Let me preface this with saying, I think Palin did a decent job. I knew she was going to — after the Couric and Gibson disasters, you know they were going to prepare her for every square inch of this debate. She did hold her own and was able to answer a question without looking like an idiot. There’s no doubt she’s a good public speaker. While there were some questions asked that she avoided (and Biden called her out on those), I think all in all she really improved the impression a lot of Americans have about her.
That said, I still feel Biden took the
debate. (And a lot of Americans agree with me: Polls from CBS and CNN show Biden won 46% to 21%, and 51% to 36%, respectively.) For everything Palin said, Biden had numbers. He had facts. He had answers. For example — Obama’s tax relief proposals. You want to know HOW what these candidates are proposing will affect YOU? 95 percent of the middle class (that’s YOU, faithful reader) will receive a tax cut. Those that don’t — will stay the same. No harm done. And small-business owners? According to Biden, 95 percent of small-business owners make LESS than $250,000 a year — so they will NOT be affected.
How can you say Palin is “very aware” of Mccain’s accomplishments? Obviously you haven’t seen
this. Watch it, and I’ll get back to ya.
Some
bloggers feel that Biden came off as “better than you”, but if you do feel that way…SHOULDN’T the VP be better than you?? I sure hope so. I know I wouldn’t feel safe with any old Joe Sixpack running this country.
I don’t think Palin is real. She is a politician. None of them, Obama included, are real. I do not relate to her. And I think
a lot of American women feel that way. And honestly, the Republican party is preying on the tears of women who do think they can relate to her. They are preying on women who say “I’m on the PTA, she’s on the PTA!” They are preying on women who think being a mother of 5 can translate to being vice president. I’m sure there are a lot of skills that a women learns from motherhood, and I’m sure a lot of them can be applied to politics, but for me, that is not enough.
Biden attacked Mccain’s healthcare plans (or lack thereof). Mccain-Palin talk a big game about making changes, getting the gov’t back on the side of the people, etc., but cannot point to anything concrete that will bring about this change and reform. Biden really opens your eyes up to Mccain’s stance on the troops. Mccain cut off funding for the troops. Biden also attacks Palin’s view on global warming. How can she say she doesn’t want to “argue about the causes”? HOW on God’s green earth can you FIND A SOLUTION if you can’t IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM? This is something I have been saying, and I was so relieved when Biden said it on that national stage. (”If you don’t understand what the cause is, it’s virtually impossible to come up with a solution.” — How can anyone with any common sense argue with that??)
Perhaps my favorite excerpt of the night:
“Let’s talk about the maverick John McCain is…He voted four out of five times for George Bush’s budget, which put us a half a trillion dollars in debt this year and over $3 trillion in debt since he’s got there. He has not been a maverick in providing healthcare for people. He has voted against—he voted including another 3.6 million children in coverage of the existing healthcare plan…He’s not been a maverick when it comes to education. He has not supported tax cuts and significant changes for people being able to send their kids to college. He’s not been a maverick on the war. He’s not been a maverick on virtually anything that genuinely affects the things that people really talk about around their kitchen table.”
The bottom line is, Palin may have passed the test, but Biden aced it.
