Vice Presidential Debate

If you tuned in to the first and only Vice Presidential debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah "doggone-it-I'm-cute" Palin this evening, you might have wondered how accurately each candidate portrayed the other's position on critical issues. The New York Times checked the accusations each lobbed at the other against hard evidence and posted them on their Political Blog page here. I thought Biden was very clear in his responses. He seemed steady, direct and at ease with himself. Though there were no visible trip-ups in Palin's composure, her responses were certainly evasive. There was a point in which Gwen Ifill, the moderator, asked whether there was anything that the candidates on both presidential tickets had promised earlier in the campaign, but feel they would not be able to deliver on now that the nation is juggling the "war on terror" and a (f)ailing economy. Palin responded that she had only been running for VP for five weeks and hadn't made any promises, then proceeded to list the usual spate of items on both candidates' agendas: ending the war, fixing the economy, reducing foreign oil dependence. Very little about how she and John McMaverick propose to do that. There were also moments when Palin sounded like she was stumbling through her sentences (ex. "sided with the side"). Both candidates are against enacting legislation to recognize same-sex marriages which does not sit well with me (though Biden and Obama are behind giving same-sex couples the same benefits that hetero couples receive) and neither of them talked about the "war on terror" at home (both Obama and McCain endorsed the FISA bill on domestic surveillance). Overall, Biden came through as the stronger candidate, aggressively dismantling McCain's self-proclaimed "Maverick" image (contending that he isn't a maverick at all when the important issues are at stake) and countering Palin's down-home, "soccer-mom," family values with his own experience as a single dad. Joe Biden's voting record isn't as great as he makes it out from what I hear, but to give Sarah Palin the vice presidency of the United States would be a big, big mistake 'cause from what I've read, the Reagan years sucked.

Things I am sick of hearing/hearing about in this election campaign:

-the Bridge to Nowhere metaphor--c'mon, a bridge that goes nowhere isn't really a bridge now is it?

-the Main Street/Wall Street metanymy

-candidates flaunting their middle-class cred (working-class is even better)

-the Republicans' appropriation of the Democrats' "change" platform--i.e. changing the meaning of "change"

-how much of a "Maverick" John McCain is--Please, John Ford was a Maverick. John McCain is an insider through and through.