"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge where there is no river."-Nikita Khrushchev
Ok, I can admit it, last night's debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin wasn't the laugh out loud laugh fest event I had envisioned it would be, in fact, I have to admit I found it, at times, fascinating. Yes, fascinating. Sarah Paling was well rehearsed and on her game, while Joe Biden was restrained and personable. Sarah Palin displayed the kind of folksy humor and everyday appeal that turned republicans on to George Bush in 2000. Joe Biden is a sharp individual, who has 35 years experience in all the areas, that Sarah Palin is just learning about. And that was evident last night too.
As a democrat/liberal/woman there probably wasn't much that could have been said to change my mind at this point about who I will be voting for in November. I don't happen to think last night's debate will do much to change most people's opinions, in that nothing new was said. Last night's debate accomplished one thing. We got a better look at Sarah Palin. She came off extremely competent in the debate, but in that she was rehearsed, did we really get to see who she is on any given day? I would like to see more of her in interviews, as opposed to on a stage. Was she merely tired or uncomfortable when she was interviewed by Katie Couric and Charles Gibson? Or is she still somewhat lost without a script? She certainly showed last night that with the right amount of coaching, she can do very well, but what happens when she has to think on her feet? Will she know what to do?
As personable and folksy as she was last night, I found myself thinking about George Bush, and his every day guy persona. Honestly, he and Karl Rove managed to make Al Gore's accomplishments sound boorish and elitist. And it happened again with John Kerry, although Kerry, in my opinion lost a good bit of support by not fighting back against the lies and attacks. Fear was the theme for most of the Bush administration's time in the White House. If George Bush wasn't trying to scare us, he was patting us on the back and telling us everything will be ok. Which of course as we all know now, everything wasn't ok.
Granted, Sarah Palin isn't running for president, she will be the vice president, but she will be only a heartbeat away from the presidency, and I don't happen to think she is ready for that. It might be that her time hasn't quite come yet. Maybe she needs to consider a run for the senate when her governorship is up, but I just can't see her serving as vice president with any kind of real leadership. Joe Biden on the other hand is no push over. I don't think he would be as open to Washington manipulation quite the way Palin might. And before you call me sexist, think about what I am saying. Sometimes lack of Washington experience is a good thing, but sometimes it lends to being more pliable to the inner politics. The not so nice side of things.
To a certain degree that is what I think happened with George Bush. Looking back over the last 8 years, there are times when he seemed more like a wind up doll, rather then a real leader. Dick Cheney seems to be the one running the show. He didn't make a run for the presidency, because he has been the president for the last 8 years! A lot will be blamed on George Bush, and it should, but no real responsibility will ever happen. I am not interested in seeing that dynamic repeat.
So, when Sarah Palin, said last night, "Say it isn't so Joe, you are always looking back, we have to start looking forward," I wished I could say to her, "Sarah, we have to look back until we learn from those failures." Ignoring the past won't change the damage that has been done. The republican party wants to forget the failures that have taken place, and move on so that they can repair the damage done to the party, but along with it accountability gets lost, and to them, that might just be the sweetest part of their selective amnesia.
Opinions, opinions. Tell me, what did you think of last night's debate? Do you think more positively toward Sarah Palin then you did before the debate? Have you made a final decision as to who you will be voting for? Tell me everything.
-Carly
5 comments:
I think that she did pretty good at turning any question she was unsure about into her comfort zone. I thought she ignored the questioned asked and just tried to get her message across to the American Public, which if we heard it once, we heard it 50 times JM is a maverick and so is she! I am voting for Obama. And I have read the plea to please the take five people with you when you vote and/or persuade five people to go vote. This is the most important election of our lifetime, Carly.
I could not of added a thing to your commentary. Well done!
P.S. The mom in me squirms at babies being in these loud, late, public forums.
In watching the debate, I thought after a while that it was a case of both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden saying basically the same things over and over again. However, I wasn't pleased that, in the end, I felt that Joe Biden seemed quite weak in his support of Barack Obama. I feel Obama is the hope of this nation.
I watched the entire thing. And while she wasn't as abysimal as she's been on the Couric interviews, I thought she was pathetically short on substance. Biden went into some detail as to what their ticket stands for. I thought Palin was vacant. If she didn't have a talking point or buzzword, she didn't have anything. And her tactic...she just won't answer the question. On the sheer fact that she couldn't define her role as vp. Go read the transcript...it's laughable. And when asked what she thought was the worst of Cheney, she says...the duck hunting incident!! Hello.....
The woman scares me to death. Maybe she would be able to stumble through a term as vp without permanantly damaging the country. But if she were to become president...who knows who would actually be pulling the strings. Can you see her in a press conference? She can't handle ONE reporter.
John McCain needs to have his head examined. He honestly thinks that this woman as vp is what's best for the country? She's not particularly intelligent, she's uninformed, and she's inexperienced on a national scale. Three strikes...you're out!
I wrote about the debate late last night on my Obama blog, but it went bye-bye in a technical glitch. Short version: although she sounded better than in the Couric interview, it was still clear that Sarah Palin didn;t really understand the implications of her memorized taking points, or have any abilities to discuss the policies behind the platitudes.
Karen
Rant alert:
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com/2008/10/looking-for-skeletons-in-candidates.html
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