VP Debate Live-Blog
by Electric Elliot
6:58pm: It’s evident that Biden knows a bit more regarding Afghanistan and Nukes. Palin is playing the buzzwords though. Which is more effective?
7:01pm: Biden stumbles a little bit refuting Palin’s claim that the US general in Afghanistan claimed the surge tactics wouldn’t work there.
7:03pm: Palin – I’m just a simple mutated chicken
…ha ha ha. That’ll probably ring her some points, nevertheless. And will she talk about Darfur? Yup, she agrees with Biden. Classic McCain tactic.
Brandon Lueken – She cites her lack of talent as a Washington outsider? She’s got a loooooooooong hour ahead of her.
7:06pm: Palin is predicting the future and what the pundits are going to say. The pundits haven’t been exactly on your side.
Walker Lindley – Palin saying Biden is the flip-flopper? Here’s a list of McCain’s over 75 flip flops: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
7:08pm: Man, I’m really trying not to be biased here, but Palin isn’t making it easy.
7:09pm: Palin – We’re mavericks damn it. Why can’t you just understand that!
7:12pm: Palin does well with her stupid ass ”extra credit” comment.
On Biden’s comment:
Brandon Lueken – You’re asking Home Depot employees about Foreign Affairs? What kind of schools do they have in Delaware?
7:13pm: Palin is doing a bit better. Sounding down to earth.
7:14pm: Biden is apparently one of three senators that all the other senators go to. Rumor on the street.
7:15pm:
Brandon Lueken – Less flexibility in No Child Left Behind? That *terrible* bill? My god, someone stop that woman!
We saw the realities of NCLB at a Tacoma School Board Meeting
7:17pm: Thank you Biden for pointing out the realities of Cheney’s stealing of power.
Walker Lindley – Oh, oh, great question from Ifil about the Constitution. And oh my god. Palin agrees that the VP is part of two branches of our government. She says the Constitution gives flexibility there. IT DOES NOT. The Constitution says the VP is part of the Executive branch, end of story. No real Constitutional scholar worth anything would ever say otherwise.
7:18pm: Palin – I’m a mom. I’m qualified.
I doubt that Palin had to worry about many college tuition bills during her governorship. Sounding well with her claims of reform, even though it’s bs.
Biden disects Palin’s strong words decently. Almost gets caught up with the gender stuff though.
7:21pm: Palin – MAVERICK!!!!! WE’RE FUCKING MAVERICKS! WHY DOES NO ONE LISTEN TO ME! I AM MAVERICK MOM!
7:23pm: Thank you, Biden, for attacking the maverick claim. Way to go!
7:25pm: Biden probably just went over everyone’s head.
7:26pm: Good questions by Ifil.
7:29pm: Palin is speaking in banalities claiming she’s right and Biden is wrong. I really don’t think either Palin or Biden are the average middle class family.
7:30pm: Gotta admit, Palin had a strong closing statement.
Walker Lindley – Ya, Palin had a good closing statement, although a lot of it was inaccurate. Her last line about McCain having been the only one to fight for your freedom was delivered well and had a good double-meaning. I bet we’ll hear that line more and it’ll be attributed to Palin. That way they get to keep using a line that sounds and feels good, plus it would make Palin look better.
7:32pm: Biden’s closer was strong but a little rocky. Palin was likely a bit better.
Welp, that’s the end of the one and only VP debate. Who performed best?
Electric Elliot’s Analysis:
Sen. Biden presented very detailed and obviously informed answers to Ifil’s very good questions (I’d say Ifil was one of the better moderators I’ve seen in something like this.) He directly attacked McCain’s policies and attempted to draw Bush and Cheney into the mix, tying them to John McCain. Biden dismissed and went for the neck on most of Palin’s Obama attacks clarifying the policy realities in usually easy to follow rhetoric. Biden didn’t really slip as most expect him to and only avoided the actual questions a couple times.
Strengths: Obvious experience and knowledge. Direct attribution to policies. Addressed Palin’s attacks.
Weaknesses: Might have overdone explanations. Lazy attempts to pander.
Gov. Palin didn’t blow it like everyone expected she would. In fact, in the early stages and end of the debate Palin was looking rather strong, offering a “down to earth” persona and standing with most of her statements. It was clear, though, that her knowledge paled in comparison to Biden, as evidenced by her constant avoidance of the questions and fall back to her energy policy and maverick claims. She definitely was pandering to the “middle-class” with her townee rhetoric “don’tchaknow, golly gee” which will score her some points.
Strengths: Didn’t fuck up like everyone was expecting. Able to connect to average American. Down-to-Earth. Scores points with the outsider claim.
Weaknesses: Didn’t answer many questions. Constant pandering. Didn’t look as well versed in policy or Washington/World knowledge as Biden. Overused the “maverick” claim.
The Core: The fact that Palin didn’t totally blow it tonight definitely helped her out a lot. Biden is an experienced politician and an experienced debater. Palin was able to run with him, but her lack of relevant knowledge and inability to answer questions without pandering and jumping back to the same “maverick”, “we’re the real change” rhetoric definitely hurt her.
Biden looked strong. Really strong. No blunders, no “clean black man” mess ups. He spoke to nearly every question with detailed explanations and a strong sense of professionalism. Palin definitely played the townee, “average American card” to the point that is seemed forced and overdone. It’ll certainly still bring in some votes but a down to Earth but hollow performance was not able to compete with Biden’s overthetop experience.
Electric Elliot’s
VP DEBATE WINNER:
SEN. JOE BIDEN
What do you think? Did Biden show experience prowess? Did Palin connect to voters?
Thanks to everyone who followed and participated in The Melon’s first live-blog. Please drop any additional information and reactions in our comments section.
Melonites Reaction:
Walker Lindley – I’m not sure I agree with all the analysis here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/2/23101/4268/952/618411 . But I’m once again surprised by the public’s reaction to a debate that seemed, to me, be pretty even.
Also, I’ve been listening to NPR’s call-in after the debate. Just now someone called in saying that Palin isn’t prepared at all to be President and that it’s scary to think she could be President. The host of the show asked the audience (they’re broadcasting from a theater in St. Louis where they were all listening to the debate) if anyone disagreed. There was a good 10 seconds of silence followed by laughter. Wow, just….wow.
Emily Knudsen – I gotta disagree with you on the moderator comment. I thought she was one of the weakest moderators. She asked some pretty decent questions but she didn’t hold them to answering them. She just let them answer however they wanted (as Palin claimed she would do anyhow), but I think their true colors would have stood out more if Ifill forced them to be specific. On another note, the format of this debate was starkly
different than the presidential debate in which the moderator encouraged them to address one another. Of course, a true debate never really occurred but I wonder what would have happened if the two VP candidates were able to directly question the other. It would have made for a much more entertaining debate.
Chris “The Wedge” Van Vechten – We played Palin Bingo at the Cellar (UPS.) I think she won the debate because she didn’t fuck-up like everyone expected her to. She didn’t answer a single question – but Biden looked old.
I think the Ds will be jugging ahead once Obama and McCain go back to debating. During the first debate Obama looked like he was preparing to be sworn in, and McCain like he was preparing to receive a life-time achievement award.
Liam Rosen – Why do we keep talking about “who won”? It’s not a sporting match. All I care about is the issues, and Biden was spot on with every single one.
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I’m watching MSNBC on their website. Right now it’s just a silent view of the stage with Gwen Ifil sitting there. You can hear an occasionally cough from the audience. EXCITING POLITICS IN ACTION!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
What is politics but a cough and Gwen Ifil?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Clearly nothing at all.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I’m watching via CBS. Saw Katie Couric deliver the news. She’s less perky than I remember.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Gwen Ifil speaks! She’s wearing an awfully bright teal jacket.
A “very polite” audience, eh? We’ll see how long that lasts.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Hey, don’t diss the coin toss, that’s the only reason pennies still exist.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Hear that? She can call him Joe!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
…How can anyone make money on this rescue plan?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Is Biden even answering the question? He’s talking about the bill itself, but wasn’t the question about whether or not Washington was functioning this week?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Oh, and she has a folksy anecdote! Clearly she’s more prepared to be President.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Sarah Palin is staring into my soul. Please, ma’am, stop.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pm
So McCain’s warning wasn’t listened to by his colleagues, but the effort was bipartisan?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Get that? The fundamentals of the economy are not inflation or any other numbers, it’s the American people! And mavericks, apparently?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Ifil takes them to task for not answering. Nice.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
What is Palin saying? She thinks Americans want new energy and change. Isn’t that Obama? Hasn’t the whole campaign been about that?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Palin: I do respect your years in the Senate, but…
Ouch, good line.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
…”It’s not the American people’s fault that the economy is as terrible as it is.”
HOW HOW HOW HOW?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Ha, ha.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Biden comes back with a personal anecdote! Take that!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Hunh, Palin harking back to a small government platform. That’s something we haven’t heard in a while from the republicans.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Oh my god, not this lie about Obama wanting to raise taxes on families making $42,000 again. I’m glad Biden is calling her out. Oh! And Biden calls her out on deregulation!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard someone say that they don’t think they have to answer the question.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
McCain’s proposal to limit spending doesn’t touch the Veterans Affairs, DoD, Iraq, and Social Security. He only has about $100 billion other dollars to cut. He can’t get close to the deficit. Holding tough on spending doesn’t mean shit until we get out of Iraq.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Biden being strong and clear on the tax issue. Also addressing the American people. Beat Palin to the punch.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
“Redistribution of wealth” is a buzzwords for the communist haters. See if any of the commentators touch on that.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Palin still hasn’t responded to the question about how taxing healthcare plans doesn’t count as raising taxes.
Also, Palin is not middle class, they have a 500 million dollar house and a private airplane.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Straw man! No one is saying healthcare should be taken over by the government. Also, letting people buy insurance across state boundaries will bankrupt some states and give huge revenue boosts to others, that won’t work.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Oh man, Biden had a good line there about a bridge to nowhere.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Oops, Biden tripped over his words a bit. He used jobs 4 times in one sentence.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Biden actually points out that foreign aid will have slow. But otherwise? Not exactly answering.
Also, Palin is sounding better, but still not as definitive.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
No comments about the specifics. Biden might even be getting overly specific and upsetting people. Also, does anyone else hate this “Uncommitted Ohio Voters” screen on the bottom of the screen. It makes me look for instant reaction, not evaluate the statements.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Oil companies have been getting tax breaks for decades, Obama didn’t start that.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Yeah, I’m watching on CNN-International. Sorry.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:26 pm
What channel are you on Matt?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Corruption on Wall Street? Duh. But it doesn’t stop there, you can’t just keep blaming them!
Also, wow, I could hear Biden breathe angrily. What’s he gonna say?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
We need to be appreciative of McCain? He said the economy was doing fine and had improved under Bush until last week.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Palin: “it’s not true, but I’m not going to tell you how or why”
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
…Is Palin implying that she wants to drill the shit out of her own state?
You’d think she’d be the first one to say no to oil drilling in Alaska.
Or do they have huge hydro-electric dams up there that I don’t know about?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
If someone is playing a drinking game to Palin saying “about” and Biden saying “umm” they need to get to the hospital immediately.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Palin wants to drill for oil which will cover a few percent of our oil usage starting 15 years in the future. How does that break our reliance on foreign oil? We’d still be just as addicted to oil and we can’t produce all the oil we need. Plus she said that they’re not giving tax breaks to oil, but we have been and would be even more under McCain’s tax plan.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Brandon,
Alaskans want more drilling in Alaska. They don’t pay taxes and get about a 2k govt payout due to oil drilling.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Palin deftly sidesteps the possible division of her own religious beliefs to get modern on her approach to climate change.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:33 pm
So Palin wants to become energy independent through drilling so that we can save the environment? Also, we’re “allowing” other countries to produce more CO2 than we like? Are we going to invade them to stop them? Plus we produce more than any other country, so that just rings hollow.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Biden very strong on the alternative energy rant.
Also, I think Alaskans wouldn’t have that view.
That’s retarded.
AND DRILLING IS NOT CLEAN.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Why is no one explaining what clean coal is. I bet only 20% of the population knows what that is.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
I didn’t even know clean coal was an option.
And now we move from the Economy to social issues.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
What is it?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Biden just claimed that under an Obama/Biden administration, there would be no difference between gay and straight couples, but this doesn’t square with Obama’s platform. Obama is for civil unions, but not gay marriage.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Palin: “I’m friends with people who disagree with me!” *dumb smile.*
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Clean coal scrubs CO2 out of the smoke and stores it under ground. It’s not entirely clear to me how much CO2 the ground can hold and what would prevent it from escaping.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Oh no.
Oh no..
They just blew any progressive ideas on gay marriage.
Oh jeez.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Now that we’ve established you’re both bigots, lets move onto killing people.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
So the surge is our plan to leave Iraq? We’re leaving Iraq by sending more troops there?
Also, the vote Obama made against funding the troops is the same as a vote McCain made.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Walker, I know what Clean Coal is. But I very much doubt the vast majority of the American Population does. Just another example that Biden could have used to show his expertise over Palin.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Hey guys, is the liveblog worth posting on or do the comments make more sense.
I think it’s nice to have a main post…
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Oh, certainly. I was just noting what clean coal was for Elliot.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
The Surge is not working. The surge is 10% additional troops. The surge is jack shit. The reduction in violence is happening because the genocide worked. the reduction in violence is due to the payments to the Sunni Awakening Councils who suddenly quit killing people. The reduction in violence is due mixed neighborhoods being destroyed and dominated by a single sect. The increase in troops did jack shit.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hear that? Our troops can’t handle being told we should leave Iraq?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Elliot, keep posting at the top
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I think the main post is good, nice summary going on. Might be better to consolidate it afterwards, clean up.
Palin is crazy. This is not a surrender! Where can we win? How can we win? What are we even winning? Do you just want to colonize the damned middle east and bung it up more?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
So Palin doesn’t like McCain either?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
No Palin, you’re wrong. Al Queda wasn’t in Iraq until after we invaded!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
They only met for 5 hours before she was selected
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
…Are the Castro’s even really effective dictators anymore? Really? Cuba is still the enemy?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Palin really shouldn’t be talking about others being not sane or stable.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
…Palin talked with Kissenger? Really? Did she just sort of coo while he twiddled his thumbs?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Palin claims McCain wants to talk to other leaders when he, in fact, doesn’t. Palin is saying she’s for diplomacy, but only with people she agrees with?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Biden getting aggressive regarding on Diplomacy issue. This is his territory, back off hockey mom.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Yes, calling out McCain on Spain!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 pm
WOAH! Since when is McCain/Palin for a two-state solution?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Israel has a good track record of writing peace-keeping accords, but keeping them?
Eh.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Walker -
Since, uhm, now I guess?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
God. Biden, so many specifics. Your making the beauty queen’s head hurt.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Israel is good at making peace with neighbors and she cites Jordan and Egypt? Israel beat them in a war only because it had the US’s help. How is that making peace?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
It’s Obama’s campaign that’s done too much finger pointing? Has she been watching a different campaign?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
I don’t know how McCain’s policy is different than George Bush’s
That was awesome. That is the line for tonight. That is the winner.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
What’s the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom: Lipstick.
What’s the difference between a pit bull and Joe Biden? Nothing.
Kill her Joe, Kill her!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Man, Biden really hammered home the McCain-Bush parallels.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Now Palin’s saying that she and McCain agree with Obama’s plan for Afghanistan.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm
And Palin said that our nukes are only for deterrence, but why are we developing small, bunker buster nukes to be used against terrorists in caves and underground complexes? That doesn’t sound like deterrence to me.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I’m at the point now where every time Palin opens her mouth, I just tune her out. It’s like Bush is on stage or something.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:02 pm
It is pretty clear that Biden knows way, way more than she does.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
She cites her lack of talent as a Washington outsider?
She’s got a loooooooooong hour ahead of her.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Palin saying Biden is the flip-flopper? Here’s a list of McCain’s over 75 flip flops: http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/flipflops
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Do you have one for Obama or Biden too?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
All this stuff Palin’s saying about McCain here is just fluff. There was literally no substance to her answer.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:08 pm
No, I’m admittedly a partisan. I’m sure a similar list has been created by conservative blog somewhere.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Wow, neither of them have answered the question about how they would differ from their top-of-the-ticket. And apparently Palin wants to bring some Alaskan snow to DC, where it would promptly melt since DC is a FUCKING SWAMP!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
You’re asking Home Depot employees about Foreign Affairs?
What kind of schools do they have in Delaware?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
“Say it ain’t so Joe” So, was that Schmidt or someone else who wrote that?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm
So Palin doesn’t want to talk about the past at all? Does history have no lessons for us? Biden did a good job of turning that question into a Bush/McCain comparison.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Less flexibility in No Child Left Behind?
That *terrible* bill?
My god, someone stop that woman!
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Palin at least knows what the VP does this time around.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Oh, oh, great question from Ifil about the Constitution. And oh my god. Palin agrees that the VP is part of two branches of our government. She says the Constitution gives flexibility there. IT DOES NOT. The Constitution says the VP is part of the Executive branch, end of story. No real Constitutional scholar worth anything would ever say otherwise.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Good, Biden calls that take on the VP dangerous.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Really? Reagan started the City on a Hill idea? I’m pretty sure that was the Puritans, but nice try.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Ooooh. Biden pulls out single parent card. Gnarly
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:21 pm
…was that a few boos I just heard?
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Oh my god, stop saying maverick! Palin has never taken on her own party, she was brought up by her party.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Biden attacks the maverick talk.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Ch-ch-changes. People seem hesitant to say they changed their ideas after the damned John Kerry flip-flopping accusations.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Ya, the questions have been surprisingly solid, even more so than the mostly-good questions from first Prez debate.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Biden has weirdly shaped temples.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Ya, Palin had a good closing statement, although a lot of it was inaccurate. Her last line about McCain having been the only one to fight for your freedom was delivered well and had a good double-meaning. I bet we’ll hear that line more and it’ll be attributed to Palin. That way they get to keep using a line that sounds and feels good, plus it would make Palin look better.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
And that’s all she wrote! It’s over! We’ve now tripled the total-number of comments on The Melon.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Now come the talking heads. “Did you just see that? “Yeah, I did!”
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Yup! Most commented post of all-time. Thanks everyone for participating.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
The pundits on MSNBC are saying Palin won because she was more personable. Is that really the measure of a good leader?
Tom Brokaw also just said “Coldest state, hottest governor”.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:39 pm
And now MSNBC is listing a series of factual error and mistakes Palin made on stage. That’s awesome.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
That’s ridiculous.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 7:42 pm
What’s everyone’s take on the winner? If you can really call one.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 8:04 pm
CBS showed this amazing graphic of these captioned undecided voters they had. On the issue of Iraq, Biden was showing like 75 points. Switch to Palin. It plummets in a straight line to 45, then continues to dip and stutter.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 8:08 pm
It depends on how you score it. Based on issues and substance, I think it was clearly Biden. If you judge it on who you’d rather have a beer with (read: dumbest measure ever for a leader) then it’s a toss up. The thing I took away is that this debate didn’t really change anything which is a win for Obama/Biden.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
We’ll see. It’s hard to tell how much of a roll a debate plays. People need time to digest. Who knows what subtitles might shift voters.
I’ll agree though that there was no uber-clear victor. No one messed-up enough.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I’m not sure I agree with all the analysis here: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/2/23101/4268/952/618411 . But I’m once again surprised by the public’s reaction to a debate that seemed, to me, be pretty even.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Also, I’ve been listening to NPR’s call-in after the debate. Just now someone called in saying that Palin isn’t prepared at all to be President and that it’s scary to think she could be President. The host of the show asked the audience (they’re broadcasting from a theater in St. Louis where they were all listening to the debate) if anyone disagreed. There was a good 10 seconds of silence followed by laughter. Wow, just….wow.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I gotta disagree with you on the moderator comment. I thought she was one of the weakest moderators. She asked some pretty decent questions but she didn’t hold them to answering them. She just let them answer however they wanted (as Palin claimed she would do anyhow), but I think their true colors would have stood out more if Ifill forced them to be specific.
On another note, the format of this debate was starkly different than the presidential debate in which the moderator encouraged them to address one another. Of course, a true debate never really occurred but I wonder what would have happened if the two VP candidates were able to directly question the other. It would have made for a much more entertaining debate.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Yeah, I agree she could have held both of them to the questions more. She did point out when they weren’t answering the questions and the questions were strong, which is more I could say for other moderators. So I’d say comparatively she was strong, but I definitely see what you’re saying.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm
We played Palin Bingo at the Cellar.
I think she won the debate because she didn’t fuck-up like everyone expected her to. She didn’t answer a single question – but Biden looked old.
I think the Ds will be jugging ahead once Obama and McCain go back to debating. During the first debate Obama looked like he was preparing to be sworn in, and McCain like he was preparing to receive a life-time achievement award.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Why do we keep talking about “who won”? It’s not a sporting match.
All I care about is the issues, and Biden was spot on with every single one.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 11:58 pm
But Liam, we’re winning in Iraq.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 12:38 am
On gay-partnership. Biden: You won’t be married, you’ll be butt-buddies.
Wow, I don’t remember Biden’s treatment of gay marriage coming out quite like that during the debate, was that an EE style comedic interlude? What’s a ‘butt-buddy’? That’s not a figurative expression for ‘partners in anal sex is it’? Because that’s kind of how it seems. Is that supposed to be funny? Since when does gay-partnership imply anal sex? Isn’t that a sexual stereotype? How very non-PC.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
@marumaruyopparai: It’s a South Park reference making fun of how unaccepting people are to gay marriage. By not allowing homosexuals the right to the “name” of marriage, you’re practically treating them as second citizens and pandering them with a bullshit name like “domestic partnerships”, might as well be “butt-buddies.”
Sorry you didn’t understand my reference. I assure you, I’m not trying to be hurtful, but seriously, sexual stereotype? You’re suggesting that gay men don’t engage in anal sex….plah?
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October 3rd, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I don’t watch much South Park, but it IS a great show. And if you read my comment again, you’ll find no comment denying that gay men engage in anal sex. My point was that gay-partnership in no way implies engagement in anal sex (think about it). It’s a stereo-typical label. . . plah. and I don’t buy that ALL lesbians engage in anal sex. But I of course concede the relevance of the context of your satirical comment.
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October 3rd, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Okay, I see what you were saying. Gay does not imply gay men. Therefore gay does not imply anal sex. I do agree.
PLAH!
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