Andrea Mitchell, the liberal talking head for NBC and MSNBC, had this priceless gem last night immediately after the debate. She said Palin did well and did what she needed to do to “stop the bleeding” for the campaign.
You’d think that was good, right? Nope.
Mitchell said Palin’s strong performance was actually bad news for McCain because it brought the attention back to the economy which is bad for him. Ha! These people are so far out on the limb its hilarious.
Update: One a personal note I was sitting there watching the debate. I was so pleased that Sarah Palin was doing well. After all she and her family have been through to have that kind of night was just great.
Update Update: Interesting note is that I think a lot of right-leaning folks were very interested in the debate tonight as both National Review and Newsbusters both crashed. This could potentially reinvigorate the base of the Republican Party.
Update Update Update: I was thinking about not posting this but did Joe Biden look…hmmm…a little weird tonight. Like he maybe had work done. I truly hesitate to say it but it jumped out at me and he just looked a little odd.
Update Update Update Update: Republican columnist Kathleen Parker infamously called on Palin to step down earlier in the week because of two poor interviews. Tonight, while admitting Palin won, Parker’s not being too gracious about it. Here’s what she wrote:
Well, darnit all, if that dadgum girl (wink, wink) didn’t beat the tarnation out of Joe Biden. Maverick Sarah Palin fersure surpassed expectations and said everything under the sun, also. And Biden smiled and smiled.
You see, that’s the key to it all. Parker is a D.C. person. She doesn’t get and obviously doesn’t like people who don’t speak like her. You see, “dadgum” is supposed to make you laugh because people who aren’t from the coasts are to be snickered at, not respected.
This reminds me, once again, that there are two Republican parties. The elites look down on the base. In fact, the base is looked down on by the left and the elite Republicans. I am pro-life. That is reason number one I’m a Republican. Laugh at me all you want. I’m still going to be pro-life.
Final Update: Everyone’s talking about Sarah Palin’s charming and disarming intro to Biden by saying, “Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?” Was there a method to the charm? Is it possible that she asked that so she could get off her soundbyte: “Say it ain’t so, Joe.” Think about it. She knew she had a microphone on when she said it so we would all hear it and she would disqualify any sugestion of impropriety of her not calling him Senator when she said her soundbyte. Just a thought.
October 3, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I thought there were a few times she could have hammered him. She did well, but not a home run.
October 3, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Intellectually, there were a few points that I would’ve made that she didn’t. However, I think the emotional conncection she made outweighs all that.
She was on the verge of being a laughingstock to the media and eventually people just start buying it.
Look, every Republican leader is tarred as dumb. Reagan, Bush, Quayle, and now Palin.
Palin, last night, went over the heads of the media and spoke directly to the people.
The facts can be learned. The “real-ness” can’t.
October 3, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I only watched a few minutes of the debate but in those few minutes Palin referred to McCain as a “maverick” three times. (Granted, one of those was a reference to the two of them as the “team of mavericks.”) How cliched can one possibly get? Good thing I wasn’t playing a drinking game.
October 3, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Re: Joe Biden’s looks – I hear he loves his Botox. Perhaps a little too much. He had a decidedly reptilian look and it was creepy.
As for Sarah, I thought she did fine. Obviously nervous at first, talked to fast, a little too repeticious but after she calmed down, it was much better. She came across as geniune and that counts for a lot. Biden told a lot of fibs and left huge holes that Palin could have taken advantaged of and didn’t and it was frustrating at times. But I thought the contrast between the two was striking. She was optimistic, excited, hopeful and left no doubt that she loved her country. During split screen when she was talking, even Biden looked like he was enjoying watching her. Biden was playing Chicken Little too much which didn’t contrast well against Palin’s perkiness.
That’s my two cents, for what its worth.
October 3, 2008 at 8:42 pm
John Hetman – First, please don’t refer to me as “Deus”, which means God.
Second, you seem to be implying that being part of the inteligentsia is a bad thing. Or that somehow we cannot or do not drive trucks, mop (our own) floors, own small businesses etc. Being an intellectual does not limit or exclude one from doing any of the above (and I am speaking as one). No one is saying Palin should be an intellectual (nor is anyone accusing her of being one). But she should be able to speak to ALL segments of society and address any legitimate concerns, regardless of what group they came from. And I think she did this rather well.
Lastly, you mention you “do drink a six-pack”, to which I will remind you that gluttony is still a vice (i.e. a DEADLY sin). The bible is VERY clear that we are NEVER to drink to excess. And here’s some simple math that you don’t have to be part of the intelligentsia to understand:
1 six-pack ~ $10
20 six-packs a month ~ $200 or $2400/year
So, assuming an APR of 5 – 7%, if you put the money from your six packs into your mortgage you’d be able to pay it off roughly 10 – 12 years earlier. I’m sure your kids will thank you for this as well.
October 3, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Dear D__sdonat:
Thanks for your filial advice, D__s. I always like to hear from the young and restless. It is important, however, that as you mature, you develop a sense of humor and of proportion. You see how well Governor Palin put it to use, right?
October 3, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Of COURSE her charming and disarming question to Biden (“can I call you Joe?”) at the beginning of the debate was calculated! She planned the whole thing and knew the audience would hear it.
And it reflected well on her. It was, first and foremost, the polite thing to do. She hadn’t met him before, so she couldn’t claim a prior relationship that would have justified the familiar tone.
Of course he couldn’t respond “no, I prefer Senator Biden” nor could he subsequently refer to HER as “Sarah.” He would have been criticized for that, would have sounded condescending coming from him, etc.
So it all worked to her advantage. Made her sound congenial AND had the added bomus of enabling her to use her pre-planned lines like “say it ain’t so Joe!” etc.
If you ask me, I think Biden himself was genuinely charmed by Palin.
The fact is, these are two of the most likeable people in politics, regardless of whether you agree with their policies or not.
But the bottom line is, “can I call you Joe?” was one of many savvy moves on her part during last night’s debate.
October 4, 2008 at 1:51 am
Deusdonat said:
you seem to be implying that being part of the inteligentsia is a bad thing. Or that somehow we cannot or do not drive trucks, mop (our own) floors, own small businesses etc.
Did you just say that you are part of the intelligentsia?
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA!
I remember a long time ago when I thought I was the smartest person in the room too!
Good thing there were no blogs back then to document my hubris.
October 4, 2008 at 5:28 am
Dolby – do us both a favour and buy yourself a dictionary so you can look up the word you don’t seem to understand.
John – sometimes humour is lost on the internet. But after your last post, I really scowered your previous one to see if I could find any semblance of it there. So, I’ll take your word that its there and just keep on looking (this time with an atomic microscope).
October 4, 2008 at 5:30 am
“p.s. Why can’t a group of Catholics be above politics as usual. It sickens me to see the one sidedness on this blog towards republicans…”
Sickening? Please take two aspirin and read the piece more closely.
Matthew just elaborated on the dichotomy in the Republican party, between the “elites” and the “base.” If there is any “one-sidededness,” it is toward the culture of life, and against the culture of death. Palin represents a side of the GOP that never gets a hearing anymore, certainly not during the years of either the elder or the younger Bush. That side is not the bankers and lawyers and country club types, the “Rockefeller conservatives,” but the conservatives of principle, the progeny of the Reagan Revolution that breathed new life into the party. Such people used to be the base of the Democrats, until the Dems had no more use for them.
Such a school of thought is beyond party loyalty, but one party is more loyal to it than the other.
October 5, 2008 at 5:08 am
i would go farther to say the “couric” interviews were staged, yeah maybe she was nervous, but she does have a journalism degree, been on TV before…think about it, there wa nothing of real substance in the interviews…the she gets agrand slam in the debates, she also set him up to attack her with some nobody cares flubs like a general’s last name…also, how uncomfortable was that when he was holding her arm, that seemed like an eternity? Review Biden walking in, all he does is copy her every move, look, smile, wave, look, smile..he wanted a hug and smooch, dirty old botox creep.
October 5, 2008 at 5:45 pm
The fact is, these are two of the most likeable people in politics, regardless of whether you agree with their policies or not.
I completely agree. I found myself really liking Joe Biden. When he was exasperated he responded with a huge grin. I believe Joe Biden truly believes he is doing the right thing and what is best for the country.
I don’t believe that of Barack Obama. Someone said they’d vote for a Palin / Biden ticket. I would too. đŸ™‚