2-car crash injures child
Fitton Center studio named
Sneak peek at 'Runway' finale
Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2008 > October > 02 > Entry
Does this end the debate over Palin?
I think perhaps this debate will put to rest the Palin pick as an issue that possibly was hurting McCain. Palin came across fine. She didn’t sound confused or uninformed as she did with Couric and Gibson. And she conveyed her folksy likeability. There was some feeling that the Saturday Night Live mocking and stumbling replays from her recent interviews were raising doubts about McCain’s decision to pick her and hurting McCain in the polls.
If that’s true, I think undecideds possibly were reassured that Palin did not come off looking crazy or dumb. This may stem the conversation about Palin, move her off the national radar and move the discussion about the president race back to McCain and Obama. I think we may hear less and less about Biden and Palin after this.
What do you think? Is the debate about Palin over after Biden’s debate with Palin? Let us know in the comments.
Permalink | Comments (30) | Post your comment | Categories: National politics
Comments
By HuberTucky
October 3, 2008 2:05 AM | Link to this
I never dreamed that there could possibly be a bigger idiot than Bush, and then along comes Palin. Never undersetimate the stupidity of the American public… just wait and count how many votes this vapid clueless airhead brings to the grandpa ticket.By Raoul
October 3, 2008 7:21 AM | Link to this
This was a good debate as each candidate was able to talk straight to the people. Biden answered the questions asked, Palin not so much. However, she certainly came across as the ‘Main street Mom’, and really upped her already strong likeability. Biden was not truthful about some things, but was informed on all the issues. He too came across as being much more likable than he ever was when taking part in all those insufferable judiciary confirmation hearings. I agree that Palin has re-stated her case as a serious candidate. I am also curious why there hasn’t been more airing of the entire interviews with Gibson and Couric. If those went so badly, why haven’t we seen more of them than only the snippets that did not come across well. Makes you wonder….By Mary
October 3, 2008 7:34 AM | Link to this
In the interest of full disclosure, I fell asleep during part of the debate - not from boredom, I was tired. However, I had the impression there were substantive philosophical differences highlighted within what appeared to be highly coached robotic debate performances. I am still undecided and might vote independent as my punt. I still think we should be able to do better than the two teams offered by the major parties. Something that impressed me was Palin still does not seem to think global warming is manmade. I think Biden made a good point that you need to understand how the problem happens in order to fix it. While Palin is very articulate and folksy, I think we also need someone with analytical smarts and experience in that job. Reagan was folksy and likable too, but I think we are still suffering from his administration’s policies, including the current financial crisis.By null
October 3, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
I think we need to get back to the presidential debates.The running vice presidents in this case should step aside. McCain only is using Palin to get the female votes that would have gone to HillaryBy Skeptic
October 3, 2008 8:56 AM | Link to this
Palin pulled through without major mistakes, but she is clearly not as prepared for the job as Biden seems to be. We’ve had 8 years of a regular-guy leader, but that is not the impression I want to send to the world. I want real leaders, not just partisans trying to avoid mistakes. Folksy styles work at the ballot box, but not on the international stage. Bottom line, she is not prepared.By John
October 3, 2008 8:59 AM | Link to this
Did no one else notice that Palin kept mispronouncing the word “nuclear”? She kept saying “nucular”. I was a bit surprised that Biden didn’t question Palin’s lack of qualifications and experience for such a high level government position. Perhaps he didn’t want to insult the intellegence of the American people by pointing out the being the mayor of a small Alaskan town doesn’t properly prepare one to be the Vice President of the United States. I wasn’t surprised that Palin was well prepared for the debate and not so well prepared for the one on one interviews. She had plenty of time for the debate preparation since she hasn’t been appearing in public much over the past few weeks.By TRS
October 3, 2008 10:50 AM | Link to this
I believe the VPs have taken themselves out of the election equation - particularly Gov Palin. I agree that both parties could have offered better Presidential candidates; however, I disagree that with the Reagan analogy. It is now up to McCain and Obama. Things seem to be breaking Obama’s way but as volitale as the world and economies are, as Yogi said “it ain’t over til its over”. Considering everything I heard it said this may be the only election where the winner demands a recount.By Raoul
October 3, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this
Mary,how can you possibly claim we are suffering from Reagan’s economic policies? If you think it’s because of the move towards deregulation I would strongly disagree. The crash of the housing market was caused by OVER-Regulation. The Democrat’s that run Fannie and Freddie demanded banks make sub-prime loans to very risky borrowers. As usual, it was an attempt to buy more votes from the lower end of the economic scale. Underlying it all was the vague understanding that when the bad debt started to screw up the market, good old Uncle Same would bail all the lenders and lendees out. Republicans tried to warn this would happen. In a free market, lenders would have been much more stringent. If you want to find the source of our economic woes, follow the money trail in this Freddie and Fanny debacle. Of course with the mainstream media escorting Obama to the White House, most Americans will not know what hit them until it is too late. It’s time we all look in the mirror and ask if we are being smart with our money, quit trying to pin it on others. We are all responsible for our own risk-taking. It’s too bad that the Barney Frank’s of the world wind up in powerful positions where they can exert so much influence over people that don’t know any better.By Jeff
October 3, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
I was shocked that Biden put his ignorance on full display by stating outright that people are responsible for global warming. Besides being arroggant to believe that people can significantly effect something as complex as the temperature of the planet, to state it as fact without any proof shows a total lack of knowledge of the scientific method.By Jim
October 3, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this
John McCain has made a mockery of American politics by selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin’s selection, which wouldn’t fly in corporate America,in Education, or in any field that requires credentials, is a testament to the mass hypnosis abilities of the Republican propaganda machine. The fact that a large segment of the population has bought into the idea that education, knowledge, and intellect doesn’t matter, is truly baffling and very troubling. We should all be outraged that John McCain put our country at risk by attempting such a cynical political stunt.By Dave
October 3, 2008 5:03 PM | Link to this
Raoul, Don’t bother about Mary’s comments. As an engineer, she thinks that facts and logic are relevant.By Molbry
October 3, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this
The debate over Palin should not end. The media needs to stand up to the so called filter she claims being a victim of in this spectacle McCain and Palin have created. I noticed she immediately went on Fox news today to say Couric was “annoying”. What exactly does this mean? How do you filter her responses when she simply answers them in such a nonsensical way. All Palin wants to do is provide nonanswers to questions and state her talking points which she memorizes. This was essentially her game plan yesterday. We cannot allow her to slip into her comfortable base and be supported by news outlets such as Fox. It is our responsibility to continue vetting this candidate. The possibility of Palin as VP is too scary.By Mary
October 3, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this
Raoul and Dave, I was living on this planet during the early 80s under Reagan and following the news. Where were you? The buzz words were deregulation and trickle down economics. It has been 27 years and nothing has trickled down yet. Even Palin pointed out in last night’s debate that greed on Wall Street had a lot to do with today’s financial problems. Even if regulations moved to put people in homes they could not afford, that should not excuse predatory lenders and ridiculous CEO salaries. It is pretty hard to trickle down anything when fat cats are plugging the pipes and skimming off the spoils.By TRS
October 3, 2008 11:20 PM | Link to this
These rants against Gov Palin are simply ridiculous. Obama supporters seem to be so impressed with credentials (ie, Harvard grad and lawyer) to the exclusion of anything else. Gov Palin has worked hard all her life. Education wasn’t just handed to her - she had to earn her way thru college; yet I see some mock that. She married, raised a family, ran a business, a city and is currently running a state yet all I read is that it really means nothing. So, what is the difference between Gov Palin and Sen Obama? I would suggest approximately 23 months. That is the period of time Obama has been campaigning for the Presidency. He has been on a perpetual campaign, debating and honing his responses, surrounding himself with advisors who coach him on what to say and how to say it. No question, he has learned well when you think of his earlier gaffs, ie Syria, Iran and Korea were all small counties and no threat? How about the 57 states he wanted to visit? The same argument used against Gov Palin can be equally applicable against Sen Obama. It can be argued that it is Democrats who wish to put the country at risk by nominating a rookie who talks the talk but has really done nothing to prove that he can walk the walk. From voting “present” 150 times to seldom bucking his own party he claims he will reach across party lines. What is his proof? At Saddleback, the only time he could remember working across the aisle was when he promised to work with Sen McCain on ethics reform only to be told by his own party he shouldn’t and then telling McCain that he couldn’t. Now there’s a real independent guy, eh? How it is that someone who has worked hard and achieved the success of Gov Palin is deemed unqualified whereas another who has never worked in the private sector and has achieved via making a good presentation, gaining political office and writing some books is deemed super qualified? Biden’s debate was clinical - Palin connected with people. In less than two months she has proven herself a quick study. If she had 18 months on the trail like Obama has had, she would be his or anyone else’s equal, not because she has a Harvard Law Degree, but because she is smart and can connect with others.By Baracuda
October 4, 2008 8:15 PM | Link to this
Dave, please list the facts that were part of Mary’s comments. She simply listed her opinion without listing a single fact.By Davidss2
October 4, 2008 8:47 PM | Link to this
The media interviews are set up as gotchas when the victim, I mean interviewee is a conservative. Compare the appearance of rockstar Obama on the THe View compared to the hateful treatment given McCain. Obama is treated to Hollywood status with no real questions and they chit chat. Interviews of Palin were set up to be able to be cut so that she appears totally airhead. She was trying to avoid giving an answer to silly questions that could be cut and pasted to seem different. She also was irritable that they weren’t asking any real questions about things the American people want to hear. I really don’t give a “hoot” about what newspapers or magazines or books she reads as Couric was asking as one question. I want to know what she would push for if she were left as president. Somehow people have been diverted by the Democrat technique of Quayling Sarah Palin with constant negativity hoping to make people question her. She has more ability and experience than Osama. She has been running a State—not just voting “present” so she won’t have votes to use against her in a campaign. There’s somethign fishy about Obama’s rise to fame in a party with lots of people able to run for president. Very fishy. His popularity in socialist European countries seems odd too; do they know something we don’t. Let’s compare presidential candidates to presidential candidates. Somehow people are acting like Sarah is president and wanting to critique her thus.By ed
October 5, 2008 3:32 AM | Link to this
Ms Palin did a great job. On to the white hpuse for McCain and Palin.By hugh
October 5, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this
She didn’t soil herself onstage, so she passed the bar for me! Palin forever!By anghiari
October 5, 2008 10:04 AM | Link to this
I guess what I do not understand when people say Governor Palin did ok or even well, what do they mean by that? We are looking for a VP who is a heart attack/stroke away from a 72 year old possible President. And I am not being ageist. I am 65 years old, so I know the mental and physical changes that have begun to occur. It isn’t bias against seniors, just the reality of aging. As for Governor Palin, The Anchorage Daily News has recently noted her drop in popularity by Alaskans from 80% to 51% percent is still declining. It’s great to have a “regular” person run for office, but which office and at what cost? Few of us would ask the likeable, regular guy or gal to be our neurosurgeon or our heart surgeon simply because they reminded us of ourselves. We would want the guy or gal who graduated in the top of their class and had broad knowledge about our surgery. Palin didn’t do a great job because she didn’t answer the questions and she didn’t answer the questions because she didn’t know the answers. Her winking and blinking was a tactic. For those in Ohio who have lost jobs or have family members who have lost jobs, but who won’t consider voting for Barack Obama because he is not white…take a look at this Youtube video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50By R
October 5, 2008 12:32 PM | Link to this
Mary, I have an engineering degree and the 80’s were very good to me, my family, and just about everyone else I know. But if it’s greed that you are concerned about, I ask you again to see who made all the money at Freddie and Fannie, and the absurd golden parachutes that went to high level Democrat party affiliates. I expect greed to be a major part of Wall Street; my 401K depends on it. I am, however, very angry that so much money was lost by Freddie, and the people who lost it all awarded themselves with golden parachutes. The Reagan years were great for the ecomomy and for America. His policies led the way to the surplus that Clinton enjoyed, and to his credit, did not get spent away. Facts do matter; and if you don’t like greed, you should hate what the Democrats have done in forcing the government to suspend good lending rules to buy votes, and then let high level supporters gorge on all the excess.By Jim
October 5, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this
This shouldn’t end the debate about Palin at all. She’s still unqualified despite her not melting down. The whole Palin thing is Absurd, and John McCain should be ashamed of himself.By Mary
October 5, 2008 4:31 PM | Link to this
Baracuda, I have some suggestions and facts for you to consider: Do a google search on Reaganomics and read your heart out. Take for fact from me I was around in the 1980’s and highly aware of politics, Reagan and the news. I have been an independent voter and political groupie since before it was fashionable. (I make comments on both major parties and what they have to offer.) Please note that the title of this blog is “A Matter of Opinion”. I think facts and opinions should be weighed together and are sometimes hard to separate. I pride myself on trying to know the facts. I recognize the limitations all of us have in knowing the facts not just on Reaganomics and global warming, but on whether or not weapons of mass destruction were in Iraq, “Osama determined to attack the U.S.”, and when human life begins.By NOTOPALIN
October 6, 2008 11:23 AM | Link to this
The people on The View didn’t attack McCain. The asked him valid questions. That is a requirement of a reporter’s job. It is sad that the actual evening news reporters didn’t do the same. The people on The View also asked the Obama’s tough questions. Anyone can view them on youtube. It is also sad that Palin can’t answer a very simple question on what magazines or newspapers she reads. If that is all it takes to stump her everyone is in trouble IF she is VP.Obama didn’t have his education handed to him. He paid for it by student loans. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, he can from a struggling single parent home. He was raised by his Mother and Grandparents. It is impressive that he graduated first in his class from Harvard being that he didn’t come from a wealthy family. Being highly educated isn’t a bad thing. Obama isn’t a newcomer to government positions. He was in the Illinois state senate for eight years. He taught constitutional law for twelve years. He is now in the US Senate. To answer the actual question, Palin isn’t qualified. She doesn’t know ANYTHING about foreign policy. She doesn’t believe that global warming has been accelerated by humans. Being that her education is in journalism, she should know how to answer a question instead of deflection.By No Palin
October 6, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this
We do not need two incompetent Mavericks in office. By Palin refusing to answer certain questions and only referring to what she wanted to talk about said she is not ready for the VP position. It is easy to be prepared with index cards to questions. What is she going to do when she is asked other questions (outside a protected environment) that are not on index cards? Will she just shoot from the hip, Wink - give a shout out and say I refuse to answer that. This is not American Idol folks. Americans need to start demanding more from their politicians with regard to accountability on both sides. Americans need to take back their government and freedoms. The politicians have us where they want us pointing and blaming. I am not thrilled with either choice, but McCain at 72 with Palin as his backup is not a good thing for Ohio or this Country. As a woman, Palin insulted me with her lack of knowledge, winking and her joe six pack comments. Palin you were not at the local Wasilla bar, but at a professional debate.By Mary
October 6, 2008 3:00 PM | Link to this
R, if you are an engineer, you have no excuse for not being more thoughtful, informed and analytical. The unbridled greed on Wall Street, enabled by Reaganomics, has not done shareholders, 401K’s, or IRAs too much good. You need to focus past the snapshot in time of your own belly button in the 80s. I was also doing fine financially in the 80s as a military aero engineer. However, I resented and was concerned about the greed and socially retro-conservative policies and tone of the Reagan administration including the sexist and racist climate the Reagan administration helped reintroduce into our cultural and workplace fabric, including the miltary. I saw the CEO of Lehman Brothers testifying today. Over a span of about 10 years or so, he was compensated about half a billion dollars. Even if he could squat in the corner of the hearing room and lay a huge golden egg worth $700 billion for the bailout, his “leadership” would not be worth that much. Meanwhile, we taxpayers who work just as hard, and are just as “smart” or “smarter” are bailing out greedy cusses like him and the companies they ran into the ground by their incompetence and greed. I am sure he still has a lot of spare change lying around his various mansions and summer homes. Meanwhile, we suckers will be paying the bills like dutiful serfs.By Matt
October 6, 2008 4:36 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe people are falling for the low-bar trick here. Her answers were terrible by any measure except for the one that was set by her interviews. Let’s judge her as others are normally judged in a debate and consider whether she answers questions in a straight forward way that is clear, convincing, and shows knowledge on the subjects questioned. I would say she did not come even close to surpassing that bar.By Raoul
October 6, 2008 7:57 PM | Link to this
Mary, I (R)can hardly understand your views on the Reagan era, particularly regarding sexism. Maybe you confused Reagan with Bill Clinton, who, if you were paying attention, really put the ‘sex’ in sexism. That is, if you believe rape and groping, etc. are sexist. I believe the Reagan’s were saying ‘just say no’. And as for greed, why are you ignoring the enormous greed of the Democrat operatives, one of whom was fined 21 MILLION DOLLARS!If you can afford to pay that kind of a fine, I would argue that you made too much money. Greed is greed. Until this recent collapse of the credit market, brought on by the ridiculous notion that the government should cover for people who buy things they cannot afford (which has ended up hurting the lower end of the ecomomic scale the most)and was the brainchild of Democrats trying to pander for votes, 401 K’s and IRA’s have been great for retirees and those that paid into thier own future. You state no facts in your blogs, but I guess I am supposed to believe you that Reagan was bad for the country. Maybe you missed the funeral procession that took about a week. A lot of the greedy guys from the Reagan era went to prison. Let’s see how many of the Democrats responsible for this debacle are even put on trial, let alone found guilty.By Mary
October 7, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
Raoul, I can see both good and bad in charismatic Bill Clinton and charismatic Ronald Reagan. I think Clinton was smarter and more engaged in the administration policies. Reagan seemed to overdelegate and distance himself from the day to day decisions. I remember the innuendo about Reagan falling asleep at meetings and just not knowing what was going on. I think even while he was in office there were concerns about possible early stages of Alzheimer’s. Very shortly after he left office, it was announced he had the disease. He had a somewhat sexist, racist status quo group of cronies (mostly wealthy, white, male conservatives) who came with him into power. While I could agree with some of his administration’s concerns regarding affirmative action and quotas, the gist and tone was women and minority groups just wanted handouts and had nothing to complain about. The atmosphere was very real to me and I remember it as if it were yesterday. It impacted the treatment and environment women and blacks received in the workplace, including the miltary. While I did not directly blame Reagan, the tone his administration set throughout our everyday culture was it was okay to be a racist and a sexist again. I am a conflicted voter on both major parties and the experience level and policies on both tickets. I might vote independent as a matter of conscience.By Mary
October 7, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
Raul, I looked at many parts of the Reagan funeral proceedings and was both touched and disgusted. Do you have any idea how many taxdollars and how much manpower was spent on all those formal, expensive state funeral proceedings (including flights on Air Force One from coast to coast) while our young military were dying in Iraq without state funerals and our miltary was already overextended? He was buried like a king in a country of paupers. I thought he was a nice man, but his funeral was completely over the top.By Raoul
October 8, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
Fair enough Mary. I accept your personal convictions about sexism and racism in the Reagan era, although my sense is that many minorities were improving their lives under the prosperity. A rising tide lifts all boats. Personally, when Reagan cut funding for grants for college students, I saw it as a sign for myself to get in gear and pay my own way, which I did. Reagan was smart, but had a simple vision; smaller government and freedom to excel. Clinton may have been even smarter, but bogged his vision down with ‘triangulation’. He was driven more by polls than inner conviction and his own moral compass. The result was that he never acheived anything because he would not risk anything. As far as the funeral procession, it was what the people clearly wanted, and may be the last time we see such sentiments play out on the national scale. I think we miss his fatherly guidance and human touch, now more than ever.