The Race in Three Mins

Recap of the Presidential Race in Three Minutes

Last Night/This Morning - the Debate

Palin claims that a good barometer for economic climate is a kids soccer game. I must have missed that chapter in economics. 

Palin - Predator Lenders...who deceived the public and there is greed on Wall Street

Joe Six Pac and Hockey Mom's banding together, who demand strict oversight. It is not the American peoples fault that the economy is hurting.

Really? Cause I think that the American People did not think about spending and the future.

Biden - McCain did not know about sub-prime mortgages. Called for more deregulation. Wants to deregulate the health care industry.

He is doing exactly what he should be doing, attacking McCain. Palin has not said a single new idea just regurgitating McCain sound bites.

The buzz word for the night. Palin will not comment on it but will continue to hammer away on the idea that Obama-Biden support higher taxes. 

Taxes are certainly a divide tonight. Biden is calling the tax increase on people making more than $250,000. That is more than the middle class is making by far.

After what Palin has already has said I have to drink.

Wow Biden can't speak

Blog Later

Cheers

So those were last night's posts.  I stand by them.  Anyway I thought the debate went well for everyone but McCain.  Palin was able to demonstrate that she is more than just a pretty face.  Biden kept the spot light on McCain and his failed policies, while able to defend and promote Obama.  Palin was not able to explain why McCain was the right choice for the country.  It was interesting to hear Palin debate because she frequently refused to answer the question.  I don't think it really did much to persuade people but maybe I am wrong.

Strategy for Palin and Biden

The debate is tonight and everyone is giving their two cents.  Well here is mine:

Palin

• Time to demonstrate that you are in fact smart, charming, and an agent for change.  Brush off the interviews as strategy for lowering expectation for the debate.  Use Biden's past against him.  He has been in Washington longer than McCain.  If Obama really wants change why did he pick such a safe choice?  For all of his foreign policy credentials, he voted for the war in Iraq.  Try to paint him as out of touch with working class Americans, who embrace you.  You are a tough woman, who scores well in the key states of Ohio and Iowa.  Take those two states and the election is once again too close to call.  Also Biden is known for his gaffes, if he says one tonight, Jump on it.  

Biden

• You are a six term senator, head of the foreign relations committee, you helped create the Violence Against Women Act and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, you served as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and seem to be an otherwise decent guy.  What does all this matter?  This woman is not fit to hold your papers.  You have been at this far longer than she even be remembered.  You have experience and facts on your side. You have authored more and better legislation than McCain has.  You should focus on McCain and his problems.  Do what Obama has not been able to do, hit McCain and Palin hard and often.  Don't shy away or look down.  Ask the questions millions of Americans are asking: how the hell can you claim that the war is a success, what is your solution for the economy, and what the fuck makes you think you are prepared to take office, you were barely able to run a town the same size as my high school?  Don't worry about coming off as elitist or talking down to her, you are going to be painted that way no matter what.  Might as well take advantage of it.

Palin's Strategy

Sarah Palin plans to go on the attack in tonight’s debate, hitting Joe Biden for what she will call his foreign policy blunders and penchant for adopting liberal positions on taxes and other issues, according to campaign officials involved in prepping her for tonight’s showdown. 

The Palin camp is projecting surprising self-confidence in the pre-debate hours, despite the vice presidential nominee’s uneven — and, at some points, peculiar — performances in recent television interviews, the officials say. Top advisers to John McCain privately say Palin’s recent CBS interview was a borderline disaster, especially since it played out in several segments over several days. Tonight will be different, they say. 

“This is going to finally put her back into a position where we see her like we saw her the first couple weeks,” a McCain official said. “She was herself. She was authentic, and people related to that. ... Tonight, she’ll get into a rhythm. You’re going to see her in a way that you haven’t seen her yet.”

By contrast, Biden plans what an aide calls "a just-the-facts, prosecutorial approach laying out the case against McCain and defending Obama." The aide said Biden will be "keeping the eye on the target, which is McCain."  Read Article Here.

Biden's House

Mr. Biden certainly can trace his roots to the working-class neighborhoods of Scranton, Pa., and Claymont, Del., where he was raised. But these days, his kitchen table can be found in a 6,800-square-foot custom-built colonial-style house on four lakefront acres, a property worth close to $3 million.

Although he is among the least wealthy members of the millionaires club that is the United States Senate — he and his wife, Jill, a college professor, earn about $250,000 a year — Mr. Biden maintains a lifestyle that is more comfortable than the impression he may have given on the campaign trail. A review of his finances found that when it comes to some of his largest expenses, like the purchase and upkeep of his home and his use of Amtrak trains to get around, he has benefited from resources and relationships not available to average Americans.

As a secure incumbent who has rarely faced serious competition during 35 years in the Senate, Mr. Biden has been able to dip into his campaign treasury to spend thousands of dollars on home landscaping and some of his Amtrak travel between Wilmington, Del., where he lives, and Washington. And the acquisition of his waterfront property a decade ago involved wealthy businessmen and campaign supporters, some of them bankers with an interest in legislation before the Senate, who bought his old house for top dollar, sold him four acres at cost and lent him $500,000 to build his new home.  Read Article Here.

Worst Script of Cribs Ever.

VP Debate - Social Issues

It seems unlikely that social issues will be discussed this debate with all the economic and foreign turmoil going on currently.  If they are discussed though it should be interesting.  Slate has gathered up past answers Biden and Palin have provided on gay marriage, abortion and more.  Check it out here.

Palin and the Debate

Yet a review of Palin's experience during her 2006 campaign for governor, when she engaged in a long series of debates with her opponents, suggests she is a more formidable adversary than is widely thought.

Unlike her opponent Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who has considerable presidential-level debate experience, Palin has never been involved in a debate where the questions were national and global in scope.

But she is familiar operating in a high-stakes debate environment against older, more seasoned pols who seemingly have better command of the issues.

In 2006, with no experience as a statewide officeholder, Palin ran what amounted to a debate gauntlet, beginning in the Republican primary against incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski and former state Sen. John Binkley, and then in the general election, against former Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles and former state Rep. Andrew Halcro, an independent.

Against that experienced opposition, Palin proved herself to be a comfortable and confident debater, not exactly deeply versed in the issues but unusually adept at dodging controversy and quick to take advantage of opponents' missteps. Not one to throw an unnecessary punch, Palin took a patient approach, waiting for her rivals to expose their weak points - and then striking fast.  Read Article Here.

At this point, I think I know more about Palin than Biden.  The media has focused on Palin but largely ignored Biden.  I know that Biden has lots of foreign policy experience, has been in Washington almost as long as McCain and is a Senator from Delaware, other than that I do not know much.  He is a big reason why I am watching the debate.  I want to see what he brings to the table.

VP Debate - The Very Definition of Low Impact

The amount of time and staff power being devoted to this was evidence of concern among Mr. McCain’s associates that Ms. Palin’s early triumphs — a well-received convention speech, her drawing of big crowds — has been overtaken by a series of setbacks, creating higher stakes for her in the debate Thursday with the Democratic nominee for vice president, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware.

“I think she has pretty thoroughly — and probably irretrievably — proven that she is not up to the job of being president of the United States,” David Frum, a former speechwriter for President Bush who is now a conservative columnist, said in an interview. “If she doesn’t perform well, then people see it.

“And this is a moment of real high anxiety, a little bit like 9/11, when people look to Washington for comfort and leadership and want to know that people in charge know what they are doing.”  Read Article Here.

There are three reasons for this. First, Biden does not want to look condescending. For the same reason, he plans on referring to Palin as “Gov. Palin” during the debate and never as “Sarah.” (He will sometimes refer to John McCain as “John,” however, because they have been senators together for many years.)

Second, Biden knows the press is going to pounce on any mistakes, and so he does not need to.

Third, and most important, Sarah Palin is not Biden’s true target.

“Joe Biden’s No. 1 job during the vice presidential debate is to keep the focus on the top of the ticket,” the Biden debate prepper told me. “He is going to keep the focus on John McCain.”

This is an arguable strategy. After all, McCain is the experienced one on the Republican ticket, the one whose credentials to be commander in chief from Day One are not in much question.  Read Article Here.

The title of this post comes from a West Wing quote, Josh is afraid that Leo is unprepared for the VP debate and Toby reminds him that the debate doesn't really matter.  It is hard to say if this debate truly matters.  As the articles point out America votes for the top of the ticket.  Biden is going to have to walk a tight rope so he does not seem: cruel, patronizing, or elitist.  Palin has to demonstrate that she is more than an SNL skit gone horribly wrong.  I will be blogging live throughout the event, mostly to mock Palin.

The Truth About Biden

Mr. Obama knew what he was getting when he picked Mr. Biden as his running mate: A veteran of six terms in the Senate, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, an Irish Catholic with working-class roots, a guy who had twice been tested in the arena of presidential politics.

And a human verbal wrecking crew.

This is the fellow who nearly derailed his nascent presidential campaign last year by calling Mr. Obama bright and clean and articulate and who noted that you needed a slight Indian accent to walk into a Dunkin’ Donuts or 7-Eleven in Delaware.  Read Article Here.

Everyone with a working brain understood why Biden was chosen.  Yes he has experience, even more importantly he is WHITE.  White white, snow white even.  He is from Delaware and helps make people forget for a minute that Obama is black.  While I wish I could say that I think people are beyond skin color, I know that this is completely untrue.  If he wanted real foreign policy experience, Bill Richardson was your man.  If you wanted to appease the greatest amount of people, Hillary Clinton was your woman.  If you wanted people to actually vote for Obama, then it had to be a white man.  Most of the nation is not ready for a black man and another minority to lead an office that has only been held by WASPs.

Reintroduction and Old News

Hello all-

I decided that (feel my heat) was not where I wanted to keep posting political stories and thoughts.  So I started this new blog.  That is the great things about the internet.  Whenever you want to start new, you can.  Anyway, this is the first post from (feel my heat).  Everything has been transferred over.  This sight will be updating a couple times a day until whenever I lose interest.  Anyway hope you all like it.  Re-read the old links.  Scroll to the bottom for fresh ones.

Enjoy!

B

So here are my first couple of links: advice for Joe Biden, FAQ about Palin, and questions about campaign songs.

• These are all good points for Biden. He has to debate someone very charismatic but undefined and inexperienced. Although I think a different approach may also work: people think he is pompous and arrogant, might as well be arrogant and tear her to shreds. If your going to be labeled it might as well take advantage.
• The more I learn about Palin the more she scares the shit out of me. Plus anyone who winks during their acceptance speech does not deserve to be a nominee.
• The campaign song is an interesting thing. It says a lot about a candidate. Edward's used Foo Fighter's songs to try and capture the youth vote, that strategy did not work particularly well. While Obama has been able to use various indie bands to connect to the youth vote. Currently there is a video for Obama showing common people with the National's "Fake Empire" playing in the back. It is a very effective ad. McCain is the politician having the most difficulty with music. Jackson Browne, John Mellencamp and Van Halen have all told McCain to stop using their music.

I will link other stories later including: Thomas Friedman's idea that the Environment is the most important issue this year, Why Obama? essays by various musicians on why the choose Obama, and my own thoughts on the race.