Joe Biden will debate Sarah Palin Thursday at Washington University in St. Louis. Will either of them embarrass themselves?
Submitted 66 days ago by Hauli  Favorite
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| GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin will be an embarrassment. | |
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| 92 votes 42% | |
| Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden will be an embarrassment. | |
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| 26 votes 12% | |
| They'll both come off like fools and embarrass their respective parties. | |
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| 43 votes 20% | |
| They'll both do well and appear as strong contenders for the position of Vice President. | |
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| 57 votes 26% | |
Sarah Palin already is an embarrassment.
Isn't she planning to be sick on Thursday?
Whatis really an embarrassment is folks like you who think they know everything know nothing. A clear example is your picture of giving the finger to the world...how mature, actually how immature, especially since it is a child, how proud you must be to teach him that gesture
Huh? What picture are you talking about?
They could both possibly embarass themselves in different ways. With Joe it would be because of his personality, not his intellect or experience. With Sarah, it's because she is truly not only inexperienced but does not have a real grasp of the political arena and answers questions like she is on Oprah. I've been in this position so I know. When I first went to work for the IRS I had been a housewife for 34 years; when I look back I can't believe how naive I was. One minute washing dishes, the next knocking on your door and showing my badge. Ha. I had no freeking clue and I didn't even know it.
How long did it take you to settle in to the IRS? Palin has been working in politics since 1992, about 16 years. She's governed a state for the last 2, following a tough nomination and election process after spending the previous four years in and out of top-level state government battling corruption in her own party. In many ways, she's not as much of a neophyte as she professes to be.
Still, I believe you are right that nothing can prepare anyone for a presidential campaign; in particular, she won't have the advantages Obama, Biden, and McCain have had of debating dozens of times already. The reflexes and cadences cannot be developed without real opponents in front of real audiences over time. But, she could be a natural for all I know, I've never seen her debate (interviews are not always the best indicator).
Conventional wisdom was that a draw in the first Presidential debates would be a win for the frontrunner (although the polls were tight enough that may not apply). For the VP debate, expectations for Palin have dropped so low that a draw would be her win. In fact, if Biden wins too viciously, it could be a win for Palin and a net loss for Biden in the polls.
Biden probably knows that if he shoots for a 60-40 win, he may get an 80-20 win. But, if he shoots for an 80-20 win, he could easly stumble into a 20-80 loss. Look for him to be courteous, yet set Palin up for the freshman rhetorical traps that don't make him look bad, but still give her "enough rope to hang herself". And Biden can make a quick grin to draw audience attention to Palin mistakes without looking like he's gloating. I would be very surprised, though, to see him get obviously aggressive.
Look for Palin to start out energetic, and rely a little too much on canned answers without directly responding to particular points Biden makes. Expect Palin to get flustered occasionally by something she doesn't expect. Palin probably won't have the better debate technique, but it is possible that she could have convincing enough prepared responses for break even.
Biden has been practicing for this moment for several decades, Palin, only a few weeks. Even if they were virtually twins, the difference in preparation alone should be obvious. But, there's still a chance we could all be surprised.