Ho-Hum Debate: The much-ballyhooed Biden-Palin exchange of stump speeches disguised as a debate came off as a fairly bland affair. No big gaffes, no sizzling language, nothing but the same-old Talking Points we’ve all heard before. Full Disclosure: I only watched the last half of the ‘debate’ last night — the rest I recorded – and I checked the endless replays of the ‘highlights’ today. Just two thoughts:
1.) I never noticed before how truly phony is Sarah Palin. Up to last night, I regarded her as just a naïf out of her element, a high school player accidentally sent up to the Big Show. Not now; what I saw in the debate was a calculating hick, a two-faced Lonesome Rhodes “Face in the Crowd” type, who, I wouldn’t be surprised, probably muttered something like “That oughta hold those dumb bastards” when she was safely off stage. It was all there: The cornball “Gosh, golly, gee” patois, the overcooked Church-Lady-Meets-Lily-Tomlin’s-phone-operator voice, the cutesy winks, the camera mugging, the self-satisfied smile. It makes her even more dangerous than she was before; Junior with a craftier brain.
2.) In their post-debate commentary, MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, the Politico’s Roger Simon and the Other Usual Media Miscreants once again strained credulity by attempting to speak for the Working Class out there in the Fly-Over Country of the Midwest. These guys inhabit offices in New York and Washington – besides the building doorman or the valet who parks their luxury car, how many actual members of the hourly-wage Drone Culture do they really know? In their omniscient view of the Biden-Palin encounter, Palin was likable and sharp and those downtrodden Soccer-Hockey Moms out there counting quarters to do the laundry were sure to swallow her guff whole-hog and rally to the GOP. Victory for Palin! Then Todd started running through the poll numbers from independent voters showing they thought Biden won – he didn’t really have an explanation for why Mr. and Mrs. Joe Six-Pack didn’t buy the adorable Palin’s pandering guff as predicted; it was just one of those, shrug, anomalies. Hint to Chuck and Company: I live out in that part of America you think you know so well; I can’t find anyone – not a single person — who likes Palin, even after her cynical performance last night.
Rating: Pretty flaccid on both sides and nothing memorable happened. Biden won it on points by a hair, mainly because he, ya know, actually knew things; Palin was all empty Talking Points and gushy BS; she didn’t do McCain’s campaign any good.
The expectations for this debate were so low all Palin had to do was not try to shoot anyone or start speaking in tongues. Biden just had to avoid telling Palin to make him a sandwich.
They both oppopse gay marriage and they both love John McCain. Here’s my favorite out of context Biden quote:
“Let’s talk about the maverick John McCain, you know I love him…”
Also, Palin’s Reagan impressions give me the heebee jeebees.
Comment by Danger Bear — October 3, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
True, Dangerbear, as long as she stayed conscious and could speak in complete sentences, they’ll say she was ‘impressive.’
I thought her staring into the camera and winking was downright weird, but the Big Media pundicrats seemed to like it.
I heard some BM dimwit on MSNBC — didn’t catch his name — say the other day that nobody expected her to really answer any questions. No? I did.
Comment by RS Janes — October 4, 2008 @ 7:53 am
Palin’s recitals reminded me of middleschoolers staring straight ahead like a statue while delivering memorized bits from a textbook, then bobbing her head at the end of each one like, “there, I got through that one ok” and punctuating her performance with winks and smug smiles while glancing at Biden! Between bits of obviously memorized points which she also obviously did not understand she would once again reanimate and launch into her well practiced “adorable, cutesy, hokey mode” and make snide remarks to and about Biden.
Golly, gee whiz RS, it was the first time in my life I ever heard a political speech delivered in a whiney little girl voice and gosh, I been a-listenin’ ta political speeches since I was in second grade, even earlier dang it. She overplayed the cutesy to the point I almost expected her to roll over on the floor, wriggle and show her tummy like my little dog does when trying to finagle an extra treat. Obviously it worked on the media boys though, most of them seemed to still be creaming themselves while gushing about Sara’s ‘brilliant’ delivery.
BTW, I have illegals living on both sides of me, do you think that would be enough ‘foreign relations experience’ to get me a cushy job as a diplomat or ambassador? (no aspirations to be prez) ;O)
Comment by kerry — October 5, 2008 @ 10:00 am
It was no surprise that she would repeat the lines and gestures that got applause from Republicans, but I was a little surprised that she had no clue that there was an Executive Branch of government. That’s pretty basic. Do a little research on the job you’re applying for.
America= three branches of government and a Bill of Rights.
And if you didn’t see it, SNL did a beautiful job on the debate last night.
Comment by bittershaman2 — October 5, 2008 @ 10:53 am
I saw it Bittershaman and cracked up. I hope it will be on utube soon so I can watch it again. LOL
Comment by kerry — October 5, 2008 @ 11:16 am