This is directed to those of you planning on watching the Palin-Biden debate tonight at 9 EDT. It's the only debate they'll have.
This is a warning.
As you know, we here at Maggie's Farm advocate the peaceful, bucolic life. Why, just this morning as BD was sloppin' the hogs, we decided we had a civic duty to warn our readers about tonight's debate and the dangers of sudden shocks to the central nervous system and the inherent possibility of stroke or even heart attack.
And, well, we don't want any heart attacks, now, do we?
Of course we don't.
Hence the warning.
(pulling up stool next to campfire)
Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday.
I sat there mesmerized.
I'd never really been into politics, like knowing who the key players and power brokers are, or how the great machine we call 'Washington DC' really works. I'd never watched C-SPAN and probably couldn't have picked five senators out of a police lineup — just to pick the nearest analogy.
But I was thinking of getting into something new when suddenly the John Roberts judiciary hearings came up (when the Senate Judiciary Committee vetted him for the Supreme Court), so I thought I'd tune in.
Each senator on the committee spoke in turn, and I thought Senator John Cornyn's speech was just about the most impressive thing I'd ever heard in my life. Sitting there as Mr. Average American Voter — who knew a little about politics, but not much — I was quite impressed with the erudition and import of each senator's opening remarks.
But then he spoke.
And I can remember sitting there just entranced at the sight and sound of this man. The posture, the face, the penetrating eyes, the timbre of his voice. The vibrational intensity he exuded. The charisma.
I thought at the time,
This guy has 'president' written all over him.
I looked down at the bottom of the TV screen.
His name was Joe Biden.
I believe a lot of people are going to be surprised tonight. In the few clips of him I've seen (usually making some delightful Joe-like gaffe with a dozen microphones stuck in his face), this presence I saw during the hearings was understandably missing. Even during the Democratic debates, he was just another face in the crowd.
Tonight, though, is different.
In all honesty, it appears most of the Righty (and perhaps a number of Lefty) bloggers view him as something of a clown, a joke, even a buffoon. And certainly a large tactical mistake on Obama's part. Most right-wing bloggers were thrilled when he was selected. They view him as nothing but a big gaffe-o-matic machine.
But I think Team Sarah is petrified.
Because I think they've reviewed the very same opening statement he made that so enchanted me, and I'll bet you the first thing that went through their minds was, Holy shiite, this guy's intense! Seriously, if all you've seen of him are quick video clips and delivering sound bites on the weekend talk shows, you haven't even glimpsed the powerful presence this man can be when he's in his element.
Interestingly, the question that will reluctantly be creeping into a number of minds tonight will be,
Why isn't THIS guy running for president?
Good question, actually. With Obama as his VP, grooming him for his own presidency eight years hence? And a promise to give Hillary the Secretary of Health and Human Services cabinet post? The guy would have been a shoe-in. You'll see what I mean tonight, and you'll probably find yourself asking the same question at some point.
Also, picture something else this evening. Pretend you're the leader of some two-bit dictatorship and you're watching the debates, sizing up your future adversaries. You see some doddering old guy. You see a young, naive (although certainly articulate!) black man. You see some lady who looks like a librarian.
Then you see Lunchbox Joe.
And that steely look in his eyes when he's talking about foreign policy is telling you, Dear Leader, in no uncertain terms,
I could crush you like a bug and wouldn't think twice.
Remember, there's a reason enough people thought he had a chance at the presidency that he made it to the first round of ballots. This is a very direct, likable, sincere-sounding guy who — discounting policies for a second — would probably make a great president. He's got that faraway maniacal gleam in his eye that would scare the beejeezus out of Putin and Ahmadinejad. He'd be lashing out at them from the Oval Office and they'd be thinking, Yikes, this guy means it! He's probably one of the very few Democrats who'd have the stones to bomb Iran back to the Bronze Age before it's too late. If a Democrat had to be in the White House, I'd want Joe Biden.
So, fair warning. I haven't seen Biden 'in his element' since the Judiciary Committee hearings a few years ago, so for all I know he's turned into a doddering old fool, himself, but if he's still got what I saw back then, you're in for a small scare if you're a Republican. This guy's the real deal.
And picture the impact of these two bullet points together:
- What Jane and Joe Average saw in the first debate was two confident, able candidates, either of whom would probably make a fine president. The fence-sitters who were worried McCain might be too old were reassured he wasn't, and, likewise, those who had Obama pictured as some rookie junior statesman were reassured he wasn't.
- Tonight, they'll see an extremely capable backup and a friendly guiding hand for Mr. Obama, which should assuage any feelings that his inexperience might hamper him.
As I said, I think Team Sarah is petrified. She's going to come across as 'knowing some stuff,' almost desperate to fill up her allotted time slot, while Biden is going to give the distinct impression that he could ramble along for another two hours on the subject. We're going to see that whole "McCain lecturing the young Obama" meme that came out of the last debate turned completely around, with the young deer-eyed Palin trying not to gulp audibly as the Taskmaster kindly points out yet another example of her political naiveté.
That, or they'll be unbelievably polite with each other so they don't have to go through all of the "Was Biden being sexist/condescending?", "Did Palin use her feminine wiles?" routine afterward. If the whole event is later criticized as being 'marshmallow fluff' because they never once got into it, I'd say good for them. Of all the animal analogies out there ("dog tired", "acting catty"), none is more appropriate than comparing the media to a circling school of sharks awaiting the next feeding frenzy. If Palin and Biden tacitly agree not to bloody the waters, then kudos to both of them for a class act.
With all of this said, not a very large percentage of the American populace watches the debates, so I don't think tonight's event will have any real impact on the election, even if someone clearly "wins" the contest. I still think the Dems are going to lose big-time come November. Despite what the polls say, I think that there, in the privacy of the voting booth, 40 years of unquenched feminine pride is going to handily outweigh mere political ideology, and Sarah — and whoever's running with her — is going to sweep into the White House. As I said in my Maggie's post on the subject, women are going to look at Sarah's name on the ballot and consider the possibility that this might be the first, last and only time in their lives that they'll have the chance to shatter the glass ceiling.
To be a part of history.
If Hillary crossed your mind, she'll be too old and passé by 2016. People tout her as running in 2012, but that's only if McCain wins this November, and there's certainly no guarantee she'd be nominated. If Obama wins, and doesn't commit any impeachment-worthy blunders during his first three years, there's little question he'd be the Dem nominee in 2012, not Hillary. So, from what women can see at this point, Sarah may be their one and only chance to achieve this quest of almost 40 years, since the very concept of a woman in the White House arose during the FemLib days of the early 70's.
40 years versus a mere 4 years of putting up with another Republican presidency in order to achieve this historic goal?
Small price to pay.
Regarding tonight's moderator, it is highly indicative of (1) how infused supposedly impartial committees are by liberals, and (2) how desperately they want Obama elected, that the moderator for tonight's event isn't just a major partisan player for Obama, but actually has a financial interest in the election's outcome and, by way of extension, the debate's outcome.
PBS anchor Gwen Ifill's upcoming book, a puff piece on Obama, is due to be released January 20th, Inauguration Day. Would you guess she has a vested interest in the election's outcome? The fact that the recent revelation of her upcoming book didn't immediately excuse her from moderator's duties bespoke volumes about the composition of the Commission On Presidential Debates. It's one thing to be blatantly partisan, but to actually have a financial interest in the matter? That's now okay?
Pete Rose, call your office.
For you sharpies who like to keep an eye out for political bias from the (ahem) neutral moderator, tonight should be an interesting test. If it happens, it'll be subtle, like the way a question for Sarah is phrased ("So when did you stop cheating on your husband?"), or, more likely, tossing something Sarah had previously said back at her, but altering just a word or two, enough to slightly change the meaning and make her spend valuable time just trying to clarify, rather than answer, which will later be reported as either "too obsessed over minor details, not seeing the bigger picture" or "waffling, indecisive, stalling for time," depending on how the writer wants to slant it.
Whatever happens tonight, it should be a kick, and stay tuned for all kinds of Nielsen Ratings records being set. As I noted in my post-debate wrap-up last week, tonight's debate falls into a category no presidential or vice-presidential debate has ever fallen into:
Entertainment.
And, as those untold millions who have never watched more than five minutes of a debate in their lives tune in to see Sarah, like the McCain-Obama debate last week, both sides will be reassured. Those wondering about Obama's inexperience will see the powerful hands of the DC Machine in the form of Senator Biden, and those wondering if Governor Palin is really the witch the media and/or bloggers are making her out to be will see a fun, upbeat gal who's obviously intelligent and comfortable in the spotlight. To the average American voter, it often doesn't take much more than that.
Enjoy the show.
/make popcorn
//screw the diet, use real butter
