VP “Debate”

I know you want to read about the Vice-Presidential Debate, but I’d like to talk a little more about energy…

Ha! Just a little “Post-Debate” humor for y’all, that’s what that was! (Wink.)

Eugene Robinson put it very well when he said it seemed like Palin and Biden were in two completely different places, so it might be best if we look at each of them separately:

Sarah Palin: She’s miserable. She’s one of those pull-string dolls that just says some stuff when you, um, pull the string. She was super-duper folksy (folks!) tonight, as I guess she is every night, but she was bringing it strong. She wasn’t obscenely bad for the first three questions or so, it was obvious that she had just reviewed her talking points for the economy questions– We’re gonna be super-regulators! We’re gonna cut taxes! We’re gonna reform corruption! Yay!

While I say she wasn’t bad, I only mean that it seemed like she wasn’t struggling to find things to say. She sure as hell didn’t say anything, but I have to say that it was a little refreshing when she actually told us out loud that she wasn’t going to be answering any questions and she was just going to talk about whatever she wanted to talk about. My favorite part early on was when she just really wanted to “get back to taxes” when no one had even mentioned taxes before she said that.

After that first 25 minutes or so, though, pretty much everything that came out of her mouth was a head-shaker, a head-scratcher, or a head-slapper. It’s just so apparent that she has learned her talking points and has practiced reciting them and… that’s pretty much it. I don’t remember what the question was, but at one point she actually said, “No, I don’t agree with that, that’s the short answer, but I want to get back to energy…” and just went right on without even addressing whatever it was she had been asked (and it had nothing to do with energy). I mean, it used to be that politicians would pay a little lip service to a question before weaving in the things they really wanted to talk about and ending up talking about something totally different. She doesn’t even bother with all that, she just talks about whatever it is she wants to talk about.

In general terms, I don’t know what to say about her beyond that. There was literally no substance. I defy anyone to find a single piece of substance in anything she said, you can find the transcripts of the debate online if you’re so inclined. I’ll buy you an ice cream.

A few specific things that came up, though:

– If you had Civil War General McClellan in your drinking game, you’re having a lot more fun than you thought you were going to right about now. Palin incorrectly identified our commander in Afghanistan as “General McClellan” (his name is McKiernan) after Joe Biden stated accurately that the general had said a “Surge” in Afghanistan wouldn’t work (Palin was arguing that this isn’t what McKiernan had said– it is).

– She really is George Bush. She referred multiple times to “nucular” weapons, and even went so far as to say that the terrorists “hate us because of our freedoms.” Please, god, we don’t need another one of these.

– Or is she Dick Cheney? I really, really hope this gets a good bit of play over the next few days, although I’m not sure I expect that to happen, but Palin explicitly said that she agrees with Dick Cheney that the Vice President should have powers that extend beyond the Executive Branch. More specifically, she said that the Constitution leaves a lot of flexibility in that area. This is absolutely, 100%, not true. Joe Biden brought us back to reality:

Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history. The idea he doesn’t realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that’s the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there’s a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he’s part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

So what does this mean? One of two things. Either she’s as power-mad as Cheney is and wants to expand her influence even more if she ascends to the office, or she has no idea whatsoever what our Constitution says. It’s probably both. Whatever the truth, I sat there with my jaw open when I heard what she was saying. I find this shocking.

I don’t really even feel like going into detail about the “facts” Palin just made up out of thin air. I don’t care enough and when she talks it just sounds like gibberish to me anyway. Go log on to FactCheck and you’ll probably be able to find some good stuff.



Joe Biden: He may well be the best debater on the planet. He has such a grasp on issues and he always sounds like he knows what he’s talking about. I love it when he just seems dumbfounded by the ridiculousness his opponents are peddling– He somehow is able to convey a feeling of “I can’t believe they’re really saying that” while not appearing arrogant… like he’s really, truly shocked that someone would say things like that.

So, if you look at substance, Biden obliterated Palin. Biden always destroys his opponents on substance (and Palin said nothing anyway). But he also did his Joe Biden thing of seeming like a regular guy from Scranton (which he told us quite a few times) and connecting to the people (probably not quite often enough, but when he did it, he was very effective). And his goal was obviously to continue to tether John McCain to George Bush. He had a couple of fantastic moments while doing this, best shown here:

And Palin had no answer.

And the best moment of the night, the moment I would figure (hope) will be the one that people take away going forward, was when Joe choked up talking about having to be a single father after his wife and daughter were killed:

We already know Joe Biden as a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, so this is the kind of moment that can really resonate with people– it doesn’t feel scripted, it just feels real.

And I should mention that, as you can see in the video, Palin made no acknowledgment of what Biden had said, she just moved right on into her talking points. Either she didn’t listen or didn’t care. But who doesn’t make at least a small gesture or pause for just a moment when someone says something like that?



Overall, though, the debate was pretty terrible. I don’t know how Sarah Palin’s performance will play, and I’m entertained again that the talking heads don’t know whether they’re coming or going. But there wasn’t really a debate here, there was one guy addressing things like issues and facts and his opponent just saying some words. And I think that Gwen Ifill, the moderator, was very weak. Her questions were pedestrian and she hardly bothered with any follow-up (although I definitely give her credit for pressing Palin after her mind-boggling Vice President/Constitution statement). I understand that the format tied Ifill’s hands quite a bit (it shows how much more interesting the back-and-forth of the Presidential debate was), but still, she showed a complete lack of imagination. And not a single question about women’s issues?

Sleepy-time. I’ll update with more thoughts if I feel like it’s worth it. I think the big thing to take away is that this probably won’t change much of anything. Which means it’s exactly like every other Vice Presidential debate ever.



BY THE WAY: Two of the teams I picked to advance in the MLB playoffs are on the verge of elimination already, and one of the other two lost their first game (and haven’t yet played their second). Only Tampa has won even a single game. I told you I could pick ‘em. Bleah.



AND: Glad to see Zack! with a little fire (of the antagonistic kind) regarding Palin. I was getting just a little bored with his “I love her” schtick. Or maybe he’s just really conflicted. Probably that.