See, I knew it. It was all a nefarious plot by McCain. I can see it now..."You know what? You can play dumb! I mean, sure...you'll get some serious crap for it. But you'll be on SNL! That's good, right? And then you can come out and really wow 'em because they'll all be expecting a slaughter! That's a great idea!". And it worked.
I have literally seen one CNN correspondent (a woman, no less) who gave Palin an A+. "The plus is for wildly exceeding expectations.". Um. So? The grade shouldn't be on how bad she was expected to do, but on how she actually did!!
I'm not arguing that she did well. I will, very grudgingly, allow that she was able to pretty much hold her own. However - someone please tell me they saw how many times Palin did NOT answer the question presented to her, but instead moved on (or back, depending) to another question? If she didn't like it or didn't know it - by golly, she wasn't gonna go there. If it wasn't on her script, then it must not be an issue.
And the winking. Good grief, what was with the winking?!? I was, as a woman, very offended by that. I'm sorry, but I have a brain in my head. A fairly decent one, I've been told. I do not need to follow my points in a conversation by *winking*. Talk about stereotypical! "I'm not sure about how to answer this because we didn't cover this during 'Camp Cramming on Cliff Notes Hill'*...can I get back to you? *wink*".
How does any of this equate with an A+ performance? Never having actually seen Palin or Biden speak at length (I tend to be more of a newpaper gal), I went into this very curious. Biden ruled. He kept to the time. He answered the questions, and he answered them well. He did not talk down to Palin, nor did he make any major errors. He spoke well. He did not circle back when asked a question he didn't know how to answer ("environment" anyone?). THAT, my friends, was an A performance.
Palin kept to the time. She answered about half the questions in any way that actually gave an answer to the question. She got snarky about raising kids (though Biden held his own there). She made several errors (can someone tell me who the general is again please?!?). She circled back frequently (environment again?). It was as if she was given a list that she needed to make sure she checked off all her items: Environment? Check. Education? Check. Iraq? Check. What was that question again? Oh, don't know it....Environment? Check.
I'm disgusted by how low our expectations are of a Vice Presidential nominee (who happens to be a woman) to be able to answer questions about topics that she should know. She spoke fairly well, but that does NOT make a VP. Unless, of course, you live in America. Where dreams are high and reality is low.
*Thanks to georgia10 on DailyKos for that terrific label regarding Palin's disappearance to McCain's hideaway.
Showing posts with label debate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label debate. Show all posts
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Does Biden make housecalls?
I have a headache. My headache has a name (sounds like I should be singing the B-O-L-O-G-N-A song, doesn't it?). The name of my headache? Sarah Palin.
This woman has not managed to look coherent in any of her interviews. For crying out loud, she couldn't even answer a question about what newspapers she reads. I mean, granted - there are millions of newspapers in the world. However, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that she doesn't read any from, say, Russia. Oh, wait - they may airdrop those, since they are such close neighbors. OK, Alabama. Probably not. Ummmm, West Virginia? Again, doubtful. It's a newspaper, lady...it wasn't a question about, say, whether or not you supported the "Bridge to Nowhere". Or whether or not you could name any Supreme Court decisions that you did not support. Nope. It was newspapers. Damn those tricky questions!
Now, why does this bother me? Because this woman is going to get on television tonight for the *only* debate she will have with Biden. A debate for which she has been prepping for, sequestered away from press or public, for a solid week. So, she may actually almost sound like she knows what she's talking about tonight. My question is this: If she sounds even marginally better than she has the last several...well, every time she's been interviewed, does that mean America (those Wal-Mart moms, in particular) will consider that a victory for her? Because she manages to not fumble every single question? If so, what the hell does that say for us "Wal-Mart" moms? Should it take the woman a solid week to be able to answer questions that she should already know, considering the office she is running for? Should our expectations, both as a nation and as Wal-Mart moms (whom many consider to be the possible deciding factor in the election), be so low that Palin might be able to overshadow every idiotic and/or lying comment she has made up until now?
Which brings me to my second issue. Palin, as a "strong" woman running for the second-highest (and, maybe someday, the highest office) in the nation, makes the rest of us women look like idiots. Or brain-surgeons, depending on your take...Point is, the good 'ole boy network has, for years and years, suggested that women are not cut out for politics. That it would be too difficult for us poor, little ladies to understand the complex world of international dealings and issues. We finally (what century is this again?!?) begin to make some serious headway into crashing the glass ceiling, and then along comes Palin, riding in on her Bridge to Nowhere. "I'll have to get back to you" ain't gonna cut it when you're looking at your next-door neighbor Putin, and trying to get him to stop slaughtering people. "In what respect...?" won't get you very far when someone wants to know how you justify beginning a war.
Like the rest of the nation, I have a sick fascination with the outcome of tonight's debate. Maybe after tonight, once and for all, my headache will go away. Then again, if she manages to spell "Alaska" correctly, I may have my headache for the next four years.
This woman has not managed to look coherent in any of her interviews. For crying out loud, she couldn't even answer a question about what newspapers she reads. I mean, granted - there are millions of newspapers in the world. However, I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess that she doesn't read any from, say, Russia. Oh, wait - they may airdrop those, since they are such close neighbors. OK, Alabama. Probably not. Ummmm, West Virginia? Again, doubtful. It's a newspaper, lady...it wasn't a question about, say, whether or not you supported the "Bridge to Nowhere". Or whether or not you could name any Supreme Court decisions that you did not support. Nope. It was newspapers. Damn those tricky questions!
Now, why does this bother me? Because this woman is going to get on television tonight for the *only* debate she will have with Biden. A debate for which she has been prepping for, sequestered away from press or public, for a solid week. So, she may actually almost sound like she knows what she's talking about tonight. My question is this: If she sounds even marginally better than she has the last several...well, every time she's been interviewed, does that mean America (those Wal-Mart moms, in particular) will consider that a victory for her? Because she manages to not fumble every single question? If so, what the hell does that say for us "Wal-Mart" moms? Should it take the woman a solid week to be able to answer questions that she should already know, considering the office she is running for? Should our expectations, both as a nation and as Wal-Mart moms (whom many consider to be the possible deciding factor in the election), be so low that Palin might be able to overshadow every idiotic and/or lying comment she has made up until now?
Which brings me to my second issue. Palin, as a "strong" woman running for the second-highest (and, maybe someday, the highest office) in the nation, makes the rest of us women look like idiots. Or brain-surgeons, depending on your take...Point is, the good 'ole boy network has, for years and years, suggested that women are not cut out for politics. That it would be too difficult for us poor, little ladies to understand the complex world of international dealings and issues. We finally (what century is this again?!?) begin to make some serious headway into crashing the glass ceiling, and then along comes Palin, riding in on her Bridge to Nowhere. "I'll have to get back to you" ain't gonna cut it when you're looking at your next-door neighbor Putin, and trying to get him to stop slaughtering people. "In what respect...?" won't get you very far when someone wants to know how you justify beginning a war.
Like the rest of the nation, I have a sick fascination with the outcome of tonight's debate. Maybe after tonight, once and for all, my headache will go away. Then again, if she manages to spell "Alaska" correctly, I may have my headache for the next four years.
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