As a former debater in high school and college, I'm somewhat offended that the political events known as "Presidential or Vice-Presidential Debates" are even classified as debates. But, that's just a personal prejudice against the "debate" process that now exists.
Tonight, while watching the "debate" between Senator Biden and Governor Palin, there were moments which can be only classified as surreal. Now, it's common for politicians not to answer the exact question that is asked in almost any context. However, Mrs. Palin took a road seldom traveled down in a national "debate". She not only failed to answer the questions she was asked, she even stated in a gloating fashion that "I may not answer the questions the way you (Biden) or the moderator wants me to. I'm talkin' straight to the American people."
This might appeal to the "Joe Sixpacks" or some of the right wing fanatics as a form of dissing the press but I felt that I was listening to a woman who had a strict agenda from which she was not going to stray. That agenda was: I am going to give answers that can be used as sound bites which are in lockstep agreement with the McCain campaign.
Senator Biden, on the other hand, managed to answer most of the moderator's questions except when he had to respond to one of the many false characterizations (or lies) spoken by Mrs. Palin.
I have previously written in another blog about the propensity of McCain and Palin to lie about everything. That methodology was followed again by the Alaskan governor. She continued her lies that Senator Obama plans to raise taxes. But, more importantly, she kept insisting that the all-time "King of De-Regulation", Senator McCain, was now going to fight all those terrible Wall Street robber barons and predatory lenders. Of course, she failed to mention that those "mean" folks were able to do what they have done precisely because of what McCain has voted for time and again: de-regulation.
Thankfully, Senator Biden was present to inject actual facts into the debate. After Mrs. Palin had used the word "maverick" three or four hundred times to describe McCain, Biden responded with several important votes by the Arizona senator which hurt children, schools, our military and veterans. The so-called "maverick" of the senate has voted with the Bush administration over 90% of the time. Some maverick.
One of the most surreal moments of Palin's fanciful view of reality occurred when she was asked about the job of Vice-President. Once more showing her total ignorance of what the U.S. Constitution says, she stated that she wanted to increase the powers of the Vice-President due to the flexibility allowed in the Constitution. Once more, thankfully, Senator Biden pointed out that the Constitution is quite clear about the duties of the Vice-President. No where does that document give any flexibility to increase powers.
Why is this important? Why, indeed, is it quite frightening? Because, as Senator Biden pointed out, "the idea of expanding that office came from Cheney who he pointed out is probably the worst VP in U.S. history." The fact is, the expansion of both Presidential and Vice-Presidential powers is the dream of the neo-cons who don't really believe in the separation of powers.
Throughout the debate, Senator Biden exhibited a complete grasp of the factual situation not only in the U.S. but in the entire world. Mrs. Palin, on the other hand, winked and "shouted out to the third graders back home" and exhibited a total lack of understanding of what the world situation is. To the specifics mentioned by Biden to fix the ailing economy, Palin kept saying that Maverick McCain was going to shoot down all those fat cats (who he has protected for 26 years).
I think that it's safe to say that we won't be seeing Mrs. Palin on any more interview shows. I'm sure that the people who already liked her thought she did a great job tonight ignoring the questions and zapping the media and Senator Obama. What she failed to do at any time in this "debate" was give specifics about how the McCain/Palin administration would do anything different than the Bush administration.
As Senator Biden repeated in the debate, this is the most important election that we have ever voted in. Let's not waste our vote by electing a team that doesn't know the meaning of the word "change." Let's send Mrs. Palin back to Alaska to shoot moose and hire more of her cronies. The job of Vice-President of the United States needs to be filled by a person who knows actual facts, not just talking points.
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2 comments:
She speaketh gibberish. We needeth clarity. Surrealism is the word. I am as frightened now of her as she is probably frightened by the path she has chosen.
-Ed
She quite takes my breath away... I trust that she will return to an Alaska that is no longer enamored with her. I would hope for some censure in January. From the debate..
"And we are to be that shining city on a hill, as President Reagan so beautifully said, that we are a beacon of hope and that we are unapologetic here."
I say,who is not apologetic? I apologize for the torture, for invading a country in a war we had no business getting into, for tapping the phones of ordinary citizens, for deporting as many people as we could with Muslim surnames or Muslim countries of origin, for forsaking those poor people in New Orleans, for out-Castroing Castro on his own island with the Gulag that is Gitmo, for running roughshod over our own Constitution..
99 more days of Bush. And unlikely that this broad will ever be sworn into a Federal office. Or so we hope.
quid
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