The Great Debate

Disclaimer: I try not to be overtly political in my blog, but this election is simply too big, so don't be surprised if I post on it from time to time. If you do not like my views for any reason, please remember that this is my blog, so if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. ;)

Thursday night was the Vice Presidential debate between Sen. Joseph Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin. Ricky was hesitant to watch it, but I insisted. It was to be the only debate between the V.P.'s, one that McCain had wanted to cancel, so yeah, I was going to watch it. This election simply means too much for me not to have watched it.

Reader, I must be upfront with you now and say I am a proud Democrat, but please know that the reasons why I support Obama for president go beyond my political affiliation. I truly believe he is the only one, with Biden's help, that will help lead our country in the right direction. Were he the Republican candidate, I would still vote for him, because I vote according to what's right for my country, not by what my voter's card says. It will not be easy, and I do not pretend that Obama will be able to fix every problem our great nation is currently facing, but I know this - if McCain wins the election, it will only be more of the same, if not worse.

But back to Thursday's debates. I want to talk about about Sarah Palin for a moment. I saw the interviews Palin did with Katie Couric - and could not believe my ears. Here was a woman who not only was ill prepared to answer honestly simple questions during an interview (e.g. When Couric asked Palin what newspapers or magazines she reads, Palin responded, "All of them."), but quite frankly ill prepared to help run the country. Even when Sarah Palin appeared in an interview with Charlie Gibson, an interview I expected to go in her favor since it's no secret Gibson supports the conservative base, she did poorly there, too. But don't take me at my word, watch the interviews for yourself:

The video below contains clips from the series of interviews Sarah Palin did with Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric and Sean Hannity.


I'm sure you've heard of the spoof Saturday Night Live did of the Couric-Palin interview. From the moment Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain's running mate, the comparisons between Palin and Tina Fey were numerous, so it was only a matter of time before SNL brought Fey back. The skit is something to be seen:

This is the famous SNL skit featuring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin in a comedic recreation of the Katie Couric interview. NOTE: A large portion of Tina Fey's lines are word-for-word Sarah Palin's own replies to Katie Couric.



Now that you've seen Sarah Palin in action, watch Joe Biden in the following speech he gave in a campaign stop in Langhorne, PA:


Considering the fact that 1 in 5 V.P.'s in history have become presidents themselves, due to their president's death or some other factor that calls for the V.P. to step up, this is a serious matter. I refuse to support Sarah Palin simply because she's a woman (and I say this as a woman who has always believed females are male's equals in all arenas, political or otherwise) or because she's a so-called "maverick." I refuse to support her because she's "cute" or a "darn tootin" governor. Our country is failing and we need someone who will lead our nation in the right direction, not just look good in suits and have a great smile.

The debate on Thursday only underscored the fact that Obama and Biden are the right choice to lead our country. When asked important questions about the economy and foregin affairs, Biden was able to call upon his multiple years working as a senator to answer thoughtfully and intelligently. Palin meanwhile floundered and talked in circles, refusing to let go of her pet-topic, energy, and occasionally throwing in some "folksy" comments and winking at the camera to show how she relates better to the average American, or "Joe Six-Pack," as she would call him. Palin even went so far as to give the only "shout-out" in Vice Presidential debate history when she mentioned how her brother is a third grade teacher, and she gave a "shout-out" to those third-graders, saying they get extra credit for watching the debate.

Please. I wanted to hug the mediator, Ifill, when she said we should all get extra credit.

So I think that Biden came out the clear winner of that debate. In comparison to the first presidential debate that Obama gave with McCain, I truly think Biden did even better than Obama. I watched the whole presidential debate but honestly found myself bored halfway through, because both candidates waxed a wee bit too eloquently on the issues. Biden was more concise and succint with his answers, getting right to the point while still managing to sound eloquent, so I thought he did better. Or maybe it was Palin's spasmic winking or obsessive mantra of the word "maverick" that had me in thrall, I don't know. All I know was that my attention did not waver once during the Vice Presidential debate.

The NY Times wrote a great article about the VP debate that you should read. I hope you read the article and see the videos above, even the SNL skit. While the SNL skit may be a parody, it still accentuates the fact, in my humble opinion, that Sarah Palin and John McCain are the wrong choice for our country.

2 comment(s):

Abel said...

You could not be any more right on the issue. The fact that Sarah Palin had to try so hard to look only slightly dumb, for lack of a better word, is honestly sad.

It's amazing how the Republicans can attack Obama for being inexperienced and yet still keep a straight face when talking about their own VP.

The McCain of today is nothing like the McCain of 2000; he would've been disgusted if he could see himself in the future. McCain has given up everything he's stood for, lied, and pandered to every possible group to earn his votes. And you don't need to be a rocket scientist to tell that Sarah Palin was a political pick- however, it shows his lack of judgement and lack of a real 'Country First' which he claims to have. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, a Republican Senator, would have at least been more qualified. But Palin was pretty. Word is that Joe Lieberman was actually the pick, the person who John McCain thought would be best for the country, and still he picked the unknown former mayor of a city 4% the size of Hialeah, and Governor of a state with 28% the population of Miami-Dade County alone (which is also more diverse, if I may add).

At this point, he's desperate. The paths to victory are narrowing for McCain and widening for Obama. The latter needs only to protect already strong Kerry states and win ONE Bush state from 2004. Meanwhile, McSame is having a hard time defending longtime Republican strongholds.

But that's enough for my opinionated comment! Let me just point you to two rather interesting videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u0sevdGsog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLfsG8XKWfw

ElshaHawk said...

my husband supports Obama, he's even thinking of registering to vote.

I think I do too, i haven't been following this as closely as i should, but I've always leaned democratic in economics.

this is getting crazy, the US is losing it's power.