The Debate

Here we are, on the cusp of possibly the most anticipated candidate debate in a Presidential campaign season. To no one's surprise, the spin has started already. Obama's camp has released videos of Palin showing what a great debater she is; McCain's camp is claiming that the moderator is prejudiced in favor of Obama because of a book she's writing about the new era of African American politicians and also spinning that it doesn't matter to the American people whether she can answer every single question:

"She's not lived in the world of Washington, so she doesn't know every detail of all the questions senators deal with," Lieberman told NBC's Andrea Mitchell. "But, frankly, that's her strength. I think that's why a lot of regular people out across America think she's going to be their voice."

Mitchell interjected, "Senator, she wants to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. You know, that doesn't mean just being an average mom, it means bringing other skills."

But Lieberman stayed on the point, stating later, "I think tonight is not a kind of final college exam. I think the point is who is she as a person... Whether she can answer every detailed question, I don't think that ultimately matters to the American people so long as they think she passes those other personal thresholds."

My hope is that Palin produces at least one quotable gaffe that unquestionably shows her unreadiness for the office, and that Biden manages to be succinct and walk the thin line between being perceived as condescending or bullying. A quotable zinger on McCain would be helpful, too.

To add to the fun of your debate parties, you might want to pass out Palin bingo cards.

The Debate

Here we are, on the cusp of possibly the most anticipated candidate debate in a Presidential campaign season. To no one's surprise, the spin has started already. Obama's camp has released videos of Palin showing what a great debater she is; McCain's camp is claiming that the moderator is prejudiced in favor of Obama because of a book she's writing about the new era of African American politicians and also spinning that it doesn't matter to the American people whether she can answer every single question:

"She's not lived in the world of Washington, so she doesn't know every detail of all the questions senators deal with," Lieberman told NBC's Andrea Mitchell. "But, frankly, that's her strength. I think that's why a lot of regular people out across America think she's going to be their voice."

Mitchell interjected, "Senator, she wants to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. You know, that doesn't mean just being an average mom, it means bringing other skills."

But Lieberman stayed on the point, stating later, "I think tonight is not a kind of final college exam. I think the point is who is she as a person... Whether she can answer every detailed question, I don't think that ultimately matters to the American people so long as they think she passes those other personal thresholds."

My hope is that Palin produces at least one quotable gaffe that unquestionably shows her unreadiness for the office, and that Biden manages to be succinct and walk the thin line between being perceived as condescending or bullying. A quotable zinger on McCain would be helpful, too.

To add to the fun of your debate parties, you might want to pass out Palin bingo cards.

Skipping Around the US

So, I've decided that I'll be coming the US in time for the election after all. I'm pretty sure that I can get my employer to pay my hotel and car in LA as it is to their benefit that I visit the area office. Also, they're getting away really cheap for the conference I'll be attending in San Diego, as Stephen's employer will be paying for the hotel room and possibly even the car, and I'm not charging my employer for my airfare there. I was also able to get some cheap flights from San Diego up to the Bay Area, where I'll also be working, although I'm on my own for expenses up there.

It's going to be a whirlwind tour: I land in LA on the Sunday before the election, spend the day with my brother, then work Monday and Tuesday in Monrovia. Then I drive down to San Diego for an election party at the home of tilthouse and sweetennui. The next morning, I fly from San Diego to the SF Bay Area to spend the rest of the week working at my old office and spending the Sabbath at my old synagogue.

Then I fly back down to San Diego for the professional conference that Stephen is attending and at which I'm delivering a speech. (I'm very nervous about it, too: the audience will be system administrators rather than the technical communicators I usually address.) On Thursday night, I take a red-eye to Jacksonville and drive to Gainesville to have a much-anticipated cosy visit with eackerman and her husband.

The Florida trip is made possible by the fact that we will be in Boca Raton in south Florida for the bar mitzvah of the son of a long-time friend. (I've known him since I was 3 although we haven't always been in close touch.) Stephen wants to stay in the Art Deco district in Miami Beach beforehand and it's been an adventure trying to find a hotel during the season that's even remotely affordable and that the reviewers on TripAdvisor don't think is a total dive.

Unfortunately, this itinerary means that I'll only be on one leg of the flight with Stephen, so I'm on my own in terms of luggage. However, I think the visits hither and yon will be worth it.

Skipping Around the US

So, I've decided that I'll be coming the US in time for the election after all. I'm pretty sure that I can get my employer to pay my hotel and car in LA as it is to their benefit that I visit the area office. Also, they're getting away really cheap for the conference I'll be attending in San Diego, as Stephen's employer will be paying for the hotel room and possibly even the car, and I'm not charging my employer for my airfare there. I was also able to get some cheap flights from San Diego up to the Bay Area, where I'll also be working, although I'm on my own for expenses up there.

It's going to be a whirlwind tour: I land in LA on the Sunday before the election, spend the day with my brother, then work Monday and Tuesday in Monrovia. Then I drive down to San Diego for an election party at the home of tilthouse and sweetennui. The next morning, I fly from San Diego to the SF Bay Area to spend the rest of the week working at my old office and spending the Sabbath at my old synagogue.

Then I fly back down to San Diego for the professional conference that Stephen is attending and at which I'm delivering a speech. (I'm very nervous about it, too: the audience will be system administrators rather than the technical communicators I usually address.) On Thursday night, I take a red-eye to Jacksonville and drive to Gainesville to have a much-anticipated cosy visit with eackerman and her husband.

The Florida trip is made possible by the fact that we will be in Boca Raton in south Florida for the bar mitzvah of the son of a long-time friend. (I've known him since I was 3 although we haven't always been in close touch.) Stephen wants to stay in the Art Deco district in Miami Beach beforehand and it's been an adventure trying to find a hotel during the season that's even remotely affordable and that the reviewers on TripAdvisor don't think is a total dive.

Unfortunately, this itinerary means that I'll only be on one leg of the flight with Stephen, so I'm on my own in terms of luggage. However, I think the visits hither and yon will be worth it.

Post-Debate Reaction

Fooey - no gaffes! I was able to watch this through a live stream on the net and unfortunately, I don't think that it matters that Biden gave substantive, intelligent answers and Palin reverted back to talking points regardless of whether they were relevant. Palin might have mostly delivered rehearsed answers but she managed successfully to combat the impression from the Couric interviews that she's an ignorant airhead and so I think she won.

That said, I thought Biden did very well - he didn't ramble, he made some good points against McCain, he didn't engage Palin enough to come across as either bullying or condescending, and the moment when he talked about health care and his son seemed genuine and uncalculated.

I was very disappointed in the moderator. I thought that she should have pushed harder to get the candidates to actually answer the question if they weren't responsive. In answer to a question about bankruptcy laws, Palin started talking about her record on energy! And when the moderator asked about their perceived shortcomings, Palin went back to stump speech stuff about why McCain picked her.

I'm afraid that most viewers who were watching to see whether Palin is qualified enough to be VP will come away with a positive impression and I think that was the most important thing to be determined by this debate. (Check out the post-debate reactions from this Fox focus group, for example.) Those of us who were annoyed by the folksy "darn right" and "Joe Six-Pack" stuff were not the audience she was trying to address. From blog reactions I looked at, she came across to many people as relating more to average Americans than Biden did when reeling off facts and figures.

OTOH, although the Republicans could have lost even more ground from this debate if Palin had flubbed it, I don't they will gain a tremendous amount from luring back some number of voters who had been nervous about Palin. Also, it will be interesting to see whether now that she's passed her final, her handlers will let her go on talk shows and do more unscripted press coverage or whether they'll stuff her back into the cocoon.

Post-Debate Reaction

Fooey - no gaffes! I was able to watch this through a live stream on the net and unfortunately, I don't think that it matters that Biden gave substantive, intelligent answers and Palin reverted back to talking points regardless of whether they were relevant. Palin might have mostly delivered rehearsed answers but she managed successfully to combat the impression from the Couric interviews that she's an ignorant airhead and so I think she won.

That said, I thought Biden did very well - he didn't ramble, he made some good points against McCain, he didn't engage Palin enough to come across as either bullying or condescending, and the moment when he talked about health care and his son seemed genuine and uncalculated.

I was very disappointed in the moderator. I thought that she should have pushed harder to get the candidates to actually answer the question if they weren't responsive. In answer to a question about bankruptcy laws, Palin started talking about her record on energy! And when the moderator asked about their perceived shortcomings, Palin went back to stump speech stuff about why McCain picked her.

I'm afraid that most viewers who were watching to see whether Palin is qualified enough to be VP will come away with a positive impression and I think that was the most important thing to be determined by this debate. (Check out the post-debate reactions from this Fox focus group, for example.) Those of us who were annoyed by the folksy "darn right" and "Joe Six-Pack" stuff were not the audience she was trying to address. From blog reactions I looked at, she came across to many people as relating more to average Americans than Biden did when reeling off facts and figures.

OTOH, although the Republicans could have lost even more ground from this debate if Palin had flubbed it, I don't they will gain a tremendous amount from luring back some number of voters who had been nervous about Palin. Also, it will be interesting to see whether now that she's passed her final, her handlers will let her go on talk shows and do more unscripted press coverage or whether they'll stuff her back into the cocoon.