Debate?

glenmar

I think the Bidden/Palin debate will be a deal maker/breaker for her.  Already I'm reading that folks are calling for her to step down and I think that if she doesn't do an absolutely sterling job on Thursday, well, it may be all over for Palin.  I feel badly for her on a personal level that she'll be up against a professional, pitbull type politician in what could be a make or break situation.  But personal feelings shouldn't enter into something like htis.

I completely agree and I just don't have a good feeling for how Palin will do but I wish her well. Has a VP candidate ever stepped down or been released during a campaign?

glenmar

I feel badly for her on a personal level that she'll be up against a professional, pitbull type politician in what could be a make or break situation.

When I catch myself feeling sorry for her (and I have frequently in the past week), I administer a mental slap.

After all, surely she had to have a pretty good basic understanding of what campaigning would be like.  And if she didn't . . . well, to me that's just another indication that she isn't qualified for the job.

Myra

When I catch myself feeling sorry for her (and I have frequently in the past week), I administer a mental slap.

After all, surely she had to have a pretty good basic understanding of what campaigning would be like.  And if she didn't . . . well, to me that's just another indication that she isn't qualified for the job.

True.  And even if she were to handle herself amazingly well in the debate, she's still not qualified for the job. A high school senior with a couple of semesters of debate class under his belt could probably do a pretty decent job too. 

Joyce

 I only caught a bit of it (I HATE politics) but had to howl over McCain's reply of not being MISS Congenitality!  MIIS?  Are we MISSing something here?  ooooops...

fuzzy_dogs_mom

True.  And even if she were to handle herself amazingly well in the debate, she's still not qualified for the job. A high school senior with a couple of semesters of debate class under his belt could probably do a pretty decent job too. 

There was one other a time a vp candidate only had a few years as governor, a family to take care, and considered a bit of a gun-toting individual before being selected as a vp candidate. No particular background in debate class. That was Theodore Roosevelt.

So, what seems like a lack of credentials on Palin's part may not be a hindrance, at all. And she does have executive experience, being governor of Alaska. That's more than we can say for some, though that may not be a requirement, either. Neither McCain or Obama have been governors. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they can't be president.

In fact, past experience may not mean anything at all. So, if we get rid of all credentials, past experience, etc., it boils down to a personality contest. Who's voice do you like better, what words chosen convince you. If it was based soley on experience, it would be McCain and Palin. If I was to vote based on personality, I would rather vote for Rice but she isn't running.

Or, go ahead and get that high school senior from debate class. I guess he stands as much of a chance, aside from the age requirement of the office. I think the debates are interesting but I'm not sure how accurate they are at predicting elections. Reagan didn't do so well and he still became president. Twice.

Clinton was great at speaking and did well in debates and he won, twice.

Bush is considered to be a trainwreck when it comes to public speaking in some quarters yet this is the end of his second term.

So the debate is not predictive, IMO.

ron2

If I was to vote based on personality, I would rather vote for Rice but she isn't running.

Wow. That woman scares me almost as much as Palin (almost!). She has evil eyes.

That's the stuff of nightmares I tell ya!

chelsea_b

Wow. That woman scares me almost as much as Palin (almost!). She has evil eyes.

It's the tude. I ain't puttin' up with crap from nobody.

I guess for me, and most years I don't watch the debates, this is a great chance to see the two candidates side by side and to see how they respond, not only to the questions, but how they relate to one another.  As I said in my original post, I wasn't impressed with the first name deal, nor was I impressed with the making of faces by McCain.  The smirking really ticked me off.

As to the VP debate.....well, I'll look at which of these two is ready to step into the office of POTUS.  And in this particular election, I'm thinking that has to be at least as serious a consideration as which of the two Presidental candidates we want in office. 

I agree with most of you that the debate was a yawner.  I found myself zoning out at times.

McCain missed some good opportunities during the economic portion.  He should have brought up Obama's recent statement about his tax plan where he admitted that he wouldn't be able to implement many parts of it right away because of the current crisis, so if he admits that, then how is his plan good for the economy at all?  I was disappointed McCain didn't bring that up.  And I thought Obama shot himself in the foot when he basically refused to answer the question about which programs would have to be cut out because of the crisis, even though Lehrer asked it three different ways.  He seemed evasive and caught off guard.  He did stumble and stutter a bit, but less than I thought he would.  Overall I thought Obama was more composed than a lot of folks expected he would be.

I think McCain clearly was better than Obama on the foreign policy portion.  Obama did himself no favors bringing up Kissinger, and apparently Kissinger came out with a statement refuting what Obama said.  McCain's constant name-dropping was supposed to show how much experience he has in foreign policy, but it got old pretty quick.

As far as him not looking at Obama, I saw an interview yesterday morning he did with George Stephanopolous, and he said he was looking at the audience.  I think it's because that's just what he's used to doing, and frankly, I didn't notice it at all during the actual debate.

Obama said 8 times that he agreed with McCain.  I don't think he should have done that.  It seemed more like he was interviewing for a cabinet position in the McCain administration, lol.  Certainly didn't jive with his message of "change."

I think the VP debate will be more interesting.  People have pretty low expectations of Palin, so she's kind of the "underdog."  It'll be interesting to see how she performs.  And, it's always interesting to see what Biden will say, given his many recent gaffes on the campaign trail.  I also think the townhall-style debate coming up for McCain and Obama should be more interesting than the one this past Friday.

aerial1313

I also think the townhall-style debate coming up for McCain and Obama should be more interesting than the one this past Friday

Absolutely. I hope someone asks for an encore of the Bomb Iran song

But I am sure the Town Hall thing will be so controlled I really have my doubts it'll be much different than this one. They will be vetting who gets in the door, handing them acceptable questions and no doubt spontenaity will only be allowed if it's planned. LMBO.

I think most town hall meetings are carefully orchestrated. The last free-for-all was with Bill Clinton. One person stood up and asked an embarrassing question he couldn't answer. More embarrassing and tough than any question about his infidelity. This was the question - name any nation in the history of mankind that was able to tax itself into prosperity.

The answer, of course, is none. Taxation is like bloodletting. Do it big enough and fast enough and the patient dies quickly.

Does anyone know when the Palin/Biden debate will be?  I'm very interested in watching it.

Thursday Night not sure what time but most likely 8 eastern

Thursday at 9:00 p.m. (eastern time).

Myra

Thursday at 9:00 p.m. (eastern time).

Right!  We've got it scheduled for 6:00 p.m. here.

Joyce