I'm sorry, I have to ask...

Don't put words in my mouth Baylian. I never claimed to speak for Cathe & never would (however I was speaking for the 25+ forum members who emailed/PMd me to thank me). That was just a flat out lie. Attack me for facts, but don't slam me w/falsehoods.

Wasn't going to respond but hey - its Friday and why not.

I got quite a number of emailed/pmd thanking me also - so I guess it's much like the debate last night - a draw.
 
Wasn't going to respond but hey - its Friday and why not.

I got quite a number of emailed/pmd thanking me also - so I guess it's much like the debate last night - a draw.

Riiiight. I believe that about as much as I believe you're here to discuss fitness. :rolleyes:
 
I agree with your assessment of the debate, McC. Very well stated. The only thing I would change about your assessment is that I did not find that "down home" stuff charming. A little bit of it might have been appealing, but there was too much of it and after a while, it just wasn't believable to me anymore. Otherwise, I agree with everything you wrote. I also think Biden was better with specifics, and Palin too often resorted to empty generalities.
 
I think Palin gave a performance that probably impressed the nation for the most part because her interviews have been cringe worthy. She is more comfortable being at a lectern, but more importantly, she is more comfortable not being pressed for specifics. I think she did a pretty good job of reassuring her base but I do not think she has swayed many independents. Not answering the moderator's question might show some spunk who hates the MSM, but she fails to deliver to the lot of people who actually want to hear her answers.

Joe Biden, who I adore, just thrilled me for being articulate and on point for the most part. He was not gaffe-o-matic. He did answer questions...and not always the way I would like them, but then again, he did say a lot of things that I agree with whole-heartedly.

So, Palin rescued herself from a tanking image to her base, Biden was on point and made the case for Obama, and I don't think the debate is going to shift the momentum of the country's sentiment in an opposite direction. I think its going to keep the same flow unless a true October surprise kicks in.
 
About last night...after I heard her mispronounce NUCLEAR my ears started to bleed...

Oh, Gayle, you and me both!! Can't say I cared for the "you betchas" either but that was just overly folksy IMHO, not a mispronunciation.

I was also impressed by Palin's performance. I guess I expected her to implode based on some of her prior appearances. I do think that Joe Biden did a better job overall but it wasn't a slam dunk IMHO.
 
First - I really appreciate the civilness and openness of this thread. :) I was a little afraid to open it. (OK - I am ignoring a couple posts)

I agree with a lot of the comments here. I think both folks did a good job but had some areas that could have been better. I was watching CBS (?) and they did a quick poll afterwards of undecided voters and found that more ended up leaning to Obama/Biden than McCain/Palin after the debate but there were indeed undecided voters who watched the debate and were now ready to vote McCain/Palin.

I think the 'positive' ratings went up for both candidates and Biden had the edge on 'knowledge of issues'.

Overall - I enjoyed watching the debate and felt it met it's purpose. It gave us an opportunity to hear the candidates and learn more about their positions.
 
I wasn't going to comment on this but I am so glad to hear some talk about the pronunciation of the work "NUCLEAR" versus "NUCULAR." It was past my bedtime and I was sleepy, but after the 4th or 5th time she said it I just had to turn the TV off. The first thought that crossed my mind was that it reminded me of one of those infamous "W" mis-speaks :confused:
 
it is a bit disconcerting

when "she didn't make a complete fool of herself" is considered a success...

Do we really want a vice president who starts winking and resorts to that "down-home mayberry soccer mom charm" when asked questions she doesn't know the answer to?? I think that behavior will be lost on the leaders of the other countries in this world...
 
I think it is funny that Gayle mentioned the same thing that drove me nuts yesterday, Sarah Palin mispronouncing nuclear. I actually started yelling at the tv "It's nuclear, nuclear doggone it!!!"

Overall I think both of them did well. I have always liked Joe Biden and I was hoping Obama would pick him as a running mate. I guess I got my wish :D

I think Sarah Palin went on the charm offensive and did well with it, it is just that I don't care much for her and I thought she went overboard on the "folksy" talk. I don't know if it is just me but she really reminds me of George W. Bush, just that Sarah Palin is a lot more attractive and has a nice smile. However, listening to her makes me get the same feeling I got with W, there is not much substance but a lot of arrogance. It has nothing to do with her being a Republican, contrary to what many of you may think I am not a die-hard democrat. I like and respect Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

Over the last several years I just have seen a lot of nastiness, and whereas I usually vote based on issues, arrogance and mean rhetoric is a turn-off for me and I start rooting for the other side, even though I may not agree with their stance. For example, I really liked Ronald Reagan, he took swipes at his opponent but it always was with a sense of humor.

That being said, I expected Gov. Palin to do well, she knows how to deliver a prepared speech and stick with talking points. I thought it was very disrespectful to Gwen Ifill, Joe Biden and anyone who was listening when she said "I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you wanna hear but I am gonna talk straight to the American people ....." What about me, I am the American people, I want to hear her answer to the question she is asked.

I was very moved by Joe Biden tearing up when talking about his 1st wife and his sons. It made him very human. I was kind of astonished when Sarah Palin just ignored it and went on the attack.

Overall, I think it went well for both, I don't think any minds were changed.
 
I was very moved by Joe Biden tearing up when talking about his 1st wife and his sons. It made him very human. I was kind of astonished when Sarah Palin just ignored it and went on the attack.

I thought that was a huge mistake on her part. I wonder if she wasn't prepared for it. All she needed to say, "I, like all American people, feel for your loss, but to touch on the other matter..." If I had to call her biggest mistake, I would say this is the one. I may not be a hockey mom, but I feel for the loss of anyone losing their child on top of their spouse.
 
I think Sarah Palin went on the charm offensive and did well with it, it is just that I don't care much for her and I thought she went overboard on the "folksy" talk.

I think it worked for the first 5 minutes, but after a while she started to come off like a used car salesman to me...overboard...almost like a parody of herself...

Maybe Tina Fey's been coaching her! :p
 
I was one who PM'd Baylian. I don't like the fighting back and forth but it's nice to see differing points of view around here.
 
...
My main issue with both McCain and Palin is that it appeared, to me-- someone who was genuinely listening intently to what they had to say and wanted to hear some honest answers on their positions-- that they both just kept repeating the same incorrect information over and over and over, even after corrections were made by Obama, Biden, and even FactCheck.org (non-partisan). They would have held more credibility to me if they had not kept railing on the same things that have already been proven false. It gave me the impression that they were going to hang on to their "lines" whether they were true or not, forget informing the American people they were supposedly there to appeal to.


Actually FactCheck.org shows they both keep repeating incorrect information, and I love FactCheck.org. Great way to learn the truth.

I felt that neither side gave me any new information, both sides did well, and I have only read the first post, have no idea if this thread went sour, but I like Sarah, and think that she is smarter than everyone thinks. If that makes you think I am stupid so be it. I think the interviews on the news were heavily edited and she was made to look bad. Last night showed she is smart. Biden was much better than I expected, except his face does not move from the eyes up, is that Botox? That is petty, but I noticed it and it was odd. Otherwise, he is a good speaker, very natural up there.

One thing that bothered me about Biden. His views during primaries was different than Obama, and now he is changing them? Sarah at least said, my views are different, and that she and McCain agree to disagree on some things.
 
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It was a draw but I think the polls will reflect that she didn't win over any new voters. Most of those are going to go with Obama (or a third party) because of the stigma of Bush and his association with our present economic nightmare. I thought it was nice that they kept it civil. One commentator on CNN even said when it was over Palin and Biden were behaving like dear friends and the families of both candidates were hanging out like THEY were running together... I kept thinking about Bill Clinton talking on Larry King last week. He had a lot to say about being able to disagree without ripping people apart. In the end, they're all friends when nobody's looking, anyway. I sometimes wonder if right and left is really just the way They All manipulate US.

Right now, I'm just so angry about all the junk that's been added to the Bailout Bill because I just know, now that the Senate has passed this newer, porkier version, Congress will pass it tomorrow. Unbelievable. 1.5 billion dollars worth of crap added on to appease people and get us all to pay for it. I was going ballistic last night watching Lou Dobbs. More and more I start to see everything in terms of US vs. THEM (all the politicians), rather than Republican vs. Democrat. I'm really starting to wonder if it's impossible to keep a good person from becoming corrupt, once they're inside The Beltway.

Boy do I agree with this, and find it so typical of our lawmakers.
 
I listented to the debate on the radio as I was driving home from the airport so I didn't see the visuals (winking to the camera and so forth). She sounded like Sarah Pallin to me. Down home and folksy is her personality. I think she's come a long way in 5 weeks and thought she did a good job but it irritates me, too that nothing new was said and the same incorrect facts already uncovered on factcheck.org were repeated - by both sides.
 
First - I really appreciate the civilness and openness of this thread. :) I was a little afraid to open it. (OK - I am ignoring a couple posts)

I agree with a lot of the comments here. I think both folks did a good job but had some areas that could have been better. I was watching CBS (?) and they did a quick poll afterwards of undecided voters and found that more ended up leaning to Obama/Biden than McCain/Palin after the debate but there were indeed undecided voters who watched the debate and were now ready to vote McCain/Palin.

I think the 'positive' ratings went up for both candidates and Biden had the edge on 'knowledge of issues'.

Overall - I enjoyed watching the debate and felt it met it's purpose. It gave us an opportunity to hear the candidates and learn more about their positions.

Polls always depend on the source. CBS and CNN had Biden winning, Fox and surprising MSNBC this morning had Palin winning. I never understand how you can do a win/loss on the prepared talking points, which was what this was.
 
Polls always depend on the source. CBS and CNN had Biden winning, Fox and surprising MSNBC this morning had Palin winning. I never understand how you can do a win/loss on the prepared talking points, which was what this was.

Where did the MSNBC polls have Palin winning? Do you have a link? I thought I saw 75% in Biden's favor. Is it on TV? And on FoxNews.com I see Biden winning too. But those polls are unscientific anyway. I would really love to see scientific polls...The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey which only took responses from people who watched the debate said that "fifty-one percent of those polled thought Biden did the best job in Thursday night's debate, while 36 percent thought Palin did the best job" but also said "the folksy Palin was more likable, scoring 54 percent to Biden's 36 percent" but that was still right after the debate. I'm curious what will happen after the dust settles.
 
I felt that neither side gave me any new information, both sides did well, and I have only read the first post, have no idea if this thread went sour, but I like Sarah, and think that she is smarter than everyone thinks. If that makes you think I am stupid so be it. I think the interviews on the news were heavily edited and she was made to look bad.

I don't think you are stupid, Dorothy!!!!!! To me you come across as very smart, your posts are well thought out and you make some very good points. I believe Sarah Palin is smart, I just think she is out of her league, was thrown in the national spotlight without much preperation and I don't like how her own campaign is treating her, keeping her away from the press. I believe they should have handled it differently and let her get comfortable by first talking to more conservative leaning members of the press, instead of throwing her "the wolves" on limited occassions. Although I didn't perceive Katie Couric as being unfair. Tough but not unfair. I think any politician who wants to be elected into as high an office needs to be able to handle tough questions.

That being said, I think if any journalist had asked questions of Sarah Palin the way Bill O'Reilly conducted his interview with Barack Obama, all hell would have broken loose.
 
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Polls always depend on the source. CBS and CNN had Biden winning, Fox and surprising MSNBC this morning had Palin winning. I never understand how you can do a win/loss on the prepared talking points, which was what this was.

Agreed - I was just pointing out that in general, there was a positive response to both candidates. I think someone earlier had said she didin't think any undecided voters would choose McCain/Palin after the debate.

I wasn't referring to any polls that stated a winner.
 
That being said, I think if any journalist had asked questions of Sarah Palin the way Bill O'Reilly conducted his interview with Barack Obama, all hell would have broken loose.[/QUOTE]

I absolutey never repond to these types of post but i just had to because I absolutely agree with you on this.
 

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