The Lysergic Acid Diethylamidiotic Joe Biden & Sarah Palin VP Presidential Debate thread in the 2 zero zero 8 (2008 party over oops)

Attention Nabisco:

Meghan O'Rourke sez Sarah Palin is a character in a George Saunders story

like "lolz yr wife is a shmuck for having a thankless public sector job haw haw"

x-post

the "her reward is in heaven" line was both completely cringeworthy to my ears and palin's most human, genuine moment of the debate

it sounded like a threat to me

"your wives get SUCH good clouds in heaven, Joe, doggone it."

Attention Nabisco:

Meghan O'Rourke sez Sarah Palin is a character in a George Saunders story

Note: George Saunders did this two weeks ago, and not surprisingly much more convincingly.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/09/22/080922sh_shouts_saunders?yrail

the "reward is in heaven" thing I actually liked, and it looked like biden liked it too (hard to miss his smile). palin didn't really sound all that congenial saying it, but I think (as with her failure to react well to his choke up) she really does just have a resistance to offering much vulnerability or hospitality to the other side in a debate. imo this is a fairly common conservative politician trait

In hopes of organizing a robust demonstration for the vice presidential debate this Thursday in St. Louis, the pro-Iraq War (and ostensibly pro-McCain) organization, Vets for Freedom, is resorting to offering local college fraternities hundreds of dollars if their members come and hold signs.

In an email obtained by the Huffington Post, Vets for Freedom field staffer Laura Meyer offered a fraternity at St. Louis University a "sizable donation" - plus free lunch - if it could use their pledges to demonstrate outside the VP debate.

have any of us lost a child and our wife in an accident? do we know what that experience is like? can we think for a moment that maybe sometimes for people who have experienced these sorts of things, weird things and phrases may trigger memories and flashbacks and that we get choked up at unexpected times? or do we expected our politicians to be robots and just answer the damn question?

I'm not saying biden hasn't had a tragic life experience, or that he should be blase about it. just that during a highly rehearsed political debate he somewhat transparently rigged a response, one designed to lead himself down the path to experience an emotional moment. the question was "what's your achilles heel?" and rather than respond directly he went for the lifetime movie moment. so, biden 1 palin 0, heartstrings tugged, mission accomplished. nothing in the piffle palin coughed up made it necessary to go there.

it's manipulative, sure, but is really any worse than palin trotting out her goddamn kids and todd every chance she gets?

look, I can't stand sarah palin, but if you really think it's less manipulative to bring up your major life tragedy during a VP debate (masterfully or no) than to talk about being a hockey mom.... uh I dunno what to say here

just that during a highly rehearsed political debate he somewhat transparently rigged a response, one designed to lead himself down the path to experience an emotional moment.

fair points, all of them. my follow up is: how and when did you first become aware that Biden was "transparently rigging" his response, and what made you so sure he was doing so?

when he stood for elected office.

i could see his lips moving.

etc.

how many times was "around the kitchen table" said in this debate?

btw "her reward is in heaven" was vomit inducing. let's not let anyone lose faith in god because of senseless random meaningless death doggone it!

guys remember when Dick Cheney got called out for being the piece of shit that he is on a national stage? i could drink a case of that and not be full.

thank you, Joe Biden

i think you mean joe o'biden

her usual YA WANT SOME JUICE HON delivery

Genuine LOL

just cause palin says "I'm a mom" that doesn't mean biden has to automatically say "I've been a mom too! a tragic tragic mom! *SNIFF*"

Sure it does. "I'm a mom" is supposed to be some sort of magic superpower that puts a tiny Sarah Palin inside the heart of every voting American who uses coupons or something. Biden's single-parenthood deflates that completely. And you're an asshole.

how and when did you first become aware that Biden was "transparently rigging" his response, and what made you so sure he was doing so?

it didn't feel right when it happened. yes, it was effective and emotional, but also out of left field. reading the transcript clarified the impression. and I can't be "sure" he was doing so, but this wasn't some free-wheeling coffee klatch, it was an extremely experienced + gifted politician debating during a high-stakes campaign for the second highest office in the land.

or what caek said

it didn't feel right when it happened. yes, it was effective and emotional, but also out of left field. reading the transcript clarified the impression. and I can't be "sure" he was doing so, but this wasn't some free-wheeling coffee klatch, it was an extremely experienced + gifted politician debating during a high-stakes campaign for the second highest office in the land.

If yr line had any merit, Biden would already be president.

t cause palin says "I'm a mom" that doesn't mean biden has to automatically say "I've been a mom too! a tragic tragic mom! *SNIFF*"

Sure it does.

well that's where we disagree. I agree I'm an asshole, though.

look, I can't stand sarah palin, but if you really think it's less manipulative to bring up your major life tragedy during a VP debate (masterfully or no) than to talk about being a hockey mom.... uh I dunno what to say here

although that's what it was in response to, i don't think that's the right comparison - it's biden using his circumstance versus palin mentioning her special needs kid, "diverse family", at every opportunity through the five weeks, to cloying effect. i thought biden could have gone further at some point to debunk the mainline to americanism that small-town families have monopolised.

score:

Emotion = 10
Restraint = 2

Sure it does. "I'm a mom" is supposed to be some sort of magic superpower that puts a tiny Sarah Palin inside the heart of every voting American who uses coupons or something. Biden's single-parenthood deflates that completely. And you're an asshole.

― rogermexico., Friday, October 3, 2008 12:17 PM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

meanwhile Rich Lowry's in love:

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.

PEW PEW PEW

"little starbursts"

hahahaha

Peggy Noonan is zapped by little starbursts of joy:

Sarah Palin saved John McCain again Thursday night. She is the political equivalent of cardiac paddles: Clear! Zap! We've got a beat! She will re-electrify the base. More than that, an hour and a half of talking to America will take her to a new level of stardom. Watch her crowds this weekend. She's about to get jumpers, the old political name for people who are so excited to see you they start to jump.

It's so sweet that Rich calls ejaculate little starbursts.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1832907349

The best part about Biden choking up was that it made Palin completely lose her footing. I think her handlers probably had her expecting Biden to come at her guns blazing. Instead he barely acknowledged her and quite obviously threw her completely off with this. As mentioned upthread, her response made it sound like she was reading off the contents of a tag cloud rather than saying anything coherent:

DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS AMERICANS ROMNEY LIEBERMAN SANTA BUSH MCCAIN ALASKA WARS ECONOMY WALL STREET NOT GOT TO ALLOW PARTISANSHIP REPUBLICANS DEMOCRATS OTHER

― stet, Thursday, October 2, 2008 10:23 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

When Palin said "special needs" I got a bingo! So basically that means she'll always have a place in my heart.

My friend was really upset because she needed "Pakistan" for a bingo, and then Gwen Ifill asked Palin a question specifically about Pakistan, and somehow Palin didn't say "Pakistan" even once. I mean, that's pretty impressive. The woman is pretty talented when it comes to speaking entirely in generalities. (Although she did say Ahmadinejad about five million times, and also "The Castro Brothers," one of my favorite arcade games.)

this is what was going on inside biden's head during the whole debate

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.

Great, just what we need. Our first bimbo VP. Winking?! Who falls for this? Emotionally deprived people who got dropped on their head a lot as kids?

I thought she was really cute throughout the debate, but I'm not in the habit of voting with my dick.

A new meme is born. All welcome the starburst meme.

sarah palin, appealing to the lizard brain of undecided voters

maybe they can arrange a second debate where biden can rend his clothes and palin can have a wardrobe malfunction

Ed stealin my jokes

for those unlucky enough to not have watched the debate on cc this highlight reel has the awesome undecided voters tracker at the bottom there which is awesome

"on cnn"

Who will clean up the living rooms of America? Dripping with ricochet starbusts?

I thought she was really cute throughout the debate, but I'm not in the habit of voting with my dick.

good, cause those new touchscreens are hard to clean

i figured when she said "o'biden" it was an attempt to bring back the 1850s

http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/omalley/120/alien/shanty.jpg

her usual YA WANT SOME JUICE HON delivery

oh my lols

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/3/84824/0108/623/618748

interesting fact-checking article:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/category/fact-check/