God Bless Sarah Palin !

[Brian]

But it will seems like 120, unless you are watching it for the comedy, then it would seem to be less than an hour...

Frankly I am expecting the VP debate to be the Comedy Event of 2008.

[adamdavid80]

Frankly I am expecting the VP debate to be the Comedy Event of 2008.

Really?  You think it can top the "Moderating" thread?   

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

So health care reform and reducing taxes and reigning in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans.

Finally, we have a candidate who's not afraid to tell it like it is.

[Hector]

You leave her alone you Commie bastards.

She's a warm and wonderful human bean.

God told me!

[springrite]

You leave her alone you Commie bastards.

She's a warm and wonderful human bean.

God told me!

How did you get God's number? I have been trying for years and the closest I got was Pat Robertson's (answering service).

[sound67]

She's a warm and wonderful human bean.

Personally, I think she's more of a human cucumber.

Thomas

[Bunny]

I don't think Palin is that bad, and more to the point she's just the bottom of the ticket.  Just consider: Biden is an admitted plagiarist; his son, contrary to what he wants the world to believe, is not and has never been in a combat unit (he's a lawyer with JAG); and he has flipped and flopped all over the place on almost every foreign policy issue over the years.  Palin is as ready for the vice presidency -- a do nothing job -- as almost every other VP candidate has been.  There has only been one vice president who has actually shaped administration policy and everyone considered him to be better qualified than the top of his ticket.  He was so well qualified that for years everyone thought he was the one running the show in Washington.  Everyone now thinks that he was one of the worst things to ever happen to America. Luckily he'll be out of office in January.  So, if you want a very qualified VP, just be careful of what you wish for.

Now we all have a serious choice to make:  Are we going to let one party rule the roost?  Are we going to watch the Democratic Congress unable to put any limits on executive power because the president comes from the same party?  Or will America get sensible and realize that the government functions better when the Congress and President are not from the same party?  Congress is supposed to limit executive power.  If Obama is elected, the Democratic party will be as afraid to go against him as the Republican Congress was of going against Bush, and the results will be as bad. 

[karlhenning]

Well, I do think that Palin is that bad;  and I really don't think she gets a pass by the "Well, she can't possibly be as airheaded as Dan Quayle," test.  And it casts legitimate questions on McCain's decision-making.

If Obama is elected, the Democratic party will be as afraid to go against him as the Republican Congress was of going against Bush, and the results will be as bad. 

That's just science-fiction, but it restores my faith in people, that even you see how self-defeating Bush's "My way or the highway" approach proved.

So, no, Obama doesn't get tarred with the "He's going to be just like Bush" brush; you're thinking of Bush III McCain.

[scarpia]

I don't think Palin is that bad, and more to the point she's just the bottom of the ticket.  Just consider: Biden is an admitted plagiarist; his son, contrary to what he wants the world to believe, is not and has never been in a combat unit (he's a lawyer with JAG); and he has flipped and flopped all over the place on almost every foreign policy issue over the years.  Palin is as ready for the vice presidency -- a do nothing job -- as almost every other VP candidate has been.  There has only been one vice president who has actually shaped administration policy and everyone considered him to be better qualified than the top of his ticket.  He was so well qualified that for years everyone thought he was the one running the show in Washington.  Everyone now thinks that he was one of the worst things to ever happen to America. Luckily he'll be out of office in January.  So, if you want a very qualified VP, just be careful of what you wish for.

Now we all have a serious choice to make:  Are we going to let one party rule the roost?  Are we going to watch the Democratic Congress unable to put any limits on executive power because the president comes from the same party?  Or will America get sensible and realize that the government functions better when the Congress and President are not from the same party?  Congress is supposed to limit executive power.  If Obama is elected, the Democratic party will be as afraid to go against him as the Republican Congress was of going against Bush, and the results will be as bad. 

This post is pure nonsense.  The fact that Biden borrowed some language for his old stump speech is not plagarism, the fact that is son is not in combat does not make him a poorly qualified candidate.  The fact that Cheney was a terrible influence is an argument that the vice president is an important decision, not the other way around.  In this case, McCain is old and has had health issues, his vice president could easily end up president.

The problem with Palin is that she is out of her league.  When interviewed by a national news reporter she comes across like a student who didn't do her homework being quizzed by her teacher.  It was an embarrassment when Couric asked her why being governer of Alaska qualifies as foreign policy experience, and she repeated the claim that "duh, Russia is right next door" as if that wasn't an idiotic answer.  (She never mentioned that she never went there, despite the fact that she claimed she could see Russia from Alaska.)  I'd like to see a Russian claim that being banished to a gulag in Siberia qualifies as foreign policy experience, since you can see America from there.  If she can't hold her own with a TV reporter, how will she hold her own in a cabinet meeting when someone tells her that Russia plans to arm Venezuela with nuclear weapons, or that the US is in recession and the federal deficit is a trillion dollars?

Your last point, that a Democrat Congress will be afraid to go against Obama, is so silly as to be worthy of Palin herself.  Just hours ago the Republicans in Congress sunk Bush's bailout, just as they did the immigration bill last year.

However, the biggest problem with Palin is what it tells us about John McCain's judgement.  It's one thing to be a "Maverick" (i.e., lunatic) in the Senate when you can't get anything done unless you get 50 others to agree with you.  What happens when the "Maverick" is in a position of power, and people actually do what he tells them to do?  Frightening.

[rappy]

It is also nonsense that VPs have never been qualified people. Just remember Al Gore, one of the best people America could have had as president, and still all he attained was the VP under Clinton - because - it's very sad - there more people in America who think like you, Bunny. Guess you also voted for Bush 

[Anne]

Scarpia:
However, the biggest problem with Palin is what it tells us about John McCain's judgement*.  It's one thing to be a "Maverick" (i.e., lunatic) in the Senate when you can't get anything done unless you get 50 others to agree with you.  What happens when the "Maverick" is in a position of power, and people actually do what he tells them to do?  Frightening.

Karl, I so much agree with your and Scarpia's concern with McCain's judgment when he chose Palin.  The thought of her running the country IS frightening.

Also I'd like to say this: she has been involved with questionable abuse of power regarding "Troopergate."  How edifying that must be for students studying civics in their senior year.  A question - if you were a teacher of a civics class, how far would you go in using Palin as a modern example?  Of course it would have to be proven in a court of law or congressional censure that that she was doing wrong.

I see this last week that she quietly and without much fanfare returned gifts from others as a result of her campaigns.  Earlier she returned items also.  Was accepting those items for personal use the result of ignorance of the law, or thinking she might not get caught?

*  The bold print in Scarpia's quote is my addition.  

[Catison]

Now we all have a serious choice to make:  Are we going to let one party rule the roost?  Are we going to watch the Democratic Congress unable to put any limits on executive power because the president comes from the same party?  Or will America get sensible and realize that the government functions better when the Congress and President are not from the same party?  Congress is supposed to limit executive power.  If Obama is elected, the Democratic party will be as afraid to go against him as the Republican Congress was of going against Bush, and the results will be as bad. 

So very true.  Libertarians should vote for whichever candidate will have to fight the most to get things passed.

[Bulldog]

It is also nonsense that VPs have never been qualified people. Just remember Al Gore, one of the best people America could have had as president, and still all he attained was the VP under Clinton - because - it's very sad - there more people in America who think like you, Bunny. Guess you also voted for Bush 

Al Gore one of the best?  He's such a political loser that he couldn't even win his own state when he ran for president.  Although I do generally agree with his position on global warming, his strident, elitist and self-serving nature will win no converts.

[drogulus]

    Yes, Gore was one of the best, considered not by political loserhood but by credentials. He was a leader in both the house and Senate, and was the most influential VP in history until the current one. Also, losing (in a manner of speaking) a presidential race is hardly a qualification for "loser" as a possible President. Many people today would take him over the candidates that are actually running. And I don't see him as particularly strident or elitist, not that elitism is much of a concern for me. I've had enough anti-elitist posturing with the Palin pick, and a competent "elitist" looks pretty good by comparison.

[Brian]

Just found a hysterical quote - posted by "Trent Dillard" in the comments section of Politico.com's GOP Blog: "I'm pretty sure she's the female Zoolander."

[Bulldog]

    Yes, Gore was one of the best, considered not by political loserhood but by credentials. He was a leader in both the house and Senate, and was the most influential VP in history until the current one. Also, losing (in a manner of speaking) a presidential race is hardly a qualification for "loser" as a possible President. Many people today would take him over the candidates that are actually running. And I don't see him as particularly strident or elitist, not that elitism is much of a concern for me. I've had enough anti-elitist posturing with the Palin pick, and a competent "elitist" looks pretty good by comparison.

That's a lot of exaggerated praise for Mr. Gore.  Just for the record, I didn't state that he was a loser because he lost the presidency, but because he lost his own State.

Being practical, it doesn't really matter now.  Gore is political history.

[c#minor]

I do not see in anyones right mind allowing Palin to have a possible chance of being president. If McCain wasn't such a risk of handing over the Presidency, by unfortunate events, this wouldn't be quite such a big deal. Regardless of what i believe in a political sense, Ms. Palin cannot run a country. She has publicly embarrassed herself in the three interviews she has had. She is a neo con extreme who has no idea what she is talking about. Extremes mixed with ignorance equals dangerous.

[Bulldog]

I do not see in anyones right mind allowing Palin to have a possible chance of being president. If McCain wasn't such a risk of handing over the Presidency, by unfortunate events, this wouldn't be quite such a big deal. Regardless of what i believe in a political sense, Ms. Palin cannot run a country.

And I thought that the American people run the country.  As for Palin, let's face it.  There's almost a 50% chance she will be the next Vice-President, and given McCain's age, a decent chance she would occupy the top spot.  So I do hope she can manage it down the line.  Hell, I gave Bush the benefit of the doubt when he was first elected.

[M forever]

So you refuse to learn from your mistakes in the hope that things will be cool somehow anyway?

[adamdavid80]

And I thought that the American people run the country.  As for Palin, let's face it.  There's almost a 50% chance she will be the next Vice-President, and given McCain's age, a decent chance she would occupy the top spot.  So I do hope she can manage it down the line.  Hell, I gave Bush the benefit of the doubt when he was first elected.

This last sentence doesn't fill me with confidence whatsoever.