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Sunday, September 28, 2008
Analysis: What does each candidate have to do to win the Vice Presidential debate on Oct. 2?
One of my favorite moments (38 seconds) from the primary debates. Keep in mind that Biden has a reputation for droning on and on in his answers. Enjoy.
Biden needs to be just as smooth as Obama was on friday in order for the democrats to go 2-0 in the dabates. Palin needs to make Biden feel uncomfortable so that Biden slips something that shouldn't be said. Palin needs to make her points strong and decise rather than dragging her answers out like she has been doing lately. It should be a good debate to see this coming thursday
Palin needs to really show she has leadership credentials and show America she is ready to be VP. Biden has to make sure he doesn't say something he will regret.
First off, both Vice-President nominees need to answer the questions and try not to completely bash each other. Joe Biden will need to direct his attacks toward McCain since the public is already fully aware of Palin’s lack of qualifications. Sarah Palin will have to do a good job at defending McCain and the rest of the Republican Party. I think Biden will have an advantage as long as he is calm and confident.
I agree whole-heartedly with Vince. Even though "Palin becomes increasingly adorable when cornered", you can't win an election sounding cute yet unreliable and uninformed.
Palin would be an invariable political juggernant if she could get her act together with her issues. Right now her charisma is powerful, but she'd win so many more votes if she sounded like she knew what she was doing.
If Palin could find a way to balance her hometown charm and a encyclopedic knowledge of current issues, she'd be UNSTOPPABLE!
I don;t know if many people know what a great man Joe Biden is, but if Palin's home life and background and experience is a component in the campaign, Joe Biden should be vocal about his accomplishments in the Senate.
He's faded into the background of some of this election year's novelty: two powerful women on the road to the white house, the closest a minority has ever been to the White House, and a decorated, well-known war hero.
Who cares about another somewhat wealthy, understated white politician?
Palin never has to prove that shes ready to lead the country. Those of you who are set to vote for McCain don't really care if Palin can lead or not because your vote isn't really FOR John McCain, it's AGAINST Barack Obama.
Palin acts as a spot light for the McCain campaign. She's very pretty and very good at attracting attention. She's a deal breaker for conservatives stuck in the middle of deciding between two seemingly different candidates.
So who cares if she can lead? She wasn't selected for her leading ablities. She was chosen because she's cute and charming. She doesn't have to PROVE anything.
Both of the candidates need to actually answer the questions. Palin will need to follow to read prepared speeches that the McCain people will probably give her in order to make sure she doesn't say something wrong. Biden will have to also watch what he says, and attack McCain not Palin, because attacking Palin seems to hurt the Obama-Biden ticket.
This weekend my kid wanted some more grapes so as I was walking by the refrigerator my wife asked me to check if there were any more. Like Sarah Palin to Katie Couric I told her, "I'll try to find ya' some and I'll bring 'em to ya'."
Palin has to look very informed. Expect her to drop a bunch of names and give laundry lists of policy descriptions and other wonky bits of information. And then she has to be the average home-town girl that fits into the narrative of her candidacy. Expect a good performance from her. All she has to do is meet expectations (which are very low).
Biden needs to give good answers like he did in the primary debates without being condescending or looking like a know-it-all. Mostly, he can't be arrogant because that plays into his opponent's story about average people versus elite know-it-alls. Of course, the other thing he can't do is pull a Biden and say something stupid. (an example of something he hasn't said and shouldn't say: "Barack is probably not the best candidate for president.")
A slight clarification is needed on Addie's post. How do you define "somewhat wealthy"? According to records from 2006, Biden is the least wealthy member of the U.S. Senate (an admittedly wealthy club). Just something to ponder.
Palin needs to prove she is ready to lead a country in a worst-case-senario and by that, stay cool. I agree with Mr. Bretzmann and expect her to "drop a lot of names," etc, because Biden should seem calm and collected while attacking her on her inexperience and McCain.
I believe that Palin has to be on the offensive also. If she wants to proove to her critics that she is completely capable to run this country, this would be a great spot to make her presence felt by the opposition.
I belive Palin needs to come across as your average person, as that has been her image in this election. Not only does she need to be seen as one of us, she needs to also have a solid answer to the tough questions so she looks edgucated as well. Biden just needs to watch his mouth and not say anything he will regret.
I agree with whats been bieng said here. Biden needs to learn self control and start to really think about what hes talking about before he answers. After all, Dan Quayle was bad enough. And as for Palin, she needs to stop talking about her qualifications and start showing them instead. Rather than constantly tearing at eachother both need to re-focus their thoughts and begin to prove they are the right person for the veep spot
Palin needs to be agrressive in the debate and prove that she's no rookie...As long as she can keep up with Biden and possibly make him say something he shouldnt she'll win...It's deffinetly in Bidens favor right now though...
I guess "somewhat wealthy" is ambiguous. I included the "somewhat" because I did know his salary wasn't comparatively high with his colleagues, but I'd wager he isn't doing too poorly in the Money Department.
And there really is a Money Department.
Jon Stewart named what I've been trying to say in my posts: "Post-Facts Era."
I don't know if he used the word "era" or "generation", but it was something to that effect.
This is probably ridiculously cynical, but I don't know how much the debates will effect anyone's views, including my own.
Even if Palin won the debate fair and square using her own intelligence and knowledge of foreign policy and homeland security and current events and clever, relevant rhetoric, I would still probably say:
"Well, she's a cute talking head for sure, but what's she going to say when her speeches and talking points aren't memorized?"
It would have nothing to do with what she has said and the ideas that she has proposed, but what I've gathered about her, whether it be personal background or an inherent dislike of her party and the other affiliated members.
I'm going to be watching the debate to see Biden tear Palin six new ones, not to weigh the views objectively.
Probably not the best frame of mind, but it's probably not an uncommon one.
Addie is right. Palin really does need to show that she knows something. She is a good speaker, and has great charisma. Sadly, that is not all it takes to win an election. Joe Biden has a lot of experience. Palin must find a way to argue effectively against his experience, and that means that she really needs to know all the details of all the current issues. That would help her immensely. As for Biden, he needs to talk about what he has done. Bringing his accomplishments in the Senate to light is one way to really show just how little experience Palin has.
If Palin can make Biden feel uncomfortable or threatened and get him to say something he shouldn't, then there will be new ammunition for the McCain compaign, which is important this close to election day; however, if Biden is proven far better than Palin, this will be a major stumbling block for the Republican ticket, and with election day so close, I'm not sure they'd be able to recover from the fall.
Biden needs to watch his mouth and not get too emotional and slip somthing stupid. Palin need to be fast, clean, and on the offense. She needs to prove that she is ready and can handel her own when McCain is not there to baby her in interviews.
22 comments:
I think Palin needs to be on the offensive and try to make Biden say something he will regret.
Biden needs to be just as smooth as Obama was on friday in order for the democrats to go 2-0 in the dabates. Palin needs to make Biden feel uncomfortable so that Biden slips something that shouldn't be said. Palin needs to make her points strong and decise rather than dragging her answers out like she has been doing lately. It should be a good debate to see this coming thursday
Palin needs to really show she has leadership credentials and show America she is ready to be VP. Biden has to make sure he doesn't say something he will regret.
First off, both Vice-President nominees need to answer the questions and try not to completely bash each other. Joe Biden will need to direct his attacks toward McCain since the public is already fully aware of Palin’s lack of qualifications. Sarah Palin will have to do a good job at defending McCain and the rest of the Republican Party. I think Biden will have an advantage as long as he is calm and confident.
I think Palin really needs to show that she is ready to lead, since she is "one 72-year-old's heartbeat away" from being president.
I agree whole-heartedly with Vince. Even though "Palin becomes increasingly adorable when cornered", you can't win an election sounding cute yet unreliable and uninformed.
Palin would be an invariable political juggernant if she could get her act together with her issues. Right now her charisma is powerful, but she'd win so many more votes if she sounded like she knew what she was doing.
If Palin could find a way to balance her hometown charm and a encyclopedic knowledge of current issues, she'd be UNSTOPPABLE!
I don;t know if many people know what a great man Joe Biden is, but if Palin's home life and background and experience is a component in the campaign, Joe Biden should be vocal about his accomplishments in the Senate.
He's faded into the background of some of this election year's novelty: two powerful women on the road to the white house, the closest a minority has ever been to the White House, and a decorated, well-known war hero.
Who cares about another somewhat wealthy, understated white politician?
He needs to make himself known.
This is my theory:
Palin never has to prove that shes ready to lead the country. Those of you who are set to vote for McCain don't really care if Palin can lead or not because your vote isn't really FOR John McCain, it's AGAINST Barack Obama.
Palin acts as a spot light for the McCain campaign. She's very pretty and very good at attracting attention. She's a deal breaker for conservatives stuck in the middle of deciding between two seemingly different candidates.
So who cares if she can lead? She wasn't selected for her leading ablities. She was chosen because she's cute and charming. She doesn't have to PROVE anything.
Both of the candidates need to actually answer the questions. Palin will need to follow to read prepared speeches that the McCain people will probably give her in order to make sure she doesn't say something wrong. Biden will have to also watch what he says, and attack McCain not Palin, because attacking Palin seems to hurt the Obama-Biden ticket.
This weekend my kid wanted some more grapes so as I was walking by the refrigerator my wife asked me to check if there were any more. Like Sarah Palin to Katie Couric I told her, "I'll try to find ya' some and I'll bring 'em to ya'."
Palin has to look very informed. Expect her to drop a bunch of names and give laundry lists of policy descriptions and other wonky bits of information. And then she has to be the average home-town girl that fits into the narrative of her candidacy. Expect a good performance from her. All she has to do is meet expectations (which are very low).
Biden needs to give good answers like he did in the primary debates without being condescending or looking like a know-it-all. Mostly, he can't be arrogant because that plays into his opponent's story about average people versus elite know-it-alls. Of course, the other thing he can't do is pull a Biden and say something stupid. (an example of something he hasn't said and shouldn't say: "Barack is probably not the best candidate for president.")
A slight clarification is needed on Addie's post. How do you define "somewhat wealthy"? According to records from 2006, Biden is the least wealthy member of the U.S. Senate (an admittedly wealthy club). Just something to ponder.
Palin needs to prove she is ready to lead a country in a worst-case-senario and by that, stay cool. I agree with Mr. Bretzmann and expect her to "drop a lot of names," etc, because Biden should seem calm and collected while attacking her on her inexperience and McCain.
I think that as long as Biden shows up to the debate, he has nothing to worry about.
Palin has to attempt to outsmart him, (which IMHO is going to be very difficult to do.)
I believe that Palin has to be on the offensive also. If she wants to proove to her critics that she is completely capable to run this country, this would be a great spot to make her presence felt by the opposition.
I belive Palin needs to come across as your average person, as that has been her image in this election. Not only does she need to be seen as one of us, she needs to also have a solid answer to the tough questions so she looks edgucated as well. Biden just needs to watch his mouth and not say anything he will regret.
I agree with whats been bieng said here. Biden needs to learn self control and start to really think about what hes talking about before he answers. After all, Dan Quayle was bad enough. And as for Palin, she needs to stop talking about her qualifications and start showing them instead. Rather than constantly tearing at eachother both need to re-focus their thoughts and begin to prove they are the right person for the veep spot
youtube? how absurd.
Opinion: Biden's going to tear her apart.
Palin needs to be agrressive in the debate and prove that she's no rookie...As long as she can keep up with Biden and possibly make him say something he shouldnt she'll win...It's deffinetly in Bidens favor right now though...
I guess "somewhat wealthy" is ambiguous. I included the "somewhat" because I did know his salary wasn't comparatively high with his colleagues, but I'd wager he isn't doing too poorly in the Money Department.
And there really is a Money Department.
Jon Stewart named what I've been trying to say in my posts: "Post-Facts Era."
I don't know if he used the word "era" or "generation", but it was something to that effect.
This is probably ridiculously cynical, but I don't know how much the debates will effect anyone's views, including my own.
Even if Palin won the debate fair and square using her own intelligence and knowledge of foreign policy and homeland security and current events and clever, relevant rhetoric, I would still probably say:
"Well, she's a cute talking head for sure, but what's she going to say when her speeches and talking points aren't memorized?"
It would have nothing to do with what she has said and the ideas that she has proposed, but what I've gathered about her, whether it be personal background or an inherent dislike of her party and the other affiliated members.
I'm going to be watching the debate to see Biden tear Palin six new ones, not to weigh the views objectively.
Probably not the best frame of mind, but it's probably not an uncommon one.
And Palin has been trying to prove she's a rookie all along. She's the proverbial "New Face" to John McCain's literal old one.
It's a very interesting dynamic that Palin has:
She has to come off as a new comer with a fresh voice and ideas while seeming like a competent leader with a lot of government experience.
And she's done a great job of that, doncha know?
Addie is right. Palin really does need to show that she knows something. She is a good speaker, and has great charisma. Sadly, that is not all it takes to win an election. Joe Biden has a lot of experience. Palin must find a way to argue effectively against his experience, and that means that she really needs to know all the details of all the current issues. That would help her immensely. As for Biden, he needs to talk about what he has done. Bringing his accomplishments in the Senate to light is one way to really show just how little experience Palin has.
If Palin can make Biden feel uncomfortable or threatened and get him to say something he shouldn't, then there will be new ammunition for the McCain compaign, which is important this close to election day; however, if Biden is proven far better than Palin, this will be a major stumbling block for the Republican ticket, and with election day so close, I'm not sure they'd be able to recover from the fall.
Biden needs to watch his mouth and not get too emotional and slip somthing stupid. Palin need to be fast, clean, and on the offense. She needs to prove that she is ready and can handel her own when McCain is not there to baby her in interviews.
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