VP Debate a gamechanger?

Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin
had their throwdown last night.  Neither seemed to edge out the other. 
Once again both sides had some interesting points to make and for the
most part stayed on script.  Gov. Palin especially seemed to be reciting memorized talking points for many of the questions.  Sen. Biden appeared to control himself well.  No verbal gaffes and for the most part his body language
and mannerisms were respectful.  He didn't come across as condescending
at least.  So for this debate I call it a draw.  Gov. Palin showed a
down to earth folksiness that she has been known for since being picked
by McCain. 

But after an hour and a half did
anything change?  The conservatives who were beginning to rethink her
as the VP choice have probably been reassured.  But in general those
who liked her before like her now and those who didn't like her before
weren't swayed over to her.  Same goes for Biden, although he was
expected to do well and for the most part  succeeded.  So now we wait
for next Tuesday and Round 2 between the presidential contenders.  This one will be moderated by Tom Brokaw. 
Hopefully he will do as well as the previous two moderators who seemed
to me to supply questions in a neutral, non-biased way.  We'll see

First Debate

Interesting.  The first debate was last night between McCain and Obama. 
Not really sure if anything I heard last night was all that
surprising.  The one thing I heard that I had never heard previously
was when McCain stated that prior to Musharraf taking control Pakistan was a failed state.  When I think "Failed State" I think of Somalia or maybe Sudan. 
Places where there is no central government and things are ruled by
warlords.  I had never heard that in reference to Pakistan.  Whether
this is true or not, or whether anyone even cares other then me I don't
know.  Also, in reference to Pakistan, McCain seemed to agree with
Obama on attacks across Pakistan's border, but his only difference was
that you just don't say anything about it?  He didn't say he wouldn't
do it.  He just said he wouldn't SAY he would do it.  To me that's
probably the best course of action for a President to take, but maybe
not for a presidential candidate. 
A candidate is trying to convince the American people that he will
track down the terrorists whereever they may be hiding.  McCain's
distinction may be lost on many people who will believe he is saying
that without Pakistan's permission he wouldn't approve military strikes on their soil. 

In general I thought both candidates
came across as knowledgeable and competent.  Some policies I liked
better then others for both candidates.  This debate left me feeling
that either one could probably serve well enough as Commander in
Chief.  Probably not what either side was looking for though. 

One last note.  I watched the body
language of both candidates.  Obama would often turn to his opponent
while he was speaking as if he were directly addressing John McCain. 
I don't know if I ever once saw McCain do the same.  Does it matter?  I
don't know.  Just thought it was an interesting distinction, as if
McCain couldn't stand to look at Obama and felt a little
uncomfortable.  Whereas Obama seemed a little more relaxed and willing
to talk to McCain directly.  Next up…Thursday's VP debate.  Can't WAIT
for this one.

Meltdown

McCain suspends his campaign and cancels his appearance at the debate on Friday. 
Obama continues his campaign and has said he will still appear at the
debate on Friday.  Is one side playing politics with this financial
crisis?  Actually, I think they both are, to some extent.  McCain
obviously wants to appear like he is the Man in Charge and that the
campaign will have to wait because the Country needs him now.  But you
have to keep in mind that economics is not McCain's strong suite.  The
debate was supposed to be on National Security
and Foreign Affairs, which is his strong suite.  But with the financial
crisis all that has been in the news lately McCain's campaign is
wanting to push back this debate to a later date when hopefully
National Security will be given more attention.  Since this crisis
began McCain has fallen in the polls.  Most now show Obama either ahead
or tied, whereas previously he was behind.  Obama knows he can gain
momentum from this and is trying to act as presidential as possible,
while not really supplying any answers on how to solve this problem.  I
guess its just the nature of the beast that in the middle of a Presidential election there is just no way to completely remove politics, even during a time of national crisis.

Followup

So its been a few weeks since the conventions. Things appear to have settled down a bit and most polls now show the race is, yup...you guessed it...a dead heat. Great. Are we going to wake up the morning after the election and AGAIN not know who the President is??? I can't wait till this thing is over. At this point I almost don't care if Kermit the Frog becomes President. I just want this thing done. These last four years of the campaign season have just worn me out.

Red's turn

Today, after a delay due to Hurricane Gustav, the Republican's get to party down in St. Paul. They are kicking off their party convention as I write this. Over the next few days they will showcase McCain and Palin and try to make their case to the country that they are the best choice in the coming election. The conservative talking heads have been trying their best, and not so best, to defend McCain's pick of Sarah Palin. Count on seeing a lot more of their attempts to backup this pick. I really like her as a person. I also think it makes a lot of sense politically. But I don't think its going to stand up to the smell test when it comes to her being "the best candidate" for the job. The fact remains that she has less experience then other possible VP candidates that were considered, she has no foreign policy experience and as much as they would like to include her two terms as mayor in the "executive experience" count, there is a difference between running the federal governement and being mayor of a town of 6,700. The indisputable fact remains that she was picked solely because she was a woman. I don't see how anyone can possibly dispute that fact. And to me, that she was picked because she was a woman and not because of her experience, is the biggest problem I have. From everything I've read about her she is a very charismatic and intelligent woman who really believes in the values of the Republican Party. Give her another 5 - 10 years of experience as governor of Alaska and maybe some cabinet level position and she could become a viable presidential candidate herself. But right now, I just don't know if she'll be able to hold her own in the cut-throat world of modern day American politics. Is it fair? Probably not. But since when has life ever been fair?

McCain picks Palin

The VP's are now chosen. McCain has picked the Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.
I love this choice. She brings youth to the ticket, which was very
important considering McCain's age. She also brings a fighting spirit
and dedication to ethics in politics as shown by her fight against
corruption within her own party in Alaska. She is also now the only
person on either ticket with executive leadership, be it only one year
as governor. I don't count her two terms as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
as executive leadership. The town only has 6,700 or so people. Its
not really big enough to compare to a national or state leadership
position.

So we now have a race where one side has
the first Minority candidate and the other side has a woman on the
ticket. This is going to be pretty exciting to watch.

My only question regarding Palin is that
she is younger then Obama and has even less political experience then
he does, which is hard to do. One of McCain's weapons in his arsenal
was that Obama doesn't have the experience needed to lead the country.
But now that his VP has less experience then Obama, does this now mean
that he can't use the experience card anymore? Has he in essence
admitted that political experience is not nearly as important as a
person's decision making ability? If so he may have just shot his
candidacy in the foot. This being the first day of her being brought
on the ticket there is obviously going to be a lot of excitement. But
after the glow has dimmed will she hold up under the microscope and
intense scrutiny of a presidential campaign or will she become a
hindrance to the campaign? And how will the GOP hierarchy view this
pick? After all she has earned her reputation as a maverick by going
after members of her own party.

Let's see how things are going come late September and maybe we'll have a better idea of how good this pick was.

A Second is chosen

Obama has chosen Joe Biden of Delaware as his Vice Presidential nominee. Good choice? Bad choice? I think Biden adds some experience and foreign policy expertise that Obama lacks. We'll need a lot more information and exposure to Biden to see if this was a good pick for Obama. I would have lost all faith in him had he picked Hillary. But, from all appearances, she not only was never considered, she's been given the cold shoulder since she conceded the race. Good. Her and her husband need to be quietly shown the exit and they need to retire to a little home in the country, never to be seen or heard from again. Maybe they can be trotted out and shown off during certain national events, when all living Presidents are gathered together. But they should never be allowed near the levers of power again.

So starting on Monday the Democratic National Convention begins. Things are starting to speed up again. The summer is almost over. Its just about time to start heading for the home stretch and the day of reckoning. About damn time!!!