This feels like a heavyweight bout that I have way too much money riding on. And I’m getting lousy odds.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
betting on Cassius Clay the night he won the title from Sonny Liston. Everybody thought I was nuts.
Tonight I’m betting on Biden. No matter how many factoids they’ve drilled (no pun intended) into Palin, she simply doesn’t have the goods.
But Palin is a lightweight.
Michael Spinks beat Larry Holmes. Who predicted that?
Olbermann and Gregory just compared Palin to my beloved New York Giants. I hate them both.
ooh, love Gwen’s jacket.
Did I call it on Biden’s tie?
Doesn’t look solid to me.
I sense a slight bias in Gwen’s voice.
First question: Bailout.
So far Biden looks smart. He’s got a flag pin. She’s already talking about kids’ soccer game. I can’t tell if that’s a flag pin on her or not.
She’s got a HUGE flag pin. And sparkly.
pet peeve alert: move the bangs out of the eyeball area so they don’t bounce when blinking occurs.
She’s good though. Looking RIGHT into the camera. Like the sportscaster she was.
Oh yeah, now that the camera backed off and the thingie on MSNBC isn’t blocking it.
It is a flag pin.
But what’s the pin above the flag?
(“Joe Six-Pack” is a word which we’re drinking to here, by the way.)
Wink at the camera!
Joe Sixpack. Ugh.
wow, she actually admits that she won’t be answering questions tonight.
you betcha
because she’s going to be talking directly to the American people…I can’t take her seriously. She never answered the question.
she’s good a BS.
She’s getting defensive when she didn’t have to.
she’s a chirper
I have such a visceral dislike of her that it’s hard for me to listen to her.
But people other than me might be buying her act.
i think the country’s in too serious a mood this week for the folksy routine, but I could be projecting…
I keep thinking of this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSdFIDygFwM
when I see Gov. Palin be serious.
Joe slammed her on health care and the bridge to nowhere in one quip – very well played.
CNN has the trend line of Ohio uncommitteds. Palin’s small gov’t tack is doing well with men, Biden’s answers are doing great with women.
That little quip she made about telling different people different things seemed out of context.
It must be on her quip list and she hadn’t used it yet.
Does anyone else think Joe smiles like he is delighted with her.
That’s what he has to do smile
The women in this house think Biden’s smile is a little creepy, like the Big Bad Wolf across from Little Red Riding Hood. But they still don’t like Palin, although one here feels sorry for her.
Joe’s good when he looks at the camera.
And GOOD point on windfall profits – she doesn’t look happy.
driving a wedge between Palin & McCain on that issue. Nice
yeah it was really good.
Yoor darn tootin’!
Could she have used more cliches in that answer?
Well she’s got her prerecorded speil down, doesn’t make sense with the questions, but will the public notice.
corruption and greed, wall street, people to the table, toxic mess, ever vigi lante, toxic market, main street,
doesn’t sound like normal speech patterns to me.
She’s right about those damn east coast politicians.
I hope you points out Barack is from the midwest.
It’s the inverse of that old New Yorker cover with a map of the US from the perspective of New York: everything beyond Jersey is out west. When you can see Russia from your kitchen window, the whole continental US is back east.
again with not answering the question.
The new slogan for Biden should be: substance over soundbites.
Her script is just a string of bumper stickers.
Her statement on energy made no sense – or maybe I just blanked out.
oh my, her answers are devolving into Courcic-type nonsense.
but look at that CNN meter..it goes up when she talks stupid?
doesn’t surprise me. It took me a couple of seconds at the end to think – but what did that MEAN. She was so SINCERE. It made it seem like she was saying something.
heh, she’s REALLY uncomfortable saying things she doesn’t believe – the global warming issue.
Wow, Biden is a poor debater. After a generation in the Senate, he can’t communicate more effectively on TV than a bimbo? What a fool.
WTF? I guess she’s serious about that “I don’t care about what the question is, I’m going to talk about what the hell I choose to talk about” thing.
She doesn’t want to argue about climate change because it’s God’s will.
soundbites. Climate change; will someone explain Palin’s answer please
heh, the women using the CNN dials do not care for Palin’s answers.
You know why? We women know Palin. She’s the chick that all the guys surround at a party drooling at her while she expounds complete nonsense and none of them notice.
All that drivel coming out of her mouth? With the confidential tone and the smile? We’ve heard and seen it all before.
that’s why Katie Couric was able to interview her and not let her be cute and get away from the questions.
That’s probably true. The looks on Katie’s face were priceless.
Yeah, and we know nasty pieces of work like that who believe their own hype.
Senator O’Biden?
There go the Log Cabin Republicans.
Prohibit visitation in a hospital? The fact that she even thought of that ought to worry everyone.
why does it hurt to listen to her answer..what is a Shida extremist??
With all due respect I didn’t hear a plan.
lol!
I don’t think this attack is working. Only with her base.
i think she is kicking ass
i wish i had a cheese ball and some crackers
well, she isn’t making a lot of sense but that doesn’t matter. She looks like she is and some people are going to like this. She is looking really good tonight and that means that this comes out as a win for her and McCain.
Unless she blows it before the end.
The narrative will be that she held her own with Biden.
She wins if she can walk in a straight line. Mission accomplished.
But this is catnip to the wing nuts. Redistribution? Capital in Jerusalem? She’s just an endless loop of talking points.
But Christ, this catty dolt is just so impressed with herself. She’s completely insufferable.
Joe’s doing really well. Very solid. Love the bridge to nowhere and he closed her in on civil unions in such a lovely way.
She really is insufferable. It’s hard for me not to throw things at the tv.
But I know I’m not like most of America.
What and how?
she is talking straight to dumbass america….she even mispronounces nuclear the way most of the dumbasses in america do.
im just dreaming of what a debate between palin and clinton would have been like.
My four-year-old says it best “Liar! Liar! Pants on Fire!” – total coincidence, as he isn’t really listening to the debate, but that’s the song of the week at pre-school apparently.
We’re watching CNN for the HD apparently…but Rollins is a total homer for Palin. +18 for Palin with NO negatives. Um, okay…not that I like Castellanos, but at least he’s got a 13/11 positive Palin/Biden vote and -2 for each of them.
Palin said nucular a few minutes ago. Anyone keeping count? Oops – twice now.
in other words, “they hate us for our freedom” oy, no more of that please.
Ifill is awful due to format
Biden is constrained
Our respect for women’s rights? Is she freakin’ kidding me? Look in the mirror lady!
She makes me nervous like I used to get nervous watching my kid in a school play.
A second holocaust. Oy! How we gonna get to the Last Days?
I don’t see how this answer works with any thinking person. Just too much finger pointin backwards.
The problem with using “the surge” in Afghanistan… oh wait, Biden said it first. This is the second time that he said something I was about to comment.
Every time I hear her speak all I can think is “Fargo”…
lol…fargo….funny
i keep thinking of the movie pink flamingos
Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark
Every time I hear her speak, my ears bleed.
Here we go – the answer she isn’t prepared for.
Use of nuclear weapons.
Palin chatters by rote she has been taught
we’re not bombing civilians? i bet there are tons of villagers in the middle east that would beg to differ.
Clueless.
but who cares? she’s smilin and winkin
biden keeps deep sighing, i can hear it in the mic. potentially bad.
A couple are okay. Non-verbal “There you go again”. But I agree. He’s used his allotted sighs.
Is something blinking in her hair?
She’s talking about counterinsurgency principles. Worked so well in Vietnam, didn’t it?
Her bright cheery attitude when talking about war really infuriates me.
OMG, that is so creepy…not to mention evil.
well she is flatlining on reaction on cnn right now, and joe is going high, both men and women. They are not liking her nonsense, oh she just shot up right now for a spec. Can anyone understand what points she is making.
What war has John McCain won?
what a creepy question! tho, i think it works in obama’s favor 😉
Say it ain’t so, Joe, is going to be the catchword of this debate, she must have had that line waiting for the whole debate to use.
that’s a zinger – the money for No Child Left Behind was left behind
Palin just fell into a trap. She’ll be a Cheney!
OMG
combine that with her inane answer about what happened if McCain died – if the media wants to they can destroy her.
So do they want to? They ARE angry. They might.
When she answers a question I can’t remember the question 2 seconds after she starts.