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speechlesstx · Oct 1, 2008, 12:20 PM

Originally Posted by NeedKarma

Hey some of them are in there.

Here's the description, straight from Amazon:

One is "some of them?" Other than Powell, every name you listed is a prominent Democrat.

Galveston1 · Oct 1, 2008, 01:45 PM

Hey guys, I watched that pres debate and I heard Obama say he would invade Pakistan if necessary. McCain rebuffed him by saying that you don't publicly say something like that about an ally.

And you keep bashing Palin for being naïve about foreign policy. She is only the vp candidate, Obama is in the first slot.

Get real!!

NeedKarma · Oct 1, 2008, 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by Galveston1

Hey guys, I watched that pres debate and I heard Obama say he would invade Pakistan if necessary. McCain rebuffed him by saying that you don't publicly say something like that about an ally.

And you keep bashing Palin for being naive about foreign policy. She is only the vp candidate, Obama is in the first slot.

Get real!!!

You're about to get reamed for that... but I won't do it. :)

speechlesstx · Oct 1, 2008, 02:21 PM

Let's talk about Biden's foreign policy expertise, this is the guy that said after 9/11 "Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran."

tomder55 · Oct 1, 2008, 02:38 PM

I will be kind. Biden has been in the Senate since the 1970s and for the most part has been wrong on every major foreign policy position during that time. He even voted against Operation Desert Storm.He was wrong on Reagan's cold war intiatives . Even liberals have to admit that he was gungo-ho on the current Iraq war until things started getting tough. Then he came up with the most convoluted solution for the war that anyone in either party proposed.

smearcase · Oct 2, 2008, 09:17 AM

It's a conflict of interest and if she has any integrity she will bail out (that's a popular term nowadays).
Consider how her book sales will go after the election if Obama wins vs McCain wins. It's a no-brainer. Get another moderator! The debate will have no value whatsoever with her in the mix. And it doesn't necessarily mean she will favor the Obama side, she may overcompensate by being slanted against Biden, to try and avoid the appearance of bias. There's an old saying--If it looks right it might be wrong but if it looks wrong it's got to be wrong.

NeedKarma · Oct 2, 2008, 09:23 AM

The format has changed slightly: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/us.../21debate.html

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.

McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

:rolleyes:

excon · Oct 2, 2008, 09:29 AM

Hello Need:

Do we need a leader who ISN'T a world class debater?? I don't think so. Then we'll be at a "disadvantage and on the defensive" to the REST OF THE WORLD!!

But hey, she's a hockey mom.

excon

tomder55 · Oct 2, 2008, 02:10 PM

Palin did fine in the Alaska debates I saw. In my view the format change is a wash because I'm sure the Obama campaign is equally pleased Biden will have to answer questions in a structured format.

Galveston1 · Oct 2, 2008, 02:19 PM

I know I'm not in that exalted, high altitude circle of really informed political observers that some of you are, but will someone PLEASE tell me how and where Obama got HIS vast experience in foreign policy?? Some of you seem to be more worried about Palin's lack of foreign policy experience than you are Obama's. Doesn't make sense to me.

BABRAM · Oct 2, 2008, 04:03 PM

That same "Gwen Iffil" has been moderator before. She was Black before and she's still Black now folks. She's not some Johnny come lately and she's been known to be toughest on Democrats having questioned Bill Clinton till nausea back in the day. The McCain camp needs to get over this scapegoat mentality. Sarah Palin answers for herself and Joe Biden will answer for himself. Mostly the Pubs need to stop nominating control freak "maverick" wannabe president types to avoid such campaign embarrassing goofiness. BTW that book is not solely about Barack Obama, that's another misconception and fallacy. It mentions several current leaders of African American heritage including Barack Obama.

tomder55 · Oct 3, 2008, 02:10 AM

She was fair and impartial in the format. Not sure if the public disclosure had any role in that.

BABRAM · Oct 3, 2008, 05:03 AM

She was very fair and impartial. Gwen Iffil always had integrity. :)

speechlesstx · Oct 3, 2008, 05:34 AM

Originally Posted by BABRAM

She was very fair and impartial. Gwen Iffil always had integrity. :)

She did fine, but if she had such integrity she would have disclosed her upcoming book to the commission. I don't care what anyone says, that was a conflict of interest.

The host of PBS' "Washington Week" and senior correspondent on "The NewsHour" said she did not tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about the book. The commission had no immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press. A spokeswoman for John McCain's campaign did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages.

Palin also did a fine job and Biden did no harm, he managed to take both sides of several issues. "Hard coal miner" Joe can't decide whether he's for or against clean coal. Helicopter Joe mocked McCain for thinking Shias and Sunnis could ever get along while bragging on his work on Bosnia between factions that have been fighting a "thousand years." And he changed the rhetoric on our military being stretched so thin we can't do anything else by saying we had the capability to do something in the Sudan. He almost had a Hillary moment and shed a few tears there at the end for icing on the cake. Meanwhile, Palin not only held her own she surprised a lot of people last night and clearly rankled "stand up for Chuck" Joe a few times.

tomder55 · Oct 3, 2008, 05:54 AM

The difference I saw was that Biden wanted to talk endlessly about legislative votes cast while Palin steered the conversation to accomplishments of her time as an executive. Curiously Biden's m.o. became a one man debate between his and McCain's voting record. Obama's legislative record is thin so he rarely tapped into Obama's record.

robc68fb · Oct 3, 2008, 06:23 AM

I'd tend to agree with Galviston's point. What foreign policy experience does Obama really have?? That should send a strong message to Americans. And, yes we all know that we are in a mess right now & it needs to change, but I'd feel a lot safer knowing there's someone in charge that has had the experience in foreign policy that Mcain has had over a new Senator any day of the week. In my opinion Obama is just a smooth operator, & we don't need that. If I want to watch a smooth operator, I'll go to the local bar & watch morons try & pick up women.

I thought Palin held her own. I don't think she did exeptionially well, but anyone 5 weeks into a VP slot from a Govorners position... Who would?
Biden is a great speaker though, he won the debate in my opinion, but only on his ability to point out certain facts? Not sure about those facts...

magprob · Oct 3, 2008, 09:36 AM

I think she did a very good job.
My question is this:
What happened to Bidens other wig?
Was it at the vet for shots and a bath?

spitvenom · Oct 3, 2008, 09:49 AM

Forget his wig where did he get those teeth from!! They are Perfect!!

As for the debate they both did what they needed to do. Biden didn't come off as a condescending pr*ck and Palin didn't sound like she was out of her league. They both side stepped a few questions.

The only thing I noticed was Biden seemed more comfortable up there. Palin seemed a little nervous not much but a little. Some answers she gave she had a little tremble in her voice but she did fine.

tomder55 · Oct 3, 2008, 10:36 AM

Can someone tell me exactly when the US and France kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon ?

When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said and Barack said, "Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will control it."

Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel.

speechlesstx · Oct 3, 2008, 10:38 AM

You know, after all of the attacks on Palin the past few weeks it's been eerily quiet here since the debate. Did she leave some of her critics a little "speechless?" :)

Did any of you catch Biden's answer on what promise they would have to cut back on because of the bailout? The only promise they might have to scale back on is their plan to "double foreign assistance." The only other thing they're going to cut back on are Bush and McCain tax breaks.

We also are going to make sure that we do not go forward with the tax cut proposals of the administration -- of John McCain, the existing one for people making over $250,000, which is $130 billion this year alone.

We're not going to support the $300 billion tax cut that they have for corporate America and the very wealthy. We're not going to support another $4 billion tax cut for ExxonMobil.

Seems they can't find it in their hearts or budgets to cut back on anything but someone else's spending. I'm not quite sure how that works but since they're still running against Bush it's no surprise.

I think both of them, especially Palin, missed a great opportunity when asked how their administration might be different from their running mate's. I was waiting for one of them to say they would take charge in their own way instead of promising to continue the ways of their predecessor.