Am I seriously liveblogging the VP Debate? You'd better believe it.
9.00 pm: From St. Louis, we have Gwen Ifill moderating Joe Biden vs. Sarah Palin. Looks like we’re going with a 90 second statement, with 2 minutes response and rebuttal time.
9.02 pm: “Can I call you Joe?”- Great start Sarah, please look as weak as possible.
9.05 pm: 1st Question: The big bailout, the best or worst of Washington?
- Biden says it was the situation we were put in by the current administration. What did you think he was going to say? Joe comes out fists flying against the Bush Administration, and Obama’s plan is better. Ties McCain/Palin in nicely with Bush. Palin’s response… to talk about a kid’s soccer game… Yes, soccer moms are afraid of the economy… but McCain saw it coming! He’s a reformer! John McCain made the bailout happen! (But don’t tell her it hasn’t happened yet). HA! I was waiting for the “fundamentals of the economy” quote. Biden is landing body blows. Palin tries to explain the comment away as describing the American workforce. That’s a new one. And we also have our first “maverick” of the night. Ha!
9.09 pm: Second maverick. Also, Palin tried to paint McCain as a reformer and an agent of change. Yep, because Obama voted with his party 96% of the time is more of the same, but someone who voted with Bush policies 95% of the time is for change! Like, obviously!
9.10 pm: 2nd Question: Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis, who's to blame?
- Palin points out that there is greed and corruption on Wall Street. No shit, Sherlock. Biden does a good job staying on topic, not really taking any unnecessary shots, but pointing out that John McCain was taken by surprise when the crisis arose. Palin starts in about how McCain will cut taxes (doesn't say for who), while Obama will raise taxes (without saying on who). Palin uses bogus stats to imply that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class, and Biden fires right back with bogus stats of his own, lumping McCain's decisions right in with Obama's. Palin then decides to explain McCain's behavior away as "just following the rules." Biden points out that Obama's tax plans will set rates at the same level as under Reagan, while cutting taxes for 95% of Americans.
9.17 pm: Getting off topic, Palin talks about how "she and Todd" think taxes are unpatriotic, and that McCain will give you a $5000 rebate for health insurance (not that it doesn’t cost a shit-ton more than that to buy health insurance). Thanks John.
9.20 pm: Ooh, Biden shows a little fire, hitting McCain’s healthcare plan on the cost to the average American. “I call that the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.” OH SNAP!
9.22 pm: 3rd Question: What campaign promises will your candidate not be able to keep?
- Biden notes that doubling foreign aid will have to take a backseat, clearly he envisions the Obama administration concentrating on rebuilding America and fixing healthcare. Palin responds that McCain will do everything he says he will! And then they’ll take on Big Oil! Yeah! She ends her question with this classic, “How long have I been at this, like five weeks?” Nice.
9.25 pm: Joe, listen, get off the taxes. We know, know, that Obama didn’t vote for tax cuts for Big Oil. I get that Palin took on Big Oil in Alaska, but John McCain won’t. Do we really think he’ll listen to this inexperienced pissant? No way in hell.
9.27 pm: 4th Question: Do you support, like John McCain did, the new bankruptcy bill, making it harder for mortgage holders to declare backruptcy?
- Palin says that John McCain voted for it, but McCain should be thanked for seeing the mortgage crisis coming, even though he did nothing about it. Biden says that even though he voted for it, Obama didn’t, and Obama was right. He proposes some interesting ideas about adjusting principle amounts on mortgages, to avoid bankruptcies, which are already hard to get. Intersting ideas there. Aaaand Palin is back on energy… ? She is really damn frustrating. She’s not once connected bankruptcy laws with anything she’s said right now, but I bet she just knows that Obama and Biden are wrong.
9.31 pm: 5th Question: What is your position on climate change?
- Ha! As governor of America’s only Arctic state, Palin says it’s important for us to realize that climate change is a cyclical process, mostly natural, not man-made. Biden points out that since the Republican ticket doesn’t understand where climate change comes from, they can’t possibly hope to solve the problem. Ooh, Biden just dropped the N-word (nuclear, you idiots)… might be risky, though he points out it’s cleaner than coal. Also points out the lack of help drilling will give us. Snarky sniping by Palin. Way to reach the big point, that Joe Biden doesn’t know a silly little chant of yours by heart.
9.35 pm: If you have any doubts at all about who to vote for, Sarah Palin just said nucular. Awesome.
9.36 pm: 6th Question: Same-Sex Benefits
- “In an Obama/Biden administration there will be no difference in benefits for same sex, or heterosexual couples.” Well, even though Alaska has equal same-sex benefits, Palin isn’t a real big fan, doesn’t want to redefine marriage or nothin’. That’s between a man and a woman and all. Obama and Biden want to leave the decision about gay marriage to the faiths and the people, but don’t support gay marriage. Boo.
9.39 pm: 7th Question: Foreign Policy- Iraq
- Palin calls the surge a plan to pull troops out? Huh? Oh oh oh, I get it, the surge allows us to pull troops out… but not yet. “We’re getting closer and closer to victory”- bitch, please. Obama also voted not to fund troops (psst, Sarah, John McCain didn’t either). Biden says that Obama has a clear plan, which is in alignment with what the Iraqis want, and is currently being negotiated between Iraq and the US (actually true). Palin says, “We’ll be ready to leave when the Iraqis are ready to govern and protect themselves.” If we’re there forever, we’ll just never find out. Why don’t we give them a chance first, ok?
9.45 pm: 8th Question: Which is a greater threat, a nuclear Iran or an unstable Pakistan?
- Biden says an unstable Pakistan, though both are dangerous. Al Qaida is in Pakistan, hiding and planning. We need to do what we need to do to protect the country. Palin throws us another nucular. Again. Twice in less than 15 minutes. Oh, and Iran is more dangerous because it might, might, obtain “nucular weapons” and “nucular power.”
9.48 pm: HA! Sarah Palin criticizes our enemies for not respecting women’s rights. I almost dropped my computer I laughed so hard.
9.51 pm: Ok, so we all agree that Israel is cool. Skippy, let’s move on. Please, you’re losing me.
(Sidebar: Biden is looking a little more surly as we go along, though Palin is looking more sarcastic and snarky.)
9.55 pm: Yes, thank you Joe. “I haven’t heard how John McCain’s policies are going to be different from George Bush’s… and you’ve seen where that has taken us.”
9.56 pm: 9th Question: Is there any point at which the US should use nuclear weapons?
- Palin gives no answer. “It’s bad for our enemies to have or acquire ‘nucular’ weapons.” Palin moves on somehow deciding that criticizing Obama on Afghanistan is an appropriate answer to the question. Biden is really restraining himself, often clarifying who he is quoting and emphasizing his points. So apparently the Army doesn’t think that a surge-type offensive would work in Afghanistan, ok, good point. He hasn’t answered the question either. I don’t get it, it’s certainly not a hard question.
10.01 pm: 10th Question: Intervention in Darfur, pro or con?.
- Biden says that Americans will have the stomach for success there, as long as it's not just another Iraq (It seems that there’s a lot we can do, though I’m not sure that we can do it while still in Iraq.). “Oh, it’s so obvious I’m a Washington outsider, because I just don’t get it…” Seriously woman, just answer the question, you’re so damn irritating. She finally gets to the damn point that we should go in and help in Darfur, pointing out that in Alaska they talked about divesting assets in the Sudan. Didn’t actually do anything, but they talked about it.
10.06 pm: Palin keeps harping on Biden supporting McCain’s “war strategies,” I’m not sure how true it is, but she’s talked about it for three straight answers. She’s got to wipe that smirk off her face, too. She’s not helping herself.
10.07 pm: 11th Question: How would your administration be different than that of your running mate?
- Biden keeps it short and sweet, “I would execute Barack Obama’s policies.” Palin, not so much. “We’re a team of mavericks, what do you expect?” (So, you have opinions, but will not act on them. Right… You would be more convincing if you weren’t so damn fake. Ok, listen, let go of the whole tax hike thing, ok? Taxes on the rich don’t kill middle-class jobs, period.)
10.11 pm: This woman is so condescending, it really makes me sick.
10.14 pm: 12th Question: What does a Vice President do?
- (I’m glad Palin now gets what a Vice President does, so does my 8 year old cousin. Good for her.) Biden states that he’ll be a high-level advisor to Obama, not just a back-up to fill in spots that the President doesn’t want to deal with, which is essentially what Palin said she would be doing.
10.16 pm: Good god, Palin wants to be Dick Cheney 2. Ok, maybe I was wrong, she doesn’t get it.
10.18 pm: 13th Question: What is your weakness?
- Wasted question. Though it did give me a break, thanks Gwen.
10.21 pm: Wuh oh, Joe is talking about his son, who was injured in a car accident that killed his mother as a young boy and it’s getting a little dusty up on the stage. Nice touch, Joe (I shouldn’t say that, it seemed pretty sincere, unlike this whole maverick bull crap Palin is smearing all over the stage).
10.24 pm: 14th Question: Is there a major view you had to change while in government?
- Biden has changed the way he judges fellow lawmakers, questioning their judgments, not their motives. Palin says that sometimes she passed budgets she didn’t like to move things along. (So… she has no stones? She’s a pushover? Ok, got it.)
10.29 pm: Palin’s closing- Takes a pot-shot at the media on the way by, moving on to point out that she and McCain are fighting for the middle-class (haha), to secure the nation, and to apparently stop Americans from becoming subjects of some phantom menace... She lost me there, I'll have to look at a transcript and hope it makes sense. Maybe I'm not folksy enough to get it, my bad everyone.
10.30 pm: Biden’s closing- Nice one Joe, “Well, it's time for America to get up together. America's ready, you're ready, I'm ready, and Barack Obama is ready to be the next president of the United States of America.”
Well, it was way more of a debate than the first presidential debate, I can tell you that much. Biden brought his A game, attacking McCain without seeming like a jerk (and restraining himself when Palin slipped), and Palin showed that she can be on a national stage without handlers and not vomit on her shoes. She, however, did little to answer Biden’s attacks on the Bush/McCain policy relationship. I found her often rambling and rather incoherent, especially when it came to actually answering questions. I didn’t see a clear winner in this instance, either, just like the first presidential debate. I think few, if any minds were changed, but if pressed, I would say that Biden came out on top, because he didn’t just get by, like I get the feeling Palin did.
9.00 pm: From St. Louis, we have Gwen Ifill moderating Joe Biden vs. Sarah Palin. Looks like we’re going with a 90 second statement, with 2 minutes response and rebuttal time.
9.02 pm: “Can I call you Joe?”- Great start Sarah, please look as weak as possible.
9.05 pm: 1st Question: The big bailout, the best or worst of Washington?
- Biden says it was the situation we were put in by the current administration. What did you think he was going to say? Joe comes out fists flying against the Bush Administration, and Obama’s plan is better. Ties McCain/Palin in nicely with Bush. Palin’s response… to talk about a kid’s soccer game… Yes, soccer moms are afraid of the economy… but McCain saw it coming! He’s a reformer! John McCain made the bailout happen! (But don’t tell her it hasn’t happened yet). HA! I was waiting for the “fundamentals of the economy” quote. Biden is landing body blows. Palin tries to explain the comment away as describing the American workforce. That’s a new one. And we also have our first “maverick” of the night. Ha!
9.09 pm: Second maverick. Also, Palin tried to paint McCain as a reformer and an agent of change. Yep, because Obama voted with his party 96% of the time is more of the same, but someone who voted with Bush policies 95% of the time is for change! Like, obviously!
9.10 pm: 2nd Question: Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis, who's to blame?
- Palin points out that there is greed and corruption on Wall Street. No shit, Sherlock. Biden does a good job staying on topic, not really taking any unnecessary shots, but pointing out that John McCain was taken by surprise when the crisis arose. Palin starts in about how McCain will cut taxes (doesn't say for who), while Obama will raise taxes (without saying on who). Palin uses bogus stats to imply that Obama will raise taxes on the middle class, and Biden fires right back with bogus stats of his own, lumping McCain's decisions right in with Obama's. Palin then decides to explain McCain's behavior away as "just following the rules." Biden points out that Obama's tax plans will set rates at the same level as under Reagan, while cutting taxes for 95% of Americans.
9.17 pm: Getting off topic, Palin talks about how "she and Todd" think taxes are unpatriotic, and that McCain will give you a $5000 rebate for health insurance (not that it doesn’t cost a shit-ton more than that to buy health insurance). Thanks John.
9.20 pm: Ooh, Biden shows a little fire, hitting McCain’s healthcare plan on the cost to the average American. “I call that the ultimate Bridge to Nowhere.” OH SNAP!
9.22 pm: 3rd Question: What campaign promises will your candidate not be able to keep?
- Biden notes that doubling foreign aid will have to take a backseat, clearly he envisions the Obama administration concentrating on rebuilding America and fixing healthcare. Palin responds that McCain will do everything he says he will! And then they’ll take on Big Oil! Yeah! She ends her question with this classic, “How long have I been at this, like five weeks?” Nice.
9.25 pm: Joe, listen, get off the taxes. We know, know, that Obama didn’t vote for tax cuts for Big Oil. I get that Palin took on Big Oil in Alaska, but John McCain won’t. Do we really think he’ll listen to this inexperienced pissant? No way in hell.
9.27 pm: 4th Question: Do you support, like John McCain did, the new bankruptcy bill, making it harder for mortgage holders to declare backruptcy?
- Palin says that John McCain voted for it, but McCain should be thanked for seeing the mortgage crisis coming, even though he did nothing about it. Biden says that even though he voted for it, Obama didn’t, and Obama was right. He proposes some interesting ideas about adjusting principle amounts on mortgages, to avoid bankruptcies, which are already hard to get. Intersting ideas there. Aaaand Palin is back on energy… ? She is really damn frustrating. She’s not once connected bankruptcy laws with anything she’s said right now, but I bet she just knows that Obama and Biden are wrong.
9.31 pm: 5th Question: What is your position on climate change?
- Ha! As governor of America’s only Arctic state, Palin says it’s important for us to realize that climate change is a cyclical process, mostly natural, not man-made. Biden points out that since the Republican ticket doesn’t understand where climate change comes from, they can’t possibly hope to solve the problem. Ooh, Biden just dropped the N-word (nuclear, you idiots)… might be risky, though he points out it’s cleaner than coal. Also points out the lack of help drilling will give us. Snarky sniping by Palin. Way to reach the big point, that Joe Biden doesn’t know a silly little chant of yours by heart.
9.35 pm: If you have any doubts at all about who to vote for, Sarah Palin just said nucular. Awesome.
9.36 pm: 6th Question: Same-Sex Benefits
- “In an Obama/Biden administration there will be no difference in benefits for same sex, or heterosexual couples.” Well, even though Alaska has equal same-sex benefits, Palin isn’t a real big fan, doesn’t want to redefine marriage or nothin’. That’s between a man and a woman and all. Obama and Biden want to leave the decision about gay marriage to the faiths and the people, but don’t support gay marriage. Boo.
9.39 pm: 7th Question: Foreign Policy- Iraq
- Palin calls the surge a plan to pull troops out? Huh? Oh oh oh, I get it, the surge allows us to pull troops out… but not yet. “We’re getting closer and closer to victory”- bitch, please. Obama also voted not to fund troops (psst, Sarah, John McCain didn’t either). Biden says that Obama has a clear plan, which is in alignment with what the Iraqis want, and is currently being negotiated between Iraq and the US (actually true). Palin says, “We’ll be ready to leave when the Iraqis are ready to govern and protect themselves.” If we’re there forever, we’ll just never find out. Why don’t we give them a chance first, ok?
9.45 pm: 8th Question: Which is a greater threat, a nuclear Iran or an unstable Pakistan?
- Biden says an unstable Pakistan, though both are dangerous. Al Qaida is in Pakistan, hiding and planning. We need to do what we need to do to protect the country. Palin throws us another nucular. Again. Twice in less than 15 minutes. Oh, and Iran is more dangerous because it might, might, obtain “nucular weapons” and “nucular power.”
9.48 pm: HA! Sarah Palin criticizes our enemies for not respecting women’s rights. I almost dropped my computer I laughed so hard.
9.51 pm: Ok, so we all agree that Israel is cool. Skippy, let’s move on. Please, you’re losing me.
(Sidebar: Biden is looking a little more surly as we go along, though Palin is looking more sarcastic and snarky.)
9.55 pm: Yes, thank you Joe. “I haven’t heard how John McCain’s policies are going to be different from George Bush’s… and you’ve seen where that has taken us.”
9.56 pm: 9th Question: Is there any point at which the US should use nuclear weapons?
- Palin gives no answer. “It’s bad for our enemies to have or acquire ‘nucular’ weapons.” Palin moves on somehow deciding that criticizing Obama on Afghanistan is an appropriate answer to the question. Biden is really restraining himself, often clarifying who he is quoting and emphasizing his points. So apparently the Army doesn’t think that a surge-type offensive would work in Afghanistan, ok, good point. He hasn’t answered the question either. I don’t get it, it’s certainly not a hard question.
10.01 pm: 10th Question: Intervention in Darfur, pro or con?.
- Biden says that Americans will have the stomach for success there, as long as it's not just another Iraq (It seems that there’s a lot we can do, though I’m not sure that we can do it while still in Iraq.). “Oh, it’s so obvious I’m a Washington outsider, because I just don’t get it…” Seriously woman, just answer the question, you’re so damn irritating. She finally gets to the damn point that we should go in and help in Darfur, pointing out that in Alaska they talked about divesting assets in the Sudan. Didn’t actually do anything, but they talked about it.
10.06 pm: Palin keeps harping on Biden supporting McCain’s “war strategies,” I’m not sure how true it is, but she’s talked about it for three straight answers. She’s got to wipe that smirk off her face, too. She’s not helping herself.
10.07 pm: 11th Question: How would your administration be different than that of your running mate?
- Biden keeps it short and sweet, “I would execute Barack Obama’s policies.” Palin, not so much. “We’re a team of mavericks, what do you expect?” (So, you have opinions, but will not act on them. Right… You would be more convincing if you weren’t so damn fake. Ok, listen, let go of the whole tax hike thing, ok? Taxes on the rich don’t kill middle-class jobs, period.)
10.11 pm: This woman is so condescending, it really makes me sick.
10.14 pm: 12th Question: What does a Vice President do?
- (I’m glad Palin now gets what a Vice President does, so does my 8 year old cousin. Good for her.) Biden states that he’ll be a high-level advisor to Obama, not just a back-up to fill in spots that the President doesn’t want to deal with, which is essentially what Palin said she would be doing.
10.16 pm: Good god, Palin wants to be Dick Cheney 2. Ok, maybe I was wrong, she doesn’t get it.
10.18 pm: 13th Question: What is your weakness?
- Wasted question. Though it did give me a break, thanks Gwen.
10.21 pm: Wuh oh, Joe is talking about his son, who was injured in a car accident that killed his mother as a young boy and it’s getting a little dusty up on the stage. Nice touch, Joe (I shouldn’t say that, it seemed pretty sincere, unlike this whole maverick bull crap Palin is smearing all over the stage).
10.24 pm: 14th Question: Is there a major view you had to change while in government?
- Biden has changed the way he judges fellow lawmakers, questioning their judgments, not their motives. Palin says that sometimes she passed budgets she didn’t like to move things along. (So… she has no stones? She’s a pushover? Ok, got it.)
10.29 pm: Palin’s closing- Takes a pot-shot at the media on the way by, moving on to point out that she and McCain are fighting for the middle-class (haha), to secure the nation, and to apparently stop Americans from becoming subjects of some phantom menace... She lost me there, I'll have to look at a transcript and hope it makes sense. Maybe I'm not folksy enough to get it, my bad everyone.
10.30 pm: Biden’s closing- Nice one Joe, “Well, it's time for America to get up together. America's ready, you're ready, I'm ready, and Barack Obama is ready to be the next president of the United States of America.”
Well, it was way more of a debate than the first presidential debate, I can tell you that much. Biden brought his A game, attacking McCain without seeming like a jerk (and restraining himself when Palin slipped), and Palin showed that she can be on a national stage without handlers and not vomit on her shoes. She, however, did little to answer Biden’s attacks on the Bush/McCain policy relationship. I found her often rambling and rather incoherent, especially when it came to actually answering questions. I didn’t see a clear winner in this instance, either, just like the first presidential debate. I think few, if any minds were changed, but if pressed, I would say that Biden came out on top, because he didn’t just get by, like I get the feeling Palin did.
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