(Christian Science Monitor) What it's like to debate Sarah Palin

[Scurrilous]

Monitor opinion editor Josh Burek talks with former Alaska state representative and gubenatorial candidate Andrew Halcro about Gov. Sarah Palin's debating abilities.

<snip>

"When he faces off against Sarah Palin Thursday night, Joe Biden will have his hands full.

I should know. I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do.

On paper, of course, the debate appears to be a mismatch.

In 2000, Palin was the mayor of an Alaskan town of 5,500 people, while Biden was serving his 28th year as a United States senator. Her major public policy concern was building a local ice rink and sports center. His major public policy concern was the State Department's decision to grant an export license to allow sales of heavy-lift helicopters to Turkey, during tense UN-sponsored Cyprus peace talks.

On paper, the difference in experience on both domestic and foreign policy is like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing a bullet. Unfortunately for Biden, if recent history is an indicator, experience or a grasp of the issues won't matter when it comes to debating Palin."

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[pnwmom]

1. Why doesn't this have 100 recs already? Here's mine.

This is what I've been afraid of. She sounds like a young Reagan.

[RagAss]

2. Thanks to SNL , America is poised for the comedy of a non-answer.

[pnwmom]

4. I sure hope so. You betcha.

But I remember the ridicule Reagan got over one of his answers involving trees, and it didn't hurt him one bit.

[pnwmom]

5. Delete (dupe) n/t

[Disturbed]

10. Gov. Palin is confident that her looks & charm trump everything.

She has climbed to the top with these attributes, so far.


At the very least, Alaskans need to mount a Recall Petition & toss her out. She is corrupt & inept. The vetting process of her becoming Gov. must have been almost non existent.

[EstimatedProphet]

3. Not at all buying this

This is from the perspective of someone that LOST TO PALIN. For the governorship of Alaska, not the vice-presidency. Not the best credentials IMO.

[sammytko]

8. have you watched the clips of the alaska gov debates?

he did well, tony knowles was awful and sarah was just as he described her.

[EstimatedProphet]

13. Yes. He only did well in the context of the debate

The shit she did won't fly at this level.

[pnwmom]

18. You must not remember any Reagan debate then.

He was a charming no-nothing, and the MSM loved him. Still worships at his grave.

[EstimatedProphet]

31. Actually, not true

He was popular at first, but that wore off while he was in office, and he left with abysmal popularity ratings. the only reason the public thinks he was such a great president now is because of concerted efforts by Fox News to prop him up as the second coming of Christ. However, it really doesn't matter, because we are looking at completely different situation now that we were with him. Reagan was an unknown quantity, and was put over on the public at a time when the average person felt weak and powerless, and blamed the incumbent. Palin is effectively running to continue the incumbent line. Plus, she has been made a complete fool of in the media the last couple of weeks, which Reagan didn't go through at all. If she tries to come across as vague and makes snarky comments, it's going to go against her. Biden will tear her apart.

I trust Biden. He can do this.

[MadMaddie]

44. Which tells me that he didn't figure out how to beat her.

[HonorTheConstitution]

6. K & R

This needs to be forwarded to the campaign manager. Biden needs to follow this. Just behaving like he is alone!!!

[amitten]

7. "Glittering generality"...?

:eyes:

More like "muddy, incoherent ramble".

This person must have missed the Couric interview.

[jillan]

9. She may be master of the glittery non-answer BUT Biden is the master of the

one-line zinger. Pow!


This is really going to be a great debate because the two of them have such colorful personalities.

[JPZenger]

11. Palin in Miss Alaska Pageant Swimsuit Video

In case there is anyone who hasn't seen this yet, here is a link to the video of Salin Health Palin in the swimsuit competition in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant. Love that music.

http://wizbangblog.com/content/2008/09/27/palin-miss-alaska-swimsuit-video.php

(all the copies were removed from youtube)

Many more people will watch this video then will watch that awful American Carol movie that is coming out soon.

[renate]

32. that music!

Thanks--I'm one of the few who hadn't seen it.

For anyone else who hadn't seen it and doesn't have the 45 seconds it takes to watch it--She didn't embarrass herself or anything... it's just kind of weird to see a future candidate for the vice presidency of the United States walking around in a swimsuit and high heels. :eyes:

[jberryhill]

42. It almost worked for Lieberman

Don't you remember that swimsuit and heels video?

[last1standing]

12. Very good info to know. Thanks for posting it.

This is the problem I have with all those here at DU who insist that palin is going to walk onstage, piss herself, then start crying. It just isn't going to be that way based on her history of debating, and winning elections. She isn't intelligent, but she does have one skill that low information voters adore, she can insult others and smear them very, very well. That kind of thing doesn't come across very well in a one on one interview where there's little input, but it will work in a debate when there will be supporters there ready to provide a laugh track.

My take on palin is that she embodies the lack of curiosity and bullying skills of bush* and the intense hatred and ambition of cheney. In other words, she could be far more dangerous than any of us is willing to believe.

[pnwmom]

15. You left out one thing.

She may have the idiotic charm of Reagan.

[msallied]

16. If You Tube had been around during the Reagan era...

I bet you he would have been ruined. lol

[pnwmom]

19. I hope you're right. I fear you're wrong. She'll be our test case. n/t

[msallied]

27. I really think that the media is still operating off of the old paradigm...

That we will simply swallow what they feed us. They don't take into account that millions upon millions of Americans sit in front of their computers downloading 10 BILLION videos off of Youtube per month (that was a figure I read recently) and laugh at these clowns. I know it's just a theory, but I think Americans have had more of an opportunity than ever to observe Sarah Palin and the ones who aren't out on the lunatic fringe are no longer taking her seriously. Tina Fey has always been sorta well known. She skyrocketed into the stratosphere a couple weeks ago simply because of her lampooning of Palin. People loved it because it was so dead-on accurate. Because of this, she's not being taken seriously at all anymore.

But you know, I love articles like the OP posted because they are serving to raise people's expectations for her. That's exactly what we want right now. lol Maybe I'll eat my words later, but I'm feeling pretty confident right now. :)

[last1standing]

25. That's because I don't think she has that.

Reagan's charm resided in the concept that he was like an endearing grandfather. He said some goofy things but you loved him because he was always so happy about things.

Palin is more like bush* in that her "charm" lies in her ability to act as head jackal. She's the first to tear into the flesh of a wounded beast and the others follow in a crazed bloodlust. I see it as very reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.

[pnwmom]

39. So she's the Lady of the Flies.

It has a certain ring to it.

;)

[tuvor]

20. There should be no "laugh track" for Palin's benefit.

I believe the audience will be instructed to remain quiet for the duration of the debate, as they were last Friday.

She can toss all the zingers and insults she wants, but I'm not sure that would look so good if there's no hootin' an' hollerin' to greet them.

[pnwmom]

23. I HOPE so. Hard to shut up an audience, though. n/t

[fugop]

34. Friday

They seemed to do a pretty good job of it last Friday. People seemed to take seriously what was happening. I'm hoping we get that again on Thursday. But the Palin fans are definitely a little more wackily enthusiastic than McCain's, so we'll see. Still, I do wonder if she'll sink a bit without big reaction to her "laugh" lines.

[last1standing]

29. I'm sure mcsame's team is making every attempt to pack the audience.

They'll have instructed their ringers to be as disruptively supportive as possible in an attempt to simulate a rastlin' match. It's really their only chance - they MUST sucker the lowest common denominator into supporting them.

[msallied]

14. The thing is, the popular culture has already ruined her. She has nothing left.

We're going to sit down expecting her bimbo non-answers, because that's all she's going to have to give.

[RagAss]

17. Christian "Science" indeed .....LOL

[pnwmom]

22. IMHO, this is often an excellent news source. And the subject of the interview

certainly gives a well-informed opinion.

[msallied]

30. People are always thrown by the name of the paper. It is not a religious rag.

It has been around for 80+ years and was formed by a Christian woman who wanted to do the public service of providing news to the people that wasn't corporately owned. It's a very reputable paper.

[Alameda]

38. FYI...CSM is one of the best newspapers

[WI_DEM]

21. Biden will handle her just fine.

[spanone]

24. remember that gore had too many facts....he was too knowledgeable

many voters crave bullshit

[msallied]

33. Gore had too many facts COUPLED with his stiff, brainy demeanor.

Joe Biden is neither stiff nor brainy. He's just a smart, regular guy who knows what he's talking about.

[fugop]

26. Past her prime

A few weeks ago, I feared she would launch her "charm offensive" (i.e., snide, snarky, "humorous" (to Republicans) and vicious) would work. But after the economic meltdown, I think Americans will be much less vulnerable to that crap. I think many of us are scared now and want some serious grownups to take over the store. I think Biden will look fantastic on that. On the other hand, I'm sure the pundits will go nuts over her again and call her a game-changer. My hope is that they completely misread the indies, as they did with Obama's debate on Friday. Pundits were calling for McCain or a tie, but all the instant polls (as well as those that came after) proved that Americans WERE paying attention. HOpefully, we'll see the same happen for Joe!!

[renate]

28. yeah... I don't think we're going to get a bloodbath

The debate moderators don't call people on their non-answers like Katie Couric did.

It's going to be obvious to anyone who's paying attention that she's out of her league, of course, but I don't think we're going to get the flailing bimbette we've seen in interviews. The commentators will probably flay her afterwards, but if most people just watch the debate and then change the channel, she might do passably well.

On the other hand, the confidence she had during the debates that are talked about above is probably long gone. And the audience is going to be in the tens of millions--maybe over a hundred million, something that the former mayor of Wasilla isn't quite used to. So she might also crash and burn spectacularly. It'll be fun to tune and see which way she goes.

[EstimatedProphet]

35. The commentators won't call her on non-answers - Biden will

Count on that.

[msallied]

36. Most definitely. He isn't going to let her idiocy slide.

[Debi]

37. Maybe her new nickname should be Soundbite Sarah?

:shrug:

[JPZenger]

40. VP Debate Drinking Game

The following is derived from a post on www.huffingtonpost.com Friday afternoon and another post on www.associatedcontent.com:

Every time Palin mentions McCain's time as a POW, praise his courage and drink a kamikaze.

Every time "evil", "evil doers", or anything with evil is mentioned, drink a sip of French red wine.

Every time Biden ties John McCain to George W. Bush, drink a sloe gin fizz and wish for better days.

Every time Palin displays how hopelessly out of touch she is, drink a white russian.

Everytime Palin says Maverick, Small-Town Values or Reformer, take a chug of Moosehead.

Everytime she says the name of the moderator (Gwen), empty your glass.

If she utters a coherent sentence (i.e., contains a subject and a verb and makes logical sense), drink two chugs of Moosehead.

When she talks about her new friend Henry Kissinger, drink a Secret Cambodian Invasion.

When she explains how being the part-time mayor of Wasilla, Alaska with a full-time city manager counts as executive experience, drink a Dukes of Hazard with Snow.

Whenever Biden says something Obama wishes he didn't, take the beverage from the person to your left, and tell them to go get you a new drink because you are not going to get AIDS from their backwash/lipstick.

When you see the abyss of Palin's eyes, cross yourself, tell everybody you didn’t know you were a Catholic, and chase a shot of whisky with a gulp of red wine.

When Palin tries to articulate McCain-Palin's non-existent economic policy:

Fight your friends for change under the couch cushions, because who can afford fancy store-bought booze anymore?

If you feel about to crawl up into a fetal position under the bar, in fear of a President Palin, finish a bottle of Yukon Jack.

[Scurrilous]

41. Sounds lethal...

..."every time Palin mentions McCain's time as a POW, praise his courage and drink a kamikaze."

That's a lot of kamikazes. :thumbsup:

[Laurab]

43. It probably is, but I think you'll sober up

on the "coherent sentence" part!

[Willo]

45. She is NOT good at the fine art of the nonaswer

That is why everyone knows she's an idiot.

A simple question like 'What newspapers and magazines did you read regularly to stay informed?' sparked a 3-part non-answer that ended with comparing Alaska to the rest of America.