Vice President Debates: Palin Dodging Issues

The Vice Presidential Debate of October 2, 2008 proved to shock America, as Palin demonstrated her ability to think politically, however still lacked the ability to addresss the issues at hand. Biden showcased his competence for the Vice President position by addressing fiscal issues, health care, and the war in Iraq. Surprisingly, focusing his attention to the policies in which McCain supports, Biden concentrated on Wall Street's economic decline. Commenting on McCain's support for deregulation and further lack of public interest, Biden drew upon the struggle of middle class America. However, when asked to counter Biden's argument, Palin steadily avoided the delicate topic, choosing to focus her attention upon tax issues. When asked directly by Biden to address the issue again, Palin refused by saying that she prefers to speak against the high taxes in which ironically, McCain previously voted 477 times to increase tax prices. If Palin is incompetent to address a simple question, then how is she expected to run this country?

Anticipation Builds For Tonight's Debate

According to an article in Politico Palin's aides are grateful that her poor responses in the Couric interview, further lowered expectations for her performance tonight. With more pressure on Biden to give a shining performance, Palin has much to gain and little to be loss in the debate. Palins aides also explained the primary goal is to show that the battle is "Sarah Palin vs. Washington", and with Biden's senate experience and commanding debate presence, it should not be extremely difficult to create this image for viewers in her constituency. Biden faces another seemingly more difficult challenge, in that he must be strong and convincing, without falling into "gender pitfalls", the Wall Street Journal points out. Known for demonstrating aggressive and tough tactics in speaking, Biden will have to carefully avoid attacks while still making the issues and differences between him and Palin, clear. So as viewers carefully watch Biden's every move with increasingly high expectations, the Alaskan governor will have more freedom to "launch aggressive attacks against her Democratic opponent" (The Washington Post). The preconceived ideas and highly awaited face off between the Vice Presidential nominees, should have an interesting effect on determining the ultimate victor.

Florida Heats Up

According the to highly acclaimed election prediction and polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight.com, Florida now leads all other states with a 24% chance of determining the outcome of the 2008 election. The website uses a sophisticated algorithm based on current polling data to make their daily "tipping point states" calculation.

This development does not come as a surprise to most political observers, given the fact that NBC News/Mason-Dixon and Quinnipiac both released polls earlier this week showing John McCain's steady lead in the Florida has evaporated. For the first time since both candidates won their party's respective primary contests this spring, Real Clear Politics now shows Obama leading McCain (by a 1.4% margin) in the bellwether state. Two weeks ago, the Obama campaign released a strategy video in which campaign manager David Plouffe announced that the campaign would be investing a stunning $39 million into Florida alone. It has yet to be seen whether or not this investment will pay off in the long term, but at the moment there doesn't seem to be a better place to send resources than the Sunshine State.

One More Day

Who is the mysterious wild card of this presidential campaign? The one who has received undivided attention—in Saturday Night Live? Who is this person from the Arctic region? Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin has captured the attention of America and the general public finds this relatively new vice-presidential candidate quite intriguing, but celebrity, not politically intriguing. All eyes will be on Ms. Palin and Senator Biden tomorrow night at six p.m. when they face off in the first vice-presidential debate. Despite all the excitement and curiosity about the debate, “Not since Dan Quayle took the stage in 1988 have debate expectations for a major party candidate been as low as they will be on Thursday for Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.” Failure is expected. John McCain even tried to push for less time for discussion, knowing that Palin is not good with counteracting attacks. However, Palin’s past debate performance in her race for governor “shows a somewhat different persona from the one that has emerged since Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, named Ms. Palin as the vice-presidential nominee a month ago.” Even if Palin were to summon the debate confidence she had then, it will not aid the growing gap between McCain and Obama, nor help her falling approval ratings across the country and in her own state. What can be expected from the Palin tomorrow? A good show, maybe a few laughs, but definitely not any specificity or “engagement in a serious way in the pressing national and international issues of the day.”

It's All In The Name

Clearly the numerous protests to the $700 billion governmental "bailout" have had an effect on those presenting the proposal, for the Bush administration and other supporters of the plan are now looking for new ways to persuade Americans that financial aid is the proper course of action to take. While the plan remains the same, those in favor of the proposal are trying to sugar coat its name to avoid frustration among those who feel the plan is simply money out of the working man's pocket to save big business. Along with President Bush, Senator John McCain has also stated that it should be thought of as a "rescue" rather than a "bailout," but support of the plan is not only limited to the Republican party. Democrat and Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has stated that "This is no longer just a Wall Street crisis - it's an American crisis," in hopes of convincing his supporters that this investment would benefit all. By ending referral to the plan as a "bailout," those in favor aim to gain the trust of the masses and garner their support by instead convincing them to think of it as "a buy in, so that we can turn our economy around," as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to do. While public opinion seems to be set at this point, the powers that be still feel like it can be altered enough to pass the proposal which they hope would save the United States economy from collapse.

Candidates play the blame game

The collapse of the $700 billion bailout plan was a major blow to Senator John McCain, who hours before the collapse, had bragged about his role in creating a coalition behind the rescue package. The Republican presidential candidate raised stakes for himself by halting his campaign last week and returning to Washington to support the bailout plan. So when the deal fell apart on the House floor on Monday, he was blamed by both supporters and opponents of the rescue plan. It did not help that a majority of McCain's Republicans had voted against the plan by a 2 to 1 ratio. McCain's first defense from the potential damage to his campaign was offense. In a media interview shortly after the vote, the Arizona senator started to blame his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, for infusing "...unnecessary partisanship into the process". Senator Obama responded to the jab with his own set of attacks, telling Congress, "Get this done, Democrats. Republicans, step up to the plate". Despite the blames from the McCain campaign, a CNN poll found that on the topic of who showed better judgment in the economic crisis, Obama leads McCain 49% to 43%. The bailout plan may have impacted both candidates negatively; still, analysts claim that McCain's campaign will feel the fallout far more than Obama. Ross Baker, political scientist at Rutgers University, summarizes, "There's nothing worse than prematurely claiming victory and then finding you've been handed a defeat. It's a sign of the impulsiveness that he's often been accused of."

Is Palin Ready?

As the Vice Presidential Debate grows near, the general focus is on Palin. With the disheartening Katie Couric interview on foriegn policy and the subsequent Saturday Night Live parody still fresh in memory, Palin must restore her legitimacy as a politician and as John McCain's running mate. As a New York Times article published this morning so aptly states, "she heads into a critical debate facing challenges from conservatives about her credentials, signs that her popularity is slipping and evidence that Republicans are worried about how much help she will be for Mr. McCain in November."
However, a new theory on the public's low expectations for Palin gives McCain's campaign some hope. Apparently, Palin's image as an "intellectual lightwhieght" could end up benefiting her in the debate, "lowering expectations for her so much that a mediocre performance in the debate could be hailed as a success." In this frame of mind, just one decent point by Palin could be considered a win. The only way is up, since she is walking into this debate with nothing to lose. It will be interesting to see if that is really the case.

Economy a Pressing Concern

It was another boiling day on Wall Street. With the promising $700-billion bailout rejected by Congress, the economic crisis is reaching its "heavy toll." Early this morning President Bush tried to persuade reluctant members of Congress that the measure “addresses the root cause of the financial crisis.” However, the final vote was “205 in favor and 228 against,” with only “one-third of House Republicans” supporting the bill. Adding to Wall Street’s woes, the Doe Jones Industrial Average went down by 778 points, and Wachovia Corp. "slid" by 82 percent after it was sold to Citigroup in a “deal brokered by the Federal Insurance Corporation.”
In the background of the crisis, presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama clashed on each other’s support of the bailout. McCain stated that he worked stealthily in “playing a constructive role in bringing everyone to the table,” while Obama “urged voters to consider McCain’s record of favoring deregulation” when choosing the best leader for the country.
During the first presidential debate last Friday, both candidates demonstrated their differences in economic approaches, with McCain stating that he would “cut spending” and “keep taxes low,” and Obama promising to introduce “energy independence” and not give tax cuts to big businesses. However, the candidates did not directly respond to what they would have to “give up for the rescue plan,” with McCain vaguely mentioning a “spending freeze.”
More talk about the economic crisis is sure to come back on Thursday, during the vice-presidential debate, but the picture does not seem like it will become clearer.

Make Room for the VP's

"I love the vice presidential debate; it's always the one I look forward to the most...The stakes are lower, so the candidates usually attack harder. It's much better political theater."

-Alan Schroeder, author of "Presidential Debates: 40 Years of High-Risk TV" and a journalism professor at Northeastern U.

I watched the presidential debate in an airport terminal before my flight to LA. I sat with strangers, and almost everyone present felt there had been no clear winner. Some were convinced by McCain's experience and readiness to lead while others felt Obama will be the best man to pull the nation out of its current slump. Many expressed disappointment that the economy was not discussed enough. I spoke with one gentleman who happened to be a Yale and Harvard Business graduate, who explained to me that neither candidate really had a plan yet for the economy in addition to his personal views. This gentleman has his own blog, and he does lean to the right. Just thought it was interesting to share with y'all a fellow blogger's work. 

Going back to the main topic, we're all in for a treat this week with the vice presidential debate. Vice presidential candidates tend to be looser and will express their views far more clearly than the presidential candidates. 

Both VP candidates have their work cut out for them, especially Palin, who's lack of experience and knowledge during interviews has made many on both sides skeptical of her abilities. She has until Thursday to "brush up", but Biden would be foolish to underestimate her, despite his strong experience and knowledge of foreign affairs. Biden, who seems to be frustrated by the lack of attention placed on him since Palin was announced as the Republican VP pick, also has to watch his tongue and his famous temper.