THE WIN-WIN VP DEBATE
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| Also listed in: Licking County Pro-Active Citizens (www.licopac.org) |
It's only minutes after Midnight and since I don't hear any anguished partisan cries out there, I assume both Republicans and Democrats are happy - or at least satisfied - with the outcome of last night's one-and-only vice presidential debate.
Republicans won't have to get up early tomorrow to slap a strip of duct tape across the "PALIN" on their McCain yard signs.
Democrats can wake up feeling pretty confident that nothing much has changed in respect to the momentum of the race, which has been tilting strongly of late towards Barack Obama.
If a ballgame could end in a tie, the fans would go home mad. But in the circumstances of this race, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are willing to accept a draw.
The devilish details?
PALIN'S BEST MOMENT: "You voted for the (Iraq) war before you opposed the war," she said to Biden, making the point that U.S. senators don't think or talk like the rest of us. Flip-flop always works, particularly when your opponent doesn't remind voters of your own flops on things like earmark$ and the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But overall, Palin made good use of her out-of-the-Washington-loop, hockey mom, small-town simplicity and lack of sophistication. If you voted for Bush because he seemed like an average Joe, you'll vote for Palin.
BIDEN'S BEST MOMENT(S): From a human standpoint, his choking up when referring to the difficulty of raising two sons following the death of his wife. From a policy standpoint, no real zingers but Biden made a strong case for his brand of change through relentless repetition of the "fundamental" facts on the ground, McCain's history of votes against things like alternative energy and government regulation and the lack of policy distance between Bush and "McBush."
PALIN'S WORST MOMENT: "Your plan is the white flag of surrender in Iraq." This came across as a cheap partisan shot, and not something you'd hear from a candidate truly interested in bringing bipartisanship to Washington.
BIDEN'S WORST MOMENT: Sen. Joe almost disappeared behind his podium when asked to explain why he voted last year for a consumer-unfriendly bankruptcy bill when his running mate, Obama, voted NO.
PALIN BODY LANGUAGE: Gov. Sarah beamed that sunny smile, even when she was on the attack, and my wife swears she caught her frequently winking at the camera.
BIDEN BODY LANGUAGE: Smiled indulgently like a long-suffering Dad when Sarah got particularly aggressive. But he remained courtly, never patronizing, and in his own turn conveyed an attitude of seriousness and competence.
STUPIDEST STATEMENT OF THE NIGHT: Sarah Palin, "I'm encouraged to know we both love Israel!" Is there any politician, this side of Tehran, that doesn't profess undying love and support for spunky little Israel?
ANCESTOR WORSHIP: Palin tried gamely to raise the ghost of Ronald Reagan, wishing not only for that "shining city on a hill" but at one point admonishing Biden, "There you go, Joe, pointing back again (to the record of the Bush administration." Nice try, happy warrior princess, but reruns are never as good as the original.
BIGGEST SURPRISE(S): What happened to the so-called "Hot Button Issues?" Roe vs. Wade was only mentioned once, and then by Biden, referring in passing to why he opposed Robert Bork's appointment to the US Supreme Court. And it turned out that Biden and Palin (and presumably, McCain and Obama) can all hold hands on the issue of gay marriage, opposing use of the "M" word but supporting the right of gays to couple up without being denied the legal rights of married folks.
Republicans won't have to get up early tomorrow to slap a strip of duct tape across the "PALIN" on their McCain yard signs.
Democrats can wake up feeling pretty confident that nothing much has changed in respect to the momentum of the race, which has been tilting strongly of late towards Barack Obama.
If a ballgame could end in a tie, the fans would go home mad. But in the circumstances of this race, both Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are willing to accept a draw.
The devilish details?
PALIN'S BEST MOMENT: "You voted for the (Iraq) war before you opposed the war," she said to Biden, making the point that U.S. senators don't think or talk like the rest of us. Flip-flop always works, particularly when your opponent doesn't remind voters of your own flops on things like earmark$ and the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But overall, Palin made good use of her out-of-the-Washington-loop, hockey mom, small-town simplicity and lack of sophistication. If you voted for Bush because he seemed like an average Joe, you'll vote for Palin.
BIDEN'S BEST MOMENT(S): From a human standpoint, his choking up when referring to the difficulty of raising two sons following the death of his wife. From a policy standpoint, no real zingers but Biden made a strong case for his brand of change through relentless repetition of the "fundamental" facts on the ground, McCain's history of votes against things like alternative energy and government regulation and the lack of policy distance between Bush and "McBush."
PALIN'S WORST MOMENT: "Your plan is the white flag of surrender in Iraq." This came across as a cheap partisan shot, and not something you'd hear from a candidate truly interested in bringing bipartisanship to Washington.
BIDEN'S WORST MOMENT: Sen. Joe almost disappeared behind his podium when asked to explain why he voted last year for a consumer-unfriendly bankruptcy bill when his running mate, Obama, voted NO.
PALIN BODY LANGUAGE: Gov. Sarah beamed that sunny smile, even when she was on the attack, and my wife swears she caught her frequently winking at the camera.
BIDEN BODY LANGUAGE: Smiled indulgently like a long-suffering Dad when Sarah got particularly aggressive. But he remained courtly, never patronizing, and in his own turn conveyed an attitude of seriousness and competence.
STUPIDEST STATEMENT OF THE NIGHT: Sarah Palin, "I'm encouraged to know we both love Israel!" Is there any politician, this side of Tehran, that doesn't profess undying love and support for spunky little Israel?
ANCESTOR WORSHIP: Palin tried gamely to raise the ghost of Ronald Reagan, wishing not only for that "shining city on a hill" but at one point admonishing Biden, "There you go, Joe, pointing back again (to the record of the Bush administration." Nice try, happy warrior princess, but reruns are never as good as the original.
BIGGEST SURPRISE(S): What happened to the so-called "Hot Button Issues?" Roe vs. Wade was only mentioned once, and then by Biden, referring in passing to why he opposed Robert Bork's appointment to the US Supreme Court. And it turned out that Biden and Palin (and presumably, McCain and Obama) can all hold hands on the issue of gay marriage, opposing use of the "M" word but supporting the right of gays to couple up without being denied the legal rights of married folks.
