Me on Palin 1 at Poliblogger

On October 5, Dr. Taylor discussed Peggy Noonan's column about Sarah Palin after the VP debate. The GOP supporters on the thread immediately tried to redirect the conversation on to perceived mis-steps by Biden. I admit to not knowing enough details about their comments about Joe to either confirm or deny them.

What I do know is that their's was a plan of absolute distraction from the topic at hand. So I tried to bring everyone back to the discussion:

"Hmmm… I hope I don’t throw everyone off by responding to the actual post this thread started with, but here goes:

In my view, Palin’s performance in the VP debate was an utter disaster for the campaign.

How can I say that, when there has been so much praise slathered over it? Simple.

She wasted 90 minutes appealing to the people that were going to vote McCain/Palin anyway.

What is being sold as her solid performance by the GOP spin-doctors and the right-wing pundits was no such thing.

Anyone who has been following the campaigns with any more than a passing interest should be well-aware that John and Sarah have their Core vote wrapped-up.

Where they’re running into trouble is with Independents and Undecideds. Two groups who are notorious for hating BS. Which is all Palin had to offer during the debate.

I challenge anyone to quote me a specific answer to ANY question she was asked. Her supporters will trumpet her bravery (or is it “Maverickism”?) in openly defying the moderator. To me, that was pure bluster and misdirection.

Anyone looking for actual answers is likely to feel the same. So, for those of you who have already chosen the GOP ticket - I understand why you’ve deluded yourselves into thinking she performed well. She made you feel good about your positions - which I’m sure can be tough at times.

But for those of us who (oddly enough) expect to hear an actual answer to a definite question… she blew it.

There are a lot of us who don’t care how “folksy” a candidate is. There are a lot of us who don’t consider $200K in income as “middle class” (as Palin seems to). And there are a lot of us (I hope) who can see through her veneer.

She’s clueless. She’s unqualified. And you should have a problem with that. You should also have a problem with the fact that she didn’t even TRY to win over the votes you need to win.

My impression of the conversation back-stage after the debate:

Palin: Huh! Whatya think? Pretty freakin’ good, huh?”

Spin Doctors: Are you Effing kidding? You just set us back 6 months!

Palin: What’re you talking about? They LOVE me!

Spin Doctors: YEAH… the same people who loved you when you walked onstage still love you. The people who hated you when you walked onstage hate you even more (and now have more ammunition)… but the people who weren’t sure? With them you dug us a hole. They actively don’t like you now. They don’t trust you. You seem like a liar to them.

Palin: But I didn’t lie about anything!

Spin Doctor: No… you just failed to tell the truth on anything. On any… single… thing. She asked you questions that could have been homeruns for you. Weren’t you listening over the last 10 days? Are you aware that you didn’t answer a single question?

Palin: Uh huh…

Spin Doctor: Why the F didn’t you?

Palin: Our supporters don’t like to hear the truth.

Spin Doctor: But we’ve been rehearsing all week how to make the truth sound less horrific. And besides, didn’t you hear me tell you that our Base isn’t the issue? That we need to connect with the Undecideds?

Palin: Uh huh.

Spin Doctor: Then what the F?

Palin: People like it when I’m Folksy.

Spin Doctor: Ahh.. for F’s sake.

Palin: Didn’t you hear me say “… dog-gone-it Joe…” People eat that stuff up.

Spin Doctor: Nevermind…

So… a back-handed thanks to Gov. Palin for being so obvious in her obfuscation. And a whole-hearted “Wake UP” to the folks who missed it.

I make no claim on telling you who you should vote for, but for the sake of America, for the sake of our children, for the sake of your own piece of mind - at least do it with your eyes open.

Go to the campaign websites. Do some research. If after that it still doesn’t bother you that McCain’s policies don’t match his rhetoric - or only for an hour at a time - that’s on you.

But PLEASE stop this mindless parotting of the campaign and the pundits.

This is exactly how Dubya snuck into the White House, and we’ve all lived through the aftermath.

Don’t you want your candidate to be accountable? Go to sites like FactCheck.Org and Snopes.com to learn some facts about both campaigns.

I don’t expect (or want) everyone to agree with my viewpoint.

I just want us all to make informed decisions.

And in my opinion, anyone who says Palin did anything other than dodge, misdirect and sidestep during the debate wasn’t paying attention."

More than a day later (a long time in the blogosphere) no one has made a claim against my main point. The thread can be found at: http://www.poliblogger.com/?p=14277