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Biden and Palin dodge pitfalls

  2. BuddyP
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Vice-presidential debates are races for also-rans - the American political equivalent of third and fourth place play-offs in the football World Cup finals.

They normally generate interest levels to match.

But Campaign 2008 has been different all along - and the battle of the bottom of the ticket was different too, in this year of firsts.

Democrat Joe Biden and his Republican counterpart, Sarah Palin, are political polar opposites and they inhabit very different cultural galaxies but they do have one thing in common; they are united by a flair for the kind of political slips that can shape the destiny of campaigns in which hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested.

We don't know the exact figures yet but tens of millions of Americans will have watched the full 90 minutes last night.

And one more statistic we'll never know - how many watched in the hope that Mr Biden would strike a couple of bum notes or that Mrs Palin, who has floundered in recent television appearances, would simply implode and take the whole Republican campaign with her.

Many viewers will have stayed on to the end, watching as you watch high-wire artists performing without a net, with a guilty fascination at the possibility that one might fall.
BuddyP

2 responses // Biden and Palin dodge pitfalls

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    The pity of modern politics is that during events hilariously misnamed "debates" the actual fencing of point\counterpoint\point\counterpoint is disallowed by prior agreement.

    What you see instead is a nice safe puppet show of smiling teeth and talking points. An 90 minute political infomercial.

    The "debate" it appears dissatisfied millions of viewers, probably because it was as interesting to watch as a hockey game between two goaltenders at opposite ends of the rink.

    Could anyone score in such a contest? Of course not, conversely all the money spent padding the goalies
    would not be wasted on the actual talent required to respond to very tough shots.

    The ancient Mexica used a similar ceremonial gambit called "Flower Wars." In advance the losers were granted certain benefits for appearing to fight and then appearing to lose, albeit heroically. Though the contest was a complete farce - a circus - the system of population and regional dominance was maintained.

    AveryMoore
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    Sarah went her own way but had facts... and Biden just made up shit but sounded pretty damn good.

    Joe Biden's 14 Lies

    1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.

    2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.

    3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”

    4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.

    5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.

    6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.

    7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people's health insurance coverage -- they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false

    8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska -- she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it's not a windfall profits tax.

    9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.

    10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation -- he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.

    11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.

    12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.

    13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”

    14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won't pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.

    arcticspirit

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