Was THAT A Vice Presidential ‘Debate’?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Palin came out swinging.  I have to give her credit for fighting for her party – she held her own.  But Palin didn’t debate, she came with talking points and we were going to hear them whether or not we asked her about them.  Forget the rules; she was going to get out her talking points come hell or high water!  Palin asked herself her own questions and answered her own questions – especially about energy, energy, energy, amazing!

 I believe that Palin had a personal victory since she did not implode and she did better that she has been for the past 3 weeks.  However, Biden won the debate because he spoke about polices, specifics and answered questions voters wanted to hear.

Palin’s entire performance was rhetorical and abstract and metaphoric – she had no specifics.  She never said what the policies of a McCain presidency would be nor did she say how McCain’s presidency would differ from Bush’s – not on the economy, on Iraq, on Afghanistan or on Foreign Policy – her responses were all abstract, not literal and figurative. Based on substance she didn’t help the McCain campaign and it was ‘embarrassing’ that she didn’t know McCain’s record therefore she contradicted McCain on things like his same sex marriage policy.

Palin was folksy, energetic, cartoony, gimmicky and seemed to be ‘playing the role of a character’ as if she was in a play or movie.  She didn’t listen to questions; she just answered her own questions based on her talking points.

 What was of particular interest was when Palin said she would expand the role of the Vice Presidency by changing the constitution so that the vice president would have more legislative power – very curious indeed. Hmmm.

But is it still a debate if Palin didn’t answer the questions or follow the rules of debating?

P.S. I think Gwen Ifill did a great job. 

  

 

 

 

Obama/Biden 08!

 

Thurs., Oct 2 – McPalin Pulling Out Of Michigan

 Republican presidential nominee John McCain is pulling his resources out of Michigan in the midst of polls showing Obama building on his lead there.

McCain’s campaign manager Rick Davis called former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to tell him of the decision just before Romney got on a conference call with reporters today. Romney, who grew up in Oakland County, was holding the call with McCain strategist Doug Holtz-Eakin to raise claims that Obama’s policies are no good for Michigan’s struggling economy.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Romney, confirmed the call took place but wouldn’t discuss the details. “They need to do whatever they think puts them in a position to win in November,” Fehrnstrom said.

A state Republican Party source had already told the Free Press that McCain was pulling out of the race in the state and moving workers to Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida — the latter two being states won by President George W. Bush in 2004 that the Republican needs to hold onto if he’s going to win the White House.

Recent polls have shown Obama increasing his lead in Michigan into double digits. A Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan poll showed Obama with a 13-point lead last week, and today a poll by Public Policy Polling showed Obama leading McCain 51-41 in the state. Meanwhile, McCain’s earlier margins in Florida and Ohio were slipping.

Florida, in particular, is seen as key to a Republican victory, and a CNN/Time poll showed Obama leading there with a slim 51-47 lead this week.

According to the source, the Republican National Committee — which is the source of money for many of the 100 or so people working on behalf of the McCain campaign in Michigan — called state GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis this afternoon and told him the campaign would be moving workers out of the state and ceasing to buy local airtime in the state for ads.

No reason for the move was given. The McCain campaign’s Michigan spokeswoman, Sarah Lenti, wouldn’t immediately comment.