Biden vs. Palin VP Debate, Contest of Contests Options

[Hellfighter]

Damnnnnn

Ok, Robert - I love to hate to say this about you,
but you did it again - another prophetic call on your part. She did very well.

Who was THIS Palin?

Steady as a rock she was.....
From the War in Iraq session on she was visibly looking to go at it no holds barred with Biden.
Kudos to Palin's prep team.
A couple of slip ups on her part on foreign policy and a couple of domestic issues but she was very poised and solid. Mission accomplished for her in my opinion.

Biden was 'Johnny on the spot' to edge out Palin utilizing the full extent of his experience. I'm not sure Hillary could've topped her. Palin even threw Biden off his game visibly at one point regarding counterattacking Biden's point about the US general in Afghanistan saying the Surge wasn't applicable there.
It looked like he got an uppercut out of nowhere as he recolied for 2 seconds and looked down thinking; 'what the hell did she just do to me!'.
One thing I was fearing was she'd blow it so badly she'd be traumatized by it all her life. I think she can now go back to her room and woot woot all night and do victory somersaults on her bed - she can be proud she didn't fail those who counted on her tonight.


This post has been edited by Hellfighter: 10/02/08 9:47pm

[Genocide Junkie]

I personally thought she was terrible. And I really wanted her to do well. She flat out refused to answer 75% of the questions and kept going back to the energy crisis and being mayor of Podunk AK... it also amazes me how they don't even bother to listen to the questions. Yet alone answer them. Like when the moderator asked something to the effect of "under what conditions would you say use of nuclear weapons would be justified" that's not how it was said but that's what they were asking... Well I think that the surge in Iraq would work great in Afgan... or I want to go back to the energy crisis... well we didn't ask you about the energy crisis.. it would be nice if the mod actually held them to task on something.... both kept falling back to blah blah blah blah I was a senator/gov/soccer mom... at least they were more respectful than Obama who wouldn't let McCain answer a question without trying to butt in... I vote for none of the above....

[Hellfighter]

....it would be nice if the mod actually held them to task on something.... both kept falling back to blah blah blah blah I was a senator/gov/soccer mom... at least they were more respectful than Obama who wouldn't let McCain answer a question without trying to butt in...

From my standpoint I liked the flow of the last 2 debates since it showed more than anything the characters of the candidates. They weren't tough catfighting debates, and the mods didn't preside as 'steering' referees to entice a slogfest - I guess we'll see more of that in the upcoming debates.
What I saw was McCain staying cool; Obama showing assertiveness, Biden avoiding being over-the-top, Palin looking poised.

It seems easy enough to think the debaters were just talking at each other and sometimes showing weakness in areas through evasion of an issue, but these were all aspects of a bigger scheme going on. Each of these candidates were thoroughly prepped before the debates. They had their weaknesses analyzed and their strengths by their campaigns - strategies on what to say and not to say were very carefully assessed.
The candidates knew the tactics they needed to follow to avoid their pitfulls and avoid being crucified by prepared counters of their opponents.... remember Dan Quayle getting slaughtered in his VP debate after comparing himself to JFK - his campaign warned him to NEVER bring that up -and he paid the price for it.

From what I could see about the strategy of each debater;
McCain - Don't get mad as Obama will be constantly trying to make you. Make Obama seem insignificant by not looking at him.
Obama - Keep trying to throw off McCain -interrupt him when he makes his claims. Get McCain mad and unstable looking by interruptions and constantly comparing him to Bush.
Biden - appear like a gentleman and keep to prepped short answers on expected issues brought up.
Palin - Hammer Obama to keep Biden on the defensive in protecting him - Kill / eat-up time by inserting personal likeable mom phrases. To avoid answering questions which can lead to trouble, confidently use prepped related non-answer answers /or counter attacks on Obama. Essntially she was working the debate to keep less time off her regarding her weaknesses in ignorance of specifics being exploited.

I think the campaign prep staff for Obama and Palin succeeded in their strategies in debates they were expected to both be bashed in was very well planned -best defence is a well orchestrated offence to avoid getting exploited by more experienced opponents. I'm not saying it was a case of winners/losers from my point of view, but those supporters of Obama and Palin breathed easily that their candidates held their own.


This post has been edited by Hellfighter: 10/03/08 10:32am

[HammaTime]

I like the fact that we all have great impressions of the debate and the race!

Seriously, the vast number of Americans are really detached to all of this. I really enjoy hearing all the diverse opinions here and it is always enjoyable to hear what you guys take away from these events.

Obviously, we all have a vested interest in finding politicians who can represent us properly on the world stage, as well as here at home.

I thought Biden missed a terrific opportunity when asked how he would react if he had to replace Obama as president. The answer I would have liked to hear is how, in a time of extreme national crisis, he would also have looked to reassure other nations that America would "stay the course."

I hate to always be bashing Palin here, but I just can't see the world being reassured by Palin once McCain bites the dust. I read something the other day regarding the late stages of McCain's skin cancer. A cancer surgeon was basically saying that he could have a very, very short time to live. He was actually implying that McCain wouldn't live out his term as President. Of course, we can't know for sure as the campaign hasn't let the press have unfettered access to his medical records, but that is another issue.