Friday, October 3, 2008

No train wreck

Well, I admit it, like most NASCAR fans, I tuned in last night in hopes of seeing a 10 car crash but got another snore-fest instead. I don't know if I can take two more of these "debates." Whatever these things are, they certainly aren't debates; they're more like really long infomercials with no video footage or third-party endorsements. I didn't learn anything new, neither candidate revealed any new character flaws of significance -- what was gained here? And this is the format the networks gave us. The debates were a lot more interesting when the League of Women Voters ran them, which gives you some insight into why no one watches network TV anymore.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

The format allowed Sarah Palin to give set answers, which she did. It also kept her out of getting into a corner. However seemingly personal her delivery, I didn't find anything she had to say very special. It sounded like talking points, which it was.

Joe Biden, as expected, handled facts better. Although I am not sure they will turn out to be 100% factual, they were more to the essence of whatever the underlying truth is. As Obama is ahead in the polls, Biden refrained from anything toxic. Factually, the debate was like a junior high school student vs a post graduate. Other than known political outlooks, does America want someone who has experience or someone who might be able to learn on the job as second in line for president? When I need a surgeon I go for one with a deeper understanding, not the one who feels they are sure they can pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Personally, I find her grating. A little red flag drops down in my mind when I listen to a populist. Nor do I buy the "maverick" and outsider premise that Washington could be turned on its head. Never has been, never will.

BTW, is the photo of the Reading terminal in Philadelphia?

d'blank said...

the station is Montparnasse in Paris.

Anonymous said...

Philadelphia was a close guess. Palin didn't take a dump in the middle of the floor so I guess she did what she needed to do. All she did was stop the bleeding that she has caused.

Her performance did more for her political future that it did for McCain's campaign. She didn't defend any of McCain's plans such as his health care proposal.

Biden, my guy in Dem primary, did real well.

This will be forgotten by sundown tonight. McCain is now on his own and it's going to get real lonely out there in the next month.

Anonymous said...

I was personally offended by that dumb ass redneck last night...and by McCain so irresponsibly selecting her when all reports were that he was cajoled into it by campaign advisors. What kind of man would we elect as president who gets convinced out of his convictions especially to select such a relative moron to be his next in line.

Jack Cafferty had it dead right when he said in all his years the couric interview was the most pathetic piece of tape he's ever seen. To me, last night was just as bad: Shout outs, yas, there you go Joe (to a US Senator who always her called her Governor), hockey mom and on and on. What a putrid display.

Anyone on the right who said that was important for their campaign is privately wrenching their hands and preparing for an Obama administration come January.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and another thing: Stop calling yourself a maverick! That's so deeply arrogant it's not even funny. I'm so glad Biden put it to her on that last night.

And, hopefully Biden telling us about his awful story of his wife and sons puts a friggean end to the hockey mom, I get you, B.S. dialogue spouted out constantly by that poser, Palin! Enough!!

Anonymous said...

The winner: The Republican Party Propaganda Machine,again.

For a month Palin went from playing the; librarian fantacy, to the regular folk,to the dumb (brunette)in this case, then topped it off by doing the "rope-a-dope with Katy Couric. Joe six pack who still wants in her pants today is thinking she knows her stuff.

Be very afraid. Its the same propaganda machine that made Americans swallow the GW Bush hook, twice.

The debate was a snoozefest. The bright spots for me were, imagining her naked & Biden calling Dick Cheney evil.

Anonymous said...

Biggest loser - Gwen Iffil

Broad, softball questions with little to no follow-up on the bs responses and non-answers by both, especially by the vixen.

Joe Six Pack and Hockey Moms will now rule the world!

I fell safe already!!

d'blank said...

wow, you guys sound like you think SP turned the whole thing around for the McCain tkt. i haven't seen the rating yet, but i can't imagine that many people even watched last night.

Anonymous said...

I did not watch for the same reason I've been unable to watch my beloved Sox most of the season: the journey and potential bad outcome scares me too much. All I saw were the many, many clips and analysis on Morning Joe. It seems to me the problem was the great Gwen Iffil who must have been really spooked by the great right-wing conspiracy that threw millions of copies of her as yet unpublished (and chapter on Obama not yet written!) book against her. Was there any follow-up for either of them? Did she challenge either of them? The bar was so low that, yes, d'blank she leapt over every expectation. Pat Buchanan is literally orgasmic over her performance and the resurgence of his ticket.

Anonymous said...

She gave canned answers that may have been two to three sentences long.

Biden went to four or five sentences to give his rehearsed responses.

There was no follow up and once she said she did not want to answer the question that was asked, but she wanted to talk about something else. The next time she did not want to answer questions that Biden, the moderator or the main stream media had for her.

She also gave a "shout out" to the third grade class of some school in the tundra. She was happy they were getting extra credit for watching it.

I hope she gets elected and moves into the Naval Observatory so that the rest of her daughters don't get knocked up by redneck hockey studs.

Although bringing those hotties to DC with Alex Ovechekin and his $125million just down the street gives the little darlings a more enriching playing field.

By golly she was doin just swell last night...who knew that Alaskan English had a silent "g" at the end of a word?

Anonymous said...

Calling this sort of format a debate is like calling McDonalds health food. Do you think Sarah Palin would have exposed herself to a real debate? Her's is the image of a tele-evangelist. Say it ain't so Joe.

I have heard that d'blank actually lives on the East Coast! His name might already be on some list.

Anonymous said...

I share everybody's disappointment tnat she didn't simply implode. But she did not carry the day at all. Every poll I've seen said that Biden was the better debater last night. From independents, undecideds, women and just general voters all said that Biden had the better night by a 2-1 margin. Did she exceed expectations? Of course. Did she hurt her ticket? No. Did she move anybody to vote for McCain that wasn't alreay there. No.

All and all, I think it was a net gain for the Obama ticket.

Oh, and thanks a lot Fenway for the image of an orgasmic Pat Buchanan. I may have to go to church to get that out of my head, and trust me, that's a radical step.

rsb said...

Gaga, do you know what you call a blonde with a brunette wig……….artificial intelligence.

Gosh by golly I suuuure did watch that their joe six pack lady last night.

I have one question though, WHEN did it become a BAD THING to be a smart well educated person to run for public office?

d'blank said...

Hankster -- i am a registered Ohioian. i'm hoping they won't find me.

Anonymous said...

My post debate questions:

For Senator Joe B:
Were you smilin' at Governor Palin... or leering?

Good thing you wuz behind a podium or we'd have seen your involuntary salute to her, fo' sho'.

Just as McCain looked into Putin's brain and saw KGB, Fisntinyoface looked into Biden's libido and saw him bareass over GOVERNESS Palin's knees, as she wailed on his tukas with a boar-bristle brush. And he looked mighty appreciative of the discipline.

Question for Gov. Sarah P:
Why don't you use spray adhesive on your forehead and stick down those damn bangs? Were you blinking out signs to your homies or tryin' to stifle a grand mal seizure?

From now on, we repectfully request you wear ankle straps, pencil skirts and a laced bodice. And scold us more through your Kawasaki 704s - we LIKE dat!

Here's one for moderator Gwen Ifill:
Were you dressed for an audition for Mad Men?

Anonymous said...

d'blank, with the, possibly some human activity induced, global warming, Ohio will soon be on the East Coast. You are on another list for subscribing to the WSJ.

As soon as I saw the format I knew Sarah Palin was safe from a gaffe. Only a chump could think otherwise. You can't lose with loaded dice.

Anonymous said...

I disagree with the entire title of this blog! She WAS a train wreck! Using "heck," "gosh-darn," and "you betcha" multiple times, followed by 3-5 WINKS during a VP debate, IS a Train Wreck! I'm sure those strategies worked very well when she was framing her answers for Alaska beauty pageants, but people need to realize that not only are these gimmicks phony and transparent, but they are NOT appropriate for that office! Can you imagine her winking at a Middle-East peace talk table?

If we accept this kind of casual, "six pack", downhome rapport of our 2nd most powerful member of our government, then we must admit we have lowered our standards immensely. We're supposed to be 'raising standards' in schools for children, but gosh-darn-it, for our highest officials, we're lowering them....you betcha!

Anonymous said...

Well it looks as if after Wall Street kinaps our economy and gets paid the ransom, they kill the kid anyway. Dow is down 158 after the bill gets approved and signed. Let the market work its magic.

d'blank said...

Birdman -- Wall Street buys on the rumor and sells on the news, so a drop after the yes vote was spredictable. maybe Monday will be better.

Annon -- I don't think the winks and "you betchas" rise to the level of a train wreck. more like a fender-bender, but it's early.

Anonymous said...

How about a poll: would you feel comfortable with Sarah Palin as President of the United States. And, you were still alive.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, the request for a poll was by me: hankster.

[a premature e-exclamation]

d'blank said...

sure why not. see above.

Anonymous said...

well, guess what?

I found Palin refreshing.

I liked her "down home" style and guess what? So did a lot of other people.

Like I have said, any one of you could be a VP canidadte.

d'blank said...

well, if that's all the more you're looking for in a candidate then you'll never be disappointed i guess.

Anonymous said...

jb, I am not sure this country can afford another "down home" president. Too bad we couldn't just give the states the presidents who win their majority and compare notes in 4 years.

In a Darwinian sense, the concept of emulation (read faking) confers certain survival benefits. If an organism can ride unearned on the reputation of another it can save energy and get a free pass on territorial infringements. Literature celebrates fantasies of this type of arrangement. Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King didn't turn out so well for the pretender. The Sorcerer's Apprentice didn't work out well for anyone. Keep in mind that "the fake is greater than the make." The rookie tends to put too much spin on the ball. We all hope to have the eye to discern who is the master and who is the grasshopper.

Anonymous said...

After reading what she said rather than just listening, she was just as nonsensical on Thursday as she was in the Couric interviews. Just more confident.

It's unimaginable for her to be president. Even my 92 year old father who can't remember what he had for breakfast thinks she's 4 car political pile up.

Anonymous said...

NEXT

Anonymous said...

Is the road to the White House just a driver's test and acting lessons?

Anonymous said...

Does supporting the Weather Underground & John Mccain make me a bad guy? I'm confused

Anonymous said...

Palin is making the case for Obama. He hangs out with terrorists and we all know he is a muslim.

What better way to infiltrate the Muslim terror movement than with a muslim president who has street cred with our homegrown terrorist.

He knows them from the inside out and will be better equipped to anticipate an attack than McCain.

Anybody think McCain hangs out in a Hookah bar passing the old pipe around and picking up the inside information?

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