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Edited on Fri Oct-03-08 01:05 PM by Prophet 451
And it was Palin's debate. All the attention was focused on her and for good reason. Joe Biden could talk until the cows come home. His delivery is a little long-winded but he gives good talk. Everyone knew that already but for Sarah Palin, this was the first chance the world had to get an unscripted look at her.
The world is not impressed.
What did Palin get right? Well, she's quite attractive (I have a thing about women in glasses, sue me), she has a nice smile and she's obviously got a decent memory. She'd probably make a good gameshow hostess or weathergirl. As leader of the free world, you have to be kidding. She ducked most of the questions, on one she actually said she wasn't going to answer it. She actually said that she may not answer in the way the moderator likes. Mrs. Palin, I've been in a lot of formal debates, a fair few moots and argued cases in courtrooms and one thing I can tell you is that you damn well better answer in a style that the moderator likes because if you don't, the moderator can kneecap you. Gwen Ifills was too kind to do that but we probably would have been better served if she had.
Nor was her delivery great. There is an art to answering a debate question, not just in facts but in style. It's not just knowing your subject but delivering your arguement in a measured way that allows the audience to digest what you're saying. Biden delivered his points in a measured, through (possibly slightly too through) way. Palin rushed through hers like a terrified rabbit caught in the vegetable patch. She looked like she was frightened of being on national television and probably was. Winking at the audience is cute when you do it once. Doing it three times is just trying too hard and verges on flirting. Biden was there for a debate, Palin was there for a campaign commercial.
And the content... Biden came across as a policy wonk, pulling facts and figures out of his memory at will. Whether you enjoy that style is up to you but he left no doubt that he knows and understands the issues at stake and, should the worst happen to Obama, he would be an entirely safe pair of hands. He was honest that he and Obama don't see eye to eye on everything (and that's a good thing), humble and willing to admit that he's been forced to change his mind on a few things. Palin reiterated talking points like she was Poe's sepulchral raven, unable to say anything but "Nevermore". Her repeated over-use of the word "maverick", like it was some sort of talisman, became comedic in the end. I haven't counted how many times she used the word but I don't doubt someone (possibly the wonderful Jon Stewert) will do so. Her repeated failure to answer the question would have flunked any exam I've ever taken, topics are not optional and has anyone tallied how many times she directly lied yet? Biden was Bret Hart competent, Palin was George Wagner cocky (if you don't follow wrestling, Wagner was flashy but Hart was by far the superior worker). She stole lines from everyone but Richard the Third, prevaricated, obsfucated and attacked ceaselessly. The attacks were just absurd and I suspect that she avoided getting smacked down through sheer bewilderment. There's an old story that if a cat wanders into a dog pound, it has a few seconds of grace while the dogs try to decide if they can believe their eyes. It's the refuge in audacity, you can get away with a lot if you're brazen enough about it (a lesson CheneyBush have learned far too well) and for sheer audacity, Palin's claim that firstly, the VP's office was in both legislative and executive branches and secondly, that the powers of the office should be expanded was stunning and not in a good way. That a claim which started out as a blatant attempt by Cheney to avoid accountability to anyone could be taken seriously by any functioning human is amazing. I suspect even Cheney was amazed he got away with it (refuge in audacity again) but to argue that the, now mighty, powers of that office should be expanded even as you are running for the office is horrifying. In the sheer deluge of words, it probably slipped past most people but that claim should be terrifying for anyone who cares about the Constitution. Her claim that this arrangement was what the Founders intended had me mogadored that the ghosts of Washington, Franklin, et al didn't spontaneously rise from the crypt to lynch her.
Personally, I was disappointed there were no questions on faith. No, not because I think faith should play a bigger part in public life (I think it plays too big a part in US politics already) but because answering the question remotely honestly would have revealed how batshit Palin's religious views are.
This was a somewhat hurried overview but the impression one is left with of Sarah Palin is lacking, to say the least.
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