Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The VP Debate: Much Ado About . . .

The much anticipated Vice Presidential debate is set to take place tomorrow night. You can bet we'll be watching and hope to offer some immediate reflections post debate.

So what will tomorrow night bring? All of Palin's recent interviews have not gone well, and that's giving her the benefit of the doubt. At the same time, Biden seems to have a fondness for verbosity and stretching the truth a bit. I almost wonder if we couldn't call this debate Barbie vs. Paul Bunyan. No matter what happens, it is bound to be entertaining and I for one will already be looking forward to Tina Fey's next SNL skit.

Yet in all seriousness, this debate could be a potential game changer, with big risks for both sides. As far as Biden is concerned, there are some who say that he will have to tread very lightly, that he cannot afford to "take off the gloves" and let her have it. I'm not so sure about this, but we'll see. My guess is Biden will let Palin dig her own grave, we'll see. Biden also needs to be careful not to make any more gaffes (my personal favorite being FDR talking about the stock market crash in 1929 on TV!).

That said, at least Biden can give a coherent answer. Try and make sense of Palin's answer in regards to a question about the 700bn bailout:

That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in, where it is the taxpayers looking to bailout. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—oh, it’s got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So, healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we have—we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing, but one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today. We’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

Clearly, the expectations for Palin are extremely low and some have even stated that as long as she doesn't look like a total idiot she'll be ok. It will be very interesting to see what she comes up with. Will it be rambling sound bites thrown together that make absolutely no sense? Will it be memorized sound bites that she sticks to despite the question? Will she actually try to answer questions? I predict that she'll be working on damage control rather than trying to hit one out of the park.

My favorite headline about what Palin needs to do is: "Palin must avoid 'embarrassing massacre' in VP debate."

Whatever the case, it is sure to be entertaining!

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