The VP Debate

Well, the VP debate will start in a few minutes. My preliminary thoughts on Palin and Biden is neither really do much for me. Biden just irks me and I don't like his politics. Governor Palin came on strong at the convention but has since shown that's she's not quite ready for prime time. Both are 2nd on tickets that I now feel have shown why neither is good for this country. I don't think I can really vote for Obama or McCain after they supported the latest "rescue" bill. There's way too much pork in it and it's not the right solution...yet. I'm certainly not voting for incumbents who voted for it. Meanwhile, oil is down to $94. Go figure.

As for the whole Gwen Ifill "Conflict of Interest" thing... Yeah, I do think it's a bit of a conflict of interest, but I do think she'll keep both debaters on task and play it by the rules...

If you have nothing better to do, maybe we can play Palin Bingo?

9:00pm - Here we go. I'm keeping it fair and balanced by watching this on Fox News Channel... I'll change it to CNN later.

9:01pm - Is Gwen Ifill always the VP debate moderator? I know she was for the last one between Cheney and... goodness was it Lieberman? Wow. What a turnaround there.

9:02pm - Haha! "Nice to Meet you! Can I call you Joe?" What? Does she not have Domestic experience either?!?

9:03pm - What's he looking down at? Does he have crib notes? Is that allowed?

9:05pm - Nice job relating to the common-man, Sarah.

9:07pm - The thing that bothers me about "reaching across the aisle" is it always seems to end up screwing the people of America.

9:09pm - Did she just smackdown Palin? I was distracted.

9:10pm - Yes, let's be responsible and live within our means. And let's hope the House rejects the bill McCain and Obama said yes to.

9:12pm - Darn right we need tax relief... and reform... Insert my FairTax plug.

9:13pm - AMEN! You can't decrease taxes without cutting spending.

9:14pm - Wall Street should be allowed to run wild if they choose... and if they screw up they should be allowed to fail.

9:15pm - Yeah, I'm not thinking Gwen is being fair at this point.

9:17pm - I don't think most would say Palin's winning at this point, but I do like what she's saying...

9:19pm - Oh, so I lose part of my paycheck to help pay for the healthcare tax Obama's wants? Do I understand that right?

9:20pm - Nice attempt for a laugh by Biden. "That's what I call a real bridge to nowhere.

9:22pm - You know, I appreciate him telling me about the light. I do.

9:23pm - Pitbull on the attack. That's a pretty shade of lipstick. I can't wait to check Factcheck.org on this debate.

9:25pm - Let me ask a rhetorical question, if an earmark is such a good idea, why does it have to be attached and hidden in another bill?

9:27pm - Subtle notice: She looked at Biden when she said, "we have to put politics aside."

9:30pm - Yes, energy independence. But, what's your plan?

9:31pm - If I understood her answer on climate change, I think I liked it. What I'm saying is her brain was running a little slower than her lips were moving.

9:32pm - I agree there are some man-made causes of global warning, but that's not the whole shebang. The key, surprise, is to be responsible about our actions, and get oil and gas out of our ground. Both can happen.

9:36pm - My wife, who is not watching but instead playing solitaire on her cell phone, says it sounds like Gwen keeps cutting Palin off but not Biden.

9:37pm - I don't think the issue of same-sex marriages is something that will sway my opinion on who to vote for at this time. I'm for them. But, I think there are bigger, more important issues to fight for right now.

9:42pm - I don't think you have a PUBLIC timeline. Maybe a timeline at the highest levels of security.

9:43pm - Or maybe you do listen to the generals on the ground.

9:43:30pm - I wonder what Biden is thinking when he chuckles at her...

9:45pm - Not a "soundbite" for the ages, but strong words from Biden, "John was dead wrong."

9:46pm - Holy crap, I agree with Biden on Afghanistan/Pakistan.

9:47pm - Misfit is seeing ghosts in the house and she's meowing her head off.

9:50pm - Again, not a "soundbite," but tough, stronger words from Biden. I think he might eventually curse.

9:53pm - I'll give him this. Biden knows his foreign policy, at least in reference to Hezebollah. I don't know if he should have said some of the things he said, but he knows that consequences of what happened there.

9:55pm - Biden keeps getting tougher and tougher, and Palin is still cutesy.

9:56pm - That's the best soundbite so far. "It might be different from Bush, but I haven't heard it." Amen.

9:58pm - Oooh, that was a nice bit of anger from Palin. Cool.

9:59pm - At this point, I think Biden will be declared the "winner." Though, it's going to be a split decision that goes the distance and not a knock out.

10:00pm - DARN U-VERSE 4 STREAM LIMIT!

10:01pm - I agree we need to start moving into Afghanistan.

10:04pm - I thought Biden had some great fire and passion in his answer on Darfur. I didn't think she could handle it because she doesn't have foreign policy experience, but I think she took it to a good place.

10:06pm - Oh, he's wearing her down. It's taking her longer and longer to recover.

10:09pm - The wink was cute.

10:10pm - That was Palin's best line, the difference between the two ticket's plans.

10:11pm - I can't imagine Biden's neighborhood is anything like mine.

10:11:30pm - He's smiling like he's saying, "Yeah, Sarah, I know. I'm a politician. It's what we do..."

10:12pm - FUCK yeah get rid of No Child Left Behind.

10:13pm - In her comment about what a V-P does, when it happened, I thought it was a fair question because, well, you know, I don't know what you do for work on a day to day basis. I mean, I'm a promo producer. Do you know what I do at work? Literally, there are days when all I do is watch Family Guy. It's a little more detailed than that, but the point is did you know that without the daily, day-to-day job experience? That's what I thought she was saying a few months ago when she asked exactly what the VP does...

10:18pm - The appealing thing about Palin is she does come off as one of us. The other three, not so much.

10:19pm - Ha, good humble line from Biden.

10:21pm - What am I looking for? The ability to get myself out of debt and better secure my family's future.

10:22pm - Damn right, I didn't see much "aisle reaching" from Republicans or Democrats, oh, in my lifetime maybe?

10:26pm - I just noticed what Gwen is wearing. It hurts my eyes.

Closing Statements:
10:29pm - It's just odd that she hasn't even met Joe Biden until tonight.

10:30pm - Biden appears to be the more straight shooter, but Palin's got a sweet delivery.

How come I can hear EVERY word Palin says after the debate but nothing from Biden?

Afterthoughts:

I come away feeling better about Biden. I don't like his policies, but I'm more comfortable with him. With Palin, I wonder what politics would look like if more politicians were as charming as see appears and as "middle class" as she makes me feel she is.

I think I'll wake up tomorrow and see that Biden won the debate. But, I don't think Palin lost it. I don't think her ticket swayed independants to make a decision tonight, but neither did Biden. I'm very curious to see what FactChecker.org will show about this debate.