Sarah Palin bobs and weaves to a tie
I find it very difficult to judge events like this. I consider myself very plugged in and I hear these people talk every day. So I've heard the talking points over and over. I'm curious what casual observers would have thought about last night. I can tell you that Biden's performance was almost entirely unscripted. He was speaking off the cuff from a place of knowledge. Palin was saying things that she has said verbatim over the last two weeks. She often refused to answer questions from the moderator and instead went back to talk about issues that she wanted to discuss (notably energy). I feel like this debate did nothing to reassure me that she has a grasp of some of the very real, very important issues.
I'm typing this without having heard or read any meaningful feedback on the debate (I heard the head of the RNC say that he was thrilled with her performance... but does that surprise anyone?). Some specific examples of problems last night:
1) She twice called the commander of forces in Iraq "McClellan" when she meant "McKiernan". While I don't consider this a particularly big deal I think it is worth noting.
2) She said we've reduced troops to pre-surge levels. This is factually inaccurate. We're still ~10k above surge levels.
3) At one point Biden said, "The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple. If that's the case, we really don't have a difference.." which she had not said. Her response when the moderator asked her if that's what she said was, "Your question to him was whether he supported gay marriage and my answer is the same as his and it is that I do not."
4) In one of the first exchanges, Governor Palin was asked to respond about health care. Her response, "I would like to respond about the tax increases." The problem is that Joe Biden had said nothing about tax increases. In fact, his only mention of "taxes" at all was to say that the middle class needs tax relief now.
5) Biden made very specific charges against McCain that Palin did not even attempt to defend. He said numerous times that McCain was a deregulator and Palin did not bother to even deny the claim. He also said that McCain had voted to increase taxes and that McCain had voted to cut off funding from the troops and she did not get into this.
6) Finally, Governor Palin made a rather bizarre statement toward the end. She said, "No, no. Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are. John McCain and I have had good conversations about where I would lead with his agenda." When Ifill asked for a clarification she said, "Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position."
These aren't particularly radical ideas and they're certainly an intriguing thought experiment if nothing else. However, this forum was a rather bizarre coming out party for them. They sounded like they were largely rehearsed lines so I have to assume this is something they've discussed. I wonder if a McCain / Palin administration's first fight would be a constitutional row over what "Preside over the Senate" means.
My take is that Joe Biden did well and Sarah Palin did ok. Insidery people are going to be much more at ease with Joe Biden. What percentage of the population that is I'm unsure but that's my take.
I'm typing this without having heard or read any meaningful feedback on the debate (I heard the head of the RNC say that he was thrilled with her performance... but does that surprise anyone?). Some specific examples of problems last night:
1) She twice called the commander of forces in Iraq "McClellan" when she meant "McKiernan". While I don't consider this a particularly big deal I think it is worth noting.
2) She said we've reduced troops to pre-surge levels. This is factually inaccurate. We're still ~10k above surge levels.
3) At one point Biden said, "The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple. If that's the case, we really don't have a difference.." which she had not said. Her response when the moderator asked her if that's what she said was, "Your question to him was whether he supported gay marriage and my answer is the same as his and it is that I do not."
4) In one of the first exchanges, Governor Palin was asked to respond about health care. Her response, "I would like to respond about the tax increases." The problem is that Joe Biden had said nothing about tax increases. In fact, his only mention of "taxes" at all was to say that the middle class needs tax relief now.
5) Biden made very specific charges against McCain that Palin did not even attempt to defend. He said numerous times that McCain was a deregulator and Palin did not bother to even deny the claim. He also said that McCain had voted to increase taxes and that McCain had voted to cut off funding from the troops and she did not get into this.
6) Finally, Governor Palin made a rather bizarre statement toward the end. She said, "No, no. Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are. John McCain and I have had good conversations about where I would lead with his agenda." When Ifill asked for a clarification she said, "Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position."
These aren't particularly radical ideas and they're certainly an intriguing thought experiment if nothing else. However, this forum was a rather bizarre coming out party for them. They sounded like they were largely rehearsed lines so I have to assume this is something they've discussed. I wonder if a McCain / Palin administration's first fight would be a constitutional row over what "Preside over the Senate" means.
My take is that Joe Biden did well and Sarah Palin did ok. Insidery people are going to be much more at ease with Joe Biden. What percentage of the population that is I'm unsure but that's my take.
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