The Biden/Palin debate is done. Joe Biden won and answered questions thoughtfully, because he understood the questions. Sarah Palin gave well-rehearsed answers that usually did not match the questions.
I will not compliment Palin for doing okay and not torpedoing McCain’s campaign. To do so would be like patting a child on the back for peeing in the toilet bowl, and not the trash can.
One of the most telling parts of the evening was the fact that Palin answered far too many questions with a canned response about energy. For example:
Moderator: Governor Palin, how would you counsel John McCain about the current economic crisis?
Sarah Palin: The correct response is to drill, baby, drill.
Moderator: What should we do about Afghanistan?
Sarah Palin: I gave everyone in my state $1,000 from leftover oil revenue. I help average citizens to swim in money.
Moderator: Are humans responsible for global warming?
Sarah Palin: The answer is, “Who cares,” because we can’t be complain’ and lookin’ backwards all the time.
Palin suspended the debate for a few seconds to send a, “Shout out to the 3rd graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School in Alaska.” Unfuckingbelievable. Shout-outs to 3rd graders are performed by weathermen during the local news, not something that happens in a very important political debate!
On the other hand, Joe Biden had one of the most genuine moments in debate history. You need to see this:
Sarah Palin followed Joe’s comments by talking about how much of a maverick (a maverican?), John McCain is. I have no idea why Palin failed to offer Biden condolences or appear to have a measure of human sympathy. She was completely disconnected.
The biggest winner of the veepstakes is probably Katie Couric, who is the anchor of The CBS Evening News. Couric has revealed more about Palin than anyone. She interviewed Palin and CBS has been broadcasting new segments from that meeting over the past few days. Each installment brings a new cringe, a more terrible answer from Palin. While Palin can repeat coached answers during a debate, it’s clear she cannot think coherently on her own. Who in McCain’s campaign approved the Palin/Couric interviews? How many times a day does that person get kicked in the ass hard enough to make him (or her) fly in the air? This is McCain’s responsibility, ultimately. If the Palin/Couric interviews prove nothing else, it is that John McCain makes consistently bad decisions. The Daily Show with John Stewart says it best:
The debate transcript is here.
GOBAMA ‘08
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