The Biden/Palin Debate Thread...get ready!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:27am

I am seeing THE SEAGULL tonite, so I won't be able to watch but oh, I'm so excited.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:30am

I hope that's erasable ink, as she needs to change nukular to new-clear.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:31am

Will Biden slam her and McCain on global warming?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:33am

new-clear?

wtf does acne medication have to do with the vice presidency, phyllis? honestly you commies and your scurrilous attacks against the saintly mrs. palin make want to retch and vomit they are so very heinous and without class.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:34am

Whatever happened to class?

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:34am

Woo hoo! My guy & I have an evening planned for it. I'm even whipping up some homemade soup and grilled cheese -- the recession/depression special! -- for the occasion.

[cubanpab]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:36am

i gotta be honest folks... i'm not as confident as many of you are... i've seen the videos of her debating in alaska, and even though she doesnt really offer much substance, she somehow manages to come off "charming", humiliate her opposition with a few sarcastic digs, ramble off a list of broad statements that most americans would probably be satisfied with, and end it all with a big smile even tho she just stabbed you in the heart.

i like Biden. I know he has the knowledge and the experience. I'm just not as confident that tonight will be a blood bath for poor lil' Sarah.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:37am

Neither do I--underestimate Palin at your own risk--but nonetheless, this is truly exciting.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:39am

"...even though she doesnt really offer much substance, she somehow manages to come off "charming", humiliate her opposition with a few sarcastic digs, ramble off a list of broad statements that most americans would probably be satisfied with, and end it all with a big smile even tho she just stabbed you in the heart."

Isn't that what Republicans do?

[cubanpab]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:42am

^
yup. and thats why people keep voting for them.

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:43am

In that case, wouldn't it then be the job of the moderator to press Palin to clarify her statement, and to actually answer the question? Has anyone seen Ifill moderate before? How is she?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:53am

Pizza, Survivor and this...looking forward to all three!

Unfortunately, I agree w/pab...tomorrow we get to hear how much better than expected Palin did (terrible, but better than expected), how likeable she is, how mean the moderator and Biden were and her ticket will get a bump.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:54am

I agree as well.........unfortunately.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 11:58am

I don't underestimate her either, nor do I underestimate the Republican ability to spin the sh*t she spews into gold.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:18pm

Unless she blanks, blows a spit bubble, then bursts into tears or Biden says "I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine. You're no..." It won't be a game changer.

Hearing that she's in pgymy in lipstick attack mode, boning up on the Democratic "liberal" votes, however, suggests some unpredictable backfiring. If she's merely there to shoot down the hopeful platrform of the other ticket, without providing any substantive "reform" ideas herself, should could go down in flames, not due to her ignorance, but do to her mean, narrow strategy. After all, haven't you noticed how she and McCain are three times more vicious than W?

[artscallion]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:18pm

I never underestimate Republicans. But I think there are several important differences between Palin's Alaskan debates and the one she faces tonight:

-In the Alaskan debates, there were only a handful of local issues she had to be aware of. Just living there would make anyone familiar enough to be able to debate them. Tonight will cover a whole host of issues (we don't even know which ones, out of potentially thousands will be addressed) that are not only complicated, factually, but politically, philosophically, etc. I don't think a few weeks training is going to make anyone able to intelligently address whatever comes up.

-Everyone has seen these Alaskan videos. That cutesy, deflective, distraction style of debating is already being seen and defined as such. If she does this tonight, the press/public, being so tuned into that already, will see it and call it what it is.

-What plays at a debate set around a card table in the Juno VFW Hall will not play the same behind a podium on a stage broadcast to the world.

-We will be able to directly compare Palin with Biden. I don't know if you've seen him debate before. But if you compare his standard debate performance side by side with Palin's Alaskan videos, she doesn't appear quite so capable as she does if you view them on their own.

-Despite the low bar the GOP has been trying to set, passing that bar only gives her a, "well, she's not as big a train wreck as I though." result. But I think the bar she needs to reach to get votes from independents is higher than she's capable of.

Updated On: 10/2/08 at 12:18 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:21pm

Letterman had me on the floor last night about the debate. He said he feels like a little kid on Christmas Eve!

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:22pm

Last night's Top 10 list from Letterman...


Top Ten Things Overheard at Sarah Palin's Debate Camp:

10 - Let's practice your bewildered silence.
9 - Can you try saying "Yes" instead of "You betcha?"
8 - Hey, I can see Mexico from here!
7 - Maybe we'll get lucky and there won't be any questions about Iraq, taxes, or health care.
6 - We're screwed!
5 - Can I just use that lipstick-pit bull thing again?
4 - We have to wrap it up for the day? McCain eats dinner at 4:30.
3 - Can we get Congress to bail us out of this debate?
2 - John Edwards wants to know if you'd like some private tutoring in his van.
1 - Any way we can just get Tina Fey to do it?
Updated On: 10/2/08 at 12:22 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:23pm

Beautifully put, artscalion. Hope you are right.

[cubanpab]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:27pm

me too artscalion

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:29pm

I'm optimistic that there will be a complete meltdown. How often can one say that?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:34pm

THIS is what we need to maximize our debate viewing pleasure:
Palin Bingo!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:36pm

I agree with Borstal -- excellent isights, artscallion. I think your ideas are required reading before we watch. You're right, the global rather than Grovers Corner nature of the arena, and our knowledge of her deficiences and charm-school bag of tricks are key components. I'm cutting/pasting and sending your post to a few friends. Thanks.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:37pm

"But I think the bar she needs to reach to get votes from independents is higher than she's capable of."

That is my best hope...and let's face it, those are the ones who will be listening hardest tonite.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 10/2/08 at 12:42pm

It is the middle 5% that will decide this election and I hope that they will be watching. The playoff game on TV during the debate involves two blue state teams Cubs/Dodgers which is a good thing.

A good performance tonight cannot and will not erase all of the nonsense that we have heard in the past month. I hope her performance is sub par, because it will then be McCain who is on the way to a melt-down. He lied like a fool to the Iowa Editorial Board and is quite snarkier than usual.

Regardless, I am a Cubs fan and I cannot be optomistic about anything these days!