Bin Laden and Aymen al Zawahiri made that comment. It seemed that she stumbled just a little here.
Biden also made two mistakes in my opinion. The first was probably minor. He admitted that when it came to the oil companies he wanted to do what Sarah Palin had actually accomplished in Alaska. An admission that Joe Biden talks, but Palin walks. The other slip up that he had, and I think it is major but you probably won’t even read this anywhere else was while talking about the Iraq war. He was talking about the “Bush doctrine” and he said that instead of preemptive action against a hostile nation he was in favor of cooperation. In favor of cooperating with an enemy? This was a gaffe in my opinion and it would be an issue but won’t be mentioned.
Sarah Palin’s big mistake in my opinion was when she was asked about the role of the vice president. To me she stumbled through this issue when she said the constitution provided flexibility in the role of the vice president. Joe Biden perfectly laid out the role of vice president as the president of the congress to cast the deciding vote in event of a tie. I don’t think that the media is going to pick up on the mistakes that I thought both candidates made, so no harm, no foul.
All in all I thought that Sarah Palin did very well over all, and I thought that Joe Biden performed well also. Because of Palin’s being thrust into this role and not having any experience debating a career politician I am going to give the victory to Palin. She was unfazed and appeared comfortable. I believe that she connected well with the Average American and seemed more like an everyday person. This debate was much better than the McCain/Obama snooze fest of last week.
I am writing this post as I read my notes from the debate while listening to post debate coverage so I apologise if this post comes off as disjointed and not so free flowing.
America's Watchtower 
I have a couple of questions:
What person, even if their name is Joe and they drink beer, actually would hear someone refer to “Joe Six-pack” and say — “Hey! They’re talkin’ bout me!”
Answer: no one.
What seemed more genuine, more straightforward “straight talk”, Palin’s constant wide-eyed stare into the camera, winks, and ‘gosh-darnits’ or Joe Biden getting understandably choked up *once* when he talked about really understanding what it means to move because there’s no work and understanding what it means to be a single parent or to lose a loved one?
Answer: Biden.
What was the most shameful moment of the debate?
Answer: When Sarah Palin looked a man in the eye whose grown son is headed to Iraq and accused him of “waving the white flag of surrender.” As a Mom, I wanted to reach through the TV and shake her. That she could talk about such a thing with that smile and turn a serious issue into a one-liner made me finally understand that she does not take the life-and-death issues of Iraq seriously. They are just another election-year “applause line” for her. A more shameful sound-bite was not uttered during the debate.
I think Joe Biden was informative and respectful throughout the debate. He had a good command of facts. He was firm without taking any cheap shots. He was genial.
I thought Sarah Palin was a beauty contestant. I thought she was auditioning for a television job instead of the Vice Presidency. She showed confidence and composure (no implosion, thank goodness for her), but her bright, smiling demeanor showed that she took joy in discussing some of the most serious issues of the day. She lacked gravity and a strong knowledge base. And she avoided answering a good number of questions.
IMO the only people Sarah Palin convinced last night were John McCain supporters who were starting to quail (wondering, understandably, why their candidate hadn’t chosen Romney instead.)
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Midwest Mom….
Did you see the pin above the American flag on Palin’s lapel? Would you recognize a Gold Star Mother if you ran one down in the street. Gov. Palin’s son is in Iraq and has been for over a month. She does take the life-and-death issues of Iraq seriously.
As a veteran and a former Gold Star father, I wanted to reach thru these comments and “shake” you for an ignorant Democrat that doesn’t know your facts. Tell me, do you have a son or daughter in a combat zone? If not, sit down and think how ignorant you are of the pride a parent can feel that their children are risking their lives to serve in our military, and at the same time feel the fear of the possible harm to that child.
If you do have an offspring in the military serving in a combat zone, remember that they took the oath willingly, and in if full knowledge of the ramifications.
Maybe Biden’s momentary choke was because he has never served in the military and does not know the personal feelings of those serving.
Midwest Mom, try to understand the world beyond your door.
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Yup, and democrats should know a thing or two about avoiding answering questions. I am trying my hardest not to believe that comments against Sarah Palin are not sexist, but it is becoming more difficult. Maybe people cannot handle someone being genuine and not talking like a typical smooth operator polititian. What I cannot understand is why would anyone want to have universal healthcare? Has it worked well for the UK and Canada? No. Where do people go when they need and organ transplant or a woman wants to do IVF? The good old USA. God bless America.
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Mustang beat me to my point. Sarah Palin’s son is also headed to Iraq. I think she understands life and death. If I were Palin and my son was in Iraq I would want to reach through the television and strangle the bastards that tell us that the troops are murderers, that the troops can’t win, and put them down every chance that they get.
And yes if a politician voted to cut off funding for the troops and waved the white flag of surrender while endagering my son even more, you are fucking right I would be pissed.
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