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Re: Not by a long shot.
Sorry, you're wrong. I agree with the Governor in that Senator Biden misrepresented the general's assessment. General McKiernan said, "The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge,'" and stressed the need for a "sustained commitment" to a counterinsurgency effort. The quote was just ambivalent enough. Neither of them hit his quote spot on, but Biden was further off base than was Palin.
He did not silence her on global warming; the moderator silenced them both by moving on to the next topic, carbon emissions. And if I were you, I wouldn't go there, because that was where Biden contradicted himself so flagrantly that even Ms. Ifill had to call him on it.
And if you want repeated soundbites, read Biden's words from the debate. For anyone who wants to read it. the transcript is at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/debate.transcript/index.html.
posted by
WriterofLight
on October 4, 2008 at 11:31 PM
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Not by a long shot.
You missed the essence of the exchange over Afghanistan. Palin said we need a surge strategy there, repeated what McCain has been saying. Biden reminded her of what the generals on the ground said, which is that conditions are so different, the surge strategy won't work. Palin then tried to cover her gaffe, and did so only by acknowledging all the differences that make her surge strategy irrelevant.
And Biden silenced her on global warming. And vice presidential power. BTW, it is the traditional role for the VP to push the president's agenda through by working with congressional leaders, but as for actual power to control hearings or vote, the VP has none, except in a tie in the Senate. Biden got this exactly right. Palin was, well, surreal.
And outside energy, Palin hadn't a single policy, just repeated soundbites. She benefitted from the format, which disallowed follow-ups. This debate was a total mismatch; you got that right. But you saw it completely backward.
posted by
mousehop
on October 3, 2008 at 4:21 PM
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WOL
You hit that right on the head all the way down the line. I too was wanting so much for her to get particularly Raines and Obama on the Fannie May and Freddie Mac dealings. Good post.
posted by
Justi
on October 3, 2008 at 1:17 AM
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Excellent post!
posted by
teddypoet_TheGoodByeFade
on October 2, 2008 at 11:41 PM
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