The debate at the bottom of the ticket(Biden won alert)

The Oregonian ^ | October 03, 2008 | intoxicated editors

[crazyhorse691]

O n Thursday night in a Midwestern city, a gray-haired senator from the East Coast squared off against the folksy, rookie governor of a remote Western state. It was an occasion to give curious Americans a chance to get to know them better. In Joe Biden's case, this was a good thing.

The longtime senator displayed a calm authority and breadth of knowledge that helped explain why he plays such a key role in the Senate, not to mention the Democratic caucus. And his brief moment of anguish as he recalled the tragedy that killed his wife and daughter and severely injured his two sons was the most powerful and genuine moment of the night. Of the campaign, in fact.

But in terms of substance, Biden was especially effective on foreign policy questions, ranging from the power of Iranian clerics to the intervention in Bosnia.

"I haven't heard," he said, forcefully and repeatedly, "how John McCain's policies are different from George Bush's."

Sarah Palin, though, didn't want to talk about George Bush. "Say it ain't so, Joe," she said. "There ya go again, lookin' backward."

Because most Americans hadn't heard of Sarah Palin before John McCain chose her as his running mate, Thursday's debate, fairly or not, was touted as a test of her ability to display leadership and authority. Unfortunately, it didn't answer the questions Americans have about her, because the format of the debate didn't allow for it. For both candidates, but especially for her, the debate was really a set of scripted mini-speeches.

Neither Palin nor Biden committed the sort of game-changing error that could have damaged their tickets. And both gave their supporters reasons to cheer at the house and pub parties around the country.

It was a night in which Sarah Palin could have reinforced the increasing chorus of doubters, skeptics and mockers who consider her too uninformed to be vice president, much less president. It is that very trend that helped set the bar so low for her debate performance Thursday night. Not surprisingly, she cleared it.

Yet the bar was low, too, for Biden. Obama's running mate, while experienced and respected in the Senate, easily falls in love with his own voice, even after running out of meaningful things to say. Members of Barack Obama's team couldn't exhale Thursday until he left the stage without committing a goofy blunder. He, too, cleared the bar. By a lot.

The debate Thursday is being evaluated as a piece of theater, hence the "She was a deer in the headlights" or "He couldn't shut up" sorts of criticism from the television pundits. But Americans must take the choices of Palin and Biden more seriously, partly because each represents the judgment of the men at the top of the tickets, but even more because one of them may need to replace one of those men.

The millions of Americans who tuned in Thursday saw two candidates running as agents of change. If they saw beneath the scripted moments, they saw just one, Biden, who can help deliver it.

[SteelerAZ]

Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air. She is a woman with a great work ethic, moral values and really believes in fighting for the regular people. I welcome her non-Washington style instead of the politics as usual crowd. I believe that Sarah Palin can be an effective team for change in this country. I would like the role of Vice President to be be expanded so that person could apply their expertise in the areas where needed. As far as Sarah becoming President if need be, I would rather have someone with a good core value system in making decisions than someone with alot of experience who does not. Joe Biden doesn’t even believe in his churches position on abortion. Who would you rather follow into battle Obama or McCain? Who would you rather have a beer with Biden or Palin? Case closed.

[Grampa Dave]

Towards the end of last night's Joe Biden/Sarah Palin debate, Joe Biden said this: "All you have to do is to go down Union Street with me in Wilmington and go to Katie's restaurant..."

Biden was referring to the long-closed Katie's Italian restaurant, which is actually two blocks away from Union Street. The establishment is now a Wings to Go.

(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...

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Fresh from the McCain people.

JOE BIDEN’S 14 LIES DURING THE DEBATE!

1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.

2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.

3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”

4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.

5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.

6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.

7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people's health insurance coverage -- they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false

8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska -- she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it's not a windfall profits tax.

9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.

10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation -- he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.

11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.

12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.

13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”

14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won't pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.

Joe, you need to stop buying your cosmetic tape from Home Depot. You look like a cheap caricature of Charlie Chan!

NOW, NOW, NOW...THERE GOES JOE BIDEN LYING AGAIN.

[SteamShovel]

a gray-haired senator from the East Coast squared off against the folksy, rookie governor of a remote Western state

These are real unbiased professional journalists here..........