Blog Buzz: Reviews of Palin's and Biden's Debate Performances, Schwarzenegger Needs a Loan for California

Governor Palin came across much better in the debate than many people, myself included, expected. However, one should keep in mind the redundancy and shallowness of her answers. Had the McCain camp not insisted that any discussions between the candidates be severely limited, how well would she have done? The extent of her knowledge on the issues touched upon seemed to be one general answer deep. If she didn't feel comfortable with a particular question she would respond to it however she liked. The winking, "darn its" and "you betchas" were over the top. If anyone wants a caricature of an empowered June Cleaver in the White House - here ya go.

McCain's appearance with Palin on her last Couric interview shows that even he is concerned about her severe and glaring limitations. I am surprised that the McCain camp didn't petition the debate committee to have Ifill only ask questions that could be answered with either a "yes" or "no". If only the "gotcha" journalism of asking the governor what newspapers or magazines she reads could have been worded as "Do you read any newspapers or magazines?", ANSWER: "Yes.", then maybe a lot of people wouldn't think she is so intellectually challenged. Damn liberal MSM!

Republican claims that Palin tied or even won the debate are as expected as like claims by the Democrats for their candidate, but managing (mostly) to sound coherent while offering very little of substance is a measuring stick too short by more than half. Her solidification of the base at the expense of alienating everyone else won't be enough to change the current trajectory of the campaign. This leads us to the new / revamped line of attack that Palin began yesterday in trying to tie Obama to William Ayers. If you can't beat your opponent with answers or plans then use the tried and true tactic of fear. For the next three weeks I expect the McCain campaign, along with their "swift boat" supporting groups, to fully abandon the thin facade of keeping the discussion on the high road and dive deeply into the sewers for all they're worth. Along with Ayers I expect a reintroduction of the Reverend Wright, Tony Reszko and "Barack Hussein Obama" - a la Bill Cunningham. I, however, unlike the Republican machine, give the average voter, including Joe Six-pack, more credit than to fall for this again.

Ian of AR 9:57AM October 05, 2008