AND WUT IS THE WEATHAH, TODAY, GENTLEMEN?
Well...I didn't really have an urge to listen to Obama/McCain, but as luck would have it, the battle royale between Palin, the Alaskan Hockey Mom, and Biden, the pitbull with a temper, was on this evening a la NPR.
Unfortunately, Palin was out of her league -- though she is the governor of Alaska (and her debates in her general weren't too terrible), I feel that she came off slightly smug and in terms of factual evidence was painfully general; she rarely backed up her statements with actual facts, and in the end, I think this killed her. Biden's a big Senator, and in more ways this one, this gives him a reach over Palin in regards (in my opinion) to debate technique; the guy's been playing the bastard's game for a very long time, and there were many times when Palin could've nailed Biden but because she didn't know the cues, she was at a loss.
When looking at the actual policies from afar, I would have to support Biden more than Palin. During the discussion regarding government oversight, Governor Palin emphasized that government influence was bad juju and that it was time that private sectors and "the people" took the reins. This is, in more ways than one, a idea filled with some fallacies -- the "Revolving Door" theory, which has become more widely accepted the past few decades, makes it clear that many people who leave government jobs usually are given positions in the private sector. So in more ways than one, pulling government out and giving private sectors more leeway would still result in a lot of government connection...Biden made the contention that the lack of oversight in regards to the general U.S. issues and the economy has lead to our current position, and I would have to agree with him entirely. The gung-ho principal of conservatism and "release from government" enabled Wall Street to dunk the economy in the pot, among other things. Less oversight will only enable more errors.
Overall? Biden won. Granted, he manipulated some facts (General McKiernan advocated for something resembling a 'pseudo'-surge in Afghanistan; he avoided using 'surge' due to the connotation), but that's what all politicians do.
Well...opinions? Dissendents? Megan is listening eagerly.
Unfortunately, Palin was out of her league -- though she is the governor of Alaska (and her debates in her general weren't too terrible), I feel that she came off slightly smug and in terms of factual evidence was painfully general; she rarely backed up her statements with actual facts, and in the end, I think this killed her. Biden's a big Senator, and in more ways this one, this gives him a reach over Palin in regards (in my opinion) to debate technique; the guy's been playing the bastard's game for a very long time, and there were many times when Palin could've nailed Biden but because she didn't know the cues, she was at a loss.
When looking at the actual policies from afar, I would have to support Biden more than Palin. During the discussion regarding government oversight, Governor Palin emphasized that government influence was bad juju and that it was time that private sectors and "the people" took the reins. This is, in more ways than one, a idea filled with some fallacies -- the "Revolving Door" theory, which has become more widely accepted the past few decades, makes it clear that many people who leave government jobs usually are given positions in the private sector. So in more ways than one, pulling government out and giving private sectors more leeway would still result in a lot of government connection...Biden made the contention that the lack of oversight in regards to the general U.S. issues and the economy has lead to our current position, and I would have to agree with him entirely. The gung-ho principal of conservatism and "release from government" enabled Wall Street to dunk the economy in the pot, among other things. Less oversight will only enable more errors.
Overall? Biden won. Granted, he manipulated some facts (General McKiernan advocated for something resembling a 'pseudo'-surge in Afghanistan; he avoided using 'surge' due to the connotation), but that's what all politicians do.
Well...opinions? Dissendents? Megan is listening eagerly.