Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

So who the debate last night?

(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama)

It’s funny.  If I hadn’t seen the debate with my own eyes, the noise from the main stream media might make me think that Palin last night actually was better than mediocre.  

Let’s put this in perspective.  Let me tell you something: I regularly, yes, on a daily basis, do not swallow my tongue and choke on it.  Even so, I never credit myself as having a successful day because of my ability to get through the day without swallowing my tongue.  

Sarah Palin has had a horrible week.  We all expected her to swallow her tongue, and she didn’t, but that does not mean she was a success last evening.  Any sober analysis of Sarah Palin’s performance would reveal a woman who put in an abysmal performance, specifically:

1.  She appears to have read crib notes to provide her answers.

2.  The crib notes she read often provided answers to questions other than the ones Gwen Ifill actually had asked.

3.  I assume she avoided answers to questions for which she didn’t have an answer.  I haven’t counted the number questions she evaded, but I would hazard the guess it was easily half of them.

4.  When she had exhausted her memorized and cribbed notes, she started to say, “Maverick,” over and over again, as something akin to a mantra from some eastern religion.

5.  She made mistake after mistake after mistake.  She used a mistaken name, misrepresented the positions of numerous people, and even lied about policy positions of the McCain campaign.

She didn’t swallow her tongue, but that doesn’t mean she pass some test or other.  It just means that she did what most people manage to do most of the time, just get by for an hour-and-a-half in a tight spot.  

So who won the debate last night?

Well, according to the people who watched the debate, it actually was Joe Biden, who was informed, thoughtful, and presidential:

CNN/Opinion Research

Biden 51

Palin 36

CBS

Biden 46

Palin 21

Fox

Biden 61

Palin 39

Folks are spinning like whirling dervishes today, but Sarah Palin frankly just blew it, as we all in fact anticipated she would.


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 5 Comments

5 comments

  3. GrassrootsOrganizer

    Just imagine if any other candidate in previous contests (you know, the serious ones) had asserted the reason for global warming didn’t matter but addressing the impacts did.  In so many words, again Palin made the absurd suggestion we can somehow counter the effects of the weather.  That or she’s suggesting throwing time, money and energy into the storm “just in case” it might work.  How in the hell can you ever solve a problem if you don’t know what’s causing it?  The idiocy was a mile wide and the hypocrisy was a mile deep.  And yet Special Sarah is getting away with it.

    She’s also getting away with asserting the Constitution has some broad wiggle room for the role of the vice-president a la no other than Dick Cheney.  Even Dick Cheney didn’t have the balls to tip his hand in advance.  

    And just imagine any other candidate claiming special dispensation because of their lack of experience.  (“How long have I been at this, five weeks?”)

    Imagine any other candidate in recent history from either party slaughtering the language with folksy delibration.  Imagine the morning after if the candidate had repeatedly resorted to cutesy talk and winks at the camera.

    Any other candidate we’d be discussing how she coldly refused to acknowledge Biden’s struggle in talking about the loss of his wife and children.  Any other candidate we’d be questioning her sincerity and seriousness.

    But not Special Sarah.    

Comments are closed.