Raising The Bar: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin exceeded low expectations in her Thursday night debate with Sen. Joe Biden, providing Republican supporters a great sigh of relief. Her performance in the vice presidential face-off reignited the dying flames of the John McCain campaign after two weeks of stumbles and U-turns. "She hit it out of the park," gushed Sean Hannity and fellow Republican rooters. Not bad for a rookie .200 hitter. Palin came to the forum well prepared and coached and, most importantly, she delivered. Poor Joe Biden. A former Clinton campaign advisor declared Biden turned in his best debate performance ever. Yet, Palin stole the show. She won the expectations game spiced with two seminal zinging moments. One was Barack Obama's plan to withdraw combat troops from Iraq in 16 months she equated to "raising a white flag." She said Biden flip-flopped after initially supporting the Iraq war resolution. "It's so obvious I'm a Washington outsider and someone not used to the ways you guys operate because you voted for the war and then you voted against it," she said. Palin's performance benefited from the debate rules with time restrictions on answers and little chance of follow-up questions. It's those second and third questions that Palin floundered in recent television interviews. If Palin didn't like the question, she simply diverted it uncontested to a topic she was more comfortable with, usually energy. So much for expectations.
Veep Stakes: One of the more revealing segments of the debate focused on the role each would play as vice president. Biden said he would be Obama's front man driving the administration's programs through Congress as well as Obama's close confidant and advisor. Palin said she wished she had more constitutional and Senate institutional powers than simply on the rare occasions casting a tie-breaking vote. She said McCain has promised her a strong role in pushing his energy program, advocacy for women's equality and for parents of handicapped children.
Fact Check: Palin said Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes or against tax reductions. It was 11 times but only for those earning more than $1 million. Biden complained deregulation of the Bush administration led to the current financial market collapse. Biden voted for the 1999 deregulation bill. Palin said McCain led a movement to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel authored the bill which McCain sponsored but was killed in committee. Palin said she beat the oil industry in Alaska with a windfall profits tax that went directly to the state's citizens. At the same time, she sided with Big Oil on anti-environmental measures as well as supporting drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge which McCain opposes. Biden said McCain supports an additional $4 billion tax cut for the oil industry. McCain's plan would provide tax cuts to all corporations, including Big Oil. Palin said Alaska is building a $40 billion natural gas pipeline through Canada to the states. A license for seed money was awarded to one contractor but construction won't start for six years. "It's not a done deal," Palin said in August. Bottom Line: No major hits, runs or errors.
My Take: Close your eyes, filter out the expectations game and return to the real world. Biden won the debate if not on points certainly on the reassurance of his experience. Instant polls by CNN reflects that edge. The debate was not a game changer. It may push McCain up a few points but only for several days. Hillary Rosen, a Democratic strategist, offered an analogy which matched mine while watching the debate. Rosen projected a scenario of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with Palin sitting in the war room forced to make life and death commander-in-chief decisions. Just can't see that happening. Palin's performance was programmed and borderline robotic. There's no there there. Like Mrs. Clinton told Obama: Wait your turn after you grow up.
No Control Zone: Did you see Bill O'Reilly go ballistic on Rep. Barney Frank? O'Reilly yelled, screamed, taunted, bullied and cast personal insults at Frank who heads the House Banking Committee and spearheaded the Congressional negotiations for a rescue plan of the financial markets. No matter what Frank tried to say about his role involving failed reforms of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, O'Reilly shouted him down. I think I know why. Bill's ego is the size of an inflated hot air balloon. When the segment began, Frank, who can be as nasty as a cornered bantam rooster, was reading the newspaper. His eyes down and continued reading while O'Reilly asked his first question. Finally, Frank slowly raised his head and faced the camera, telling O'Reilly he disagreed with Bill's assertion that Frank was to blame for the bailout of the two financial giants. Frank's demeanor dissed O'Reilly's pompous view of himself and Bill got pissed. The episode is a can't miss Number One on the U-Tube charts. O'Reilly's behavior was disgusting, even by entertainment standards let alone a thrashing of journalistic ethics. Yet, O'Reilly remains and will remain the top-rated news opinionator on cable television. Disgraceful, shameful but not shocking on all counts.
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