A belated semi-analysis of the VP debate

First, I think it would be useful to read this article from The Guardian.

Okay. So I keep having these discussions with people who think the VP debate was lame and that there was no clear-cut winner. Some of their points are:

1. The candidates spoke more about their running mates than themselves.

2. Biden faked his choke up.

3. Palin didn't screw up, therefore she did pretty well.

4. Biden said he does not support gay marriage.

I disagree with most of these points and the notion that the VP debate was not a win for Democrats. I think it was a clear win for Biden, even in the eyes of so-called "middle Americans." Here's what I've said about the above four points:

1. These guys are vice presidential running mates, and as we all know, the vice presidency is (supposed to be) more of an understudy role than anything else. Therefore it's entirely appropriate that these candidates should frequently defer to the stated plans and policies of their presidential running mates.

2. I don't think Biden's near tears moment was fake. He's known for his tendency to get choked up. Plus, he was talking about a time in his life when he lost a spouse and a child, and nearly lost two other children. If you don't think this is still an emotional subject for Biden, you might be kind of insensitive.

Furthermore, even if he did fake it, I think it was fabulously effective. Everyone knows a guy who has had to raise his kids as a single parent, and you can bet your ass that point resonates in "Middle America." Biden basically told Palin to take her "family values" propaganda and shove it. And her response was so utterly inappropriate and insensitive that I think she might have lost McCain the election right then and there.

3. Palin did screw up. Lots. She babbled incoherently through most of the debate. Here's a sample:

IFILL: Governor, nuclear Pakistan, unstable Pakistan, nuclear Iran? Which is the greater threat?

PALIN: Both are extremely dangerous, of course. And as for who coined that central war on terror being in Iraq, it was the General Petraeus and al Qaeda, both leaders there and it's probably the only thing that they're ever going to agree on, but that it was a central war on terror is in Iraq. You don't have to believe me or John McCain on that. I would believe Petraeus and the leader of al Qaeda.

An armed, nuclear armed especially Iran is so extremely dangerous to consider. They cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons period. Israel is in jeopardy of course when we're dealing with Ahmadinejad as a leader of Iran. Iran claiming that Israel as he termed it, a stinking corpse, a country that should be wiped off the face of the earth. Now a leader like Ahmadinejad who is not sane or stable when he says things like that is not one whom we can allow to acquire nuclear energy, nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, the Castro brothers, others who are dangerous dictators are one that Barack Obama has said he would be willing to meet with without preconditions being met first.

Huh? Scary.

4. Biden did say he does not support "redefining marriage." Here's the quote:

No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it.

The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple. If that's the case, we really don't have a difference.

My interpretation of this answer is that he and Obama do support gay marriage, but don't want to explicitly state it since there are many voters leaning toward the Democratic party who are still closed-minded when it comes to homosexuality. I could be wrong. He did vote in favor of the ridiculous Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

But his point about that decision being left to individuals' faiths is significant. I think (I hope!) Biden was arguing that gay marriage is two-part issue, one a religious matter that should be viewed through the lens of freedom of religion, the other a civil matter, which he has said he supports extending to gay couples.

***

Overall I think Biden gave clear and informative answers to the questions posed. I actually learned something I didn't previously know, which is more than I can say for the two presidential debates.

Palin's answers were for the most part nonsensical, although she delivered them with much less hesitation than in her previous silly interviews. But sprinkled among the strange collection of unrelated words posing as sentences were ideas and sentiments that ought to strike fear in the hearts of all of us.

Her tendency to fall back on cutesy talk and winking is just awful for women. I don't think I can elaborate on this idea much, it's a total embarassment to have such a high profile female candidate behave like a bitchy cheerleader.

Her statement "And I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also." is also chilling. It's not a rally, it's a debate. Her previous avoidance of the media was rationalized by her need to prepare, and then by dismissing the media as a bunch of liberals armed with awful "gotcha" questions. But now she's saying to a perfectly reasonable moderator and audience, "Screw you, I answer the questions I want to be asked, not the ones you want me to answer." Awesome. We need more of that in government.

Even more alarming is her assertion that paying taxes is unpatriotic. But this right here, this is totally fucking off the hinge:

PALIN: No, no. Of course, we know what a vice president does. And that's not only to preside over the Senate and will take that position very seriously also. I'm thankful the Constitution would allow a bit more authority given to the vice president if that vice president so chose to exert it in working with the Senate and making sure that we are supportive of the president's policies and making sure too that our president understands what our strengths are. John McCain and I have had good conversations about where I would lead with his agenda. That is energy independence in America and reform of government over all, and then working with families of children with special needs. That's near and dear to my heart also. In those arenas, John McCain has already tapped me and said, that's where I want you, I want you to lead. I said, I can't wait to get and there go to work with you.

Thanks, McCain, for brandishing this beast at us. Maybe Sarah Palin will ultimately be the final nail in the coffin of the right wing. God I hope so.