1. Has Sarah Palin so effectively lowered expectations for her performance in the debate that anything short of a mental breakdown on stage will be seen as a victory? Yes, she proved in the Katie Couric interviews that my mother is probably more qualified to be Vice President than she is. But if she doesn't do any worse than that, will it just be shrugged off as par for the course?
I hope not. I hope Joe Biden tears her a new one. But my worry is that she'll just be able to flirt and bat her eyes out of any hard question thrown at her, like she's done in the past.
2. If she does end up humiliated tomorrow night and Biden emerges as victorious, how much will it help Obama? Everyone remembers (well, I wouldn't have been old enough to remember, but I've seen it on YouTube) how Lloyd Bentsen made a laughingstock of Dan Quayle in the 1988 Vice Presidential debate. But the result was simply a jump in Bentsen's personal approval ratings, not a bounce in support for the Dukakis/Bentsen ticket. Granted, by that point Bush Sr. had already established a solid lead in the polls that one debate probably would not have erased anyway, but I don't expect to see an even bigger bounce for Obama. Then again, I'll take solid leads in the swing states over a temporary bounce any day.
All in all, I'm greatly looking forward to tomorrow's debate, and am just praying that I'll be able to get a parking spot on campus tomorrow. "Hardball" will be broadcasting from campus from 4-5 and again from 6-7; look for the crazy girl with the signs.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Two Concerns For Tomorrow Night
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2 comments:
Your mother is a very smart and wise woman. Use some other comparison.
I think the current expectation level is a little odd - sort of a cross between "it's good if she doesn't melt down and remains somewhat coherent" and "this is going to be so bad - how can we cancel it." But Joe needs to stay away from taking Sarah on directly - there's too much risk of seeming condescending and superior-acting (yeah, I know he really is superior by a long shot but...). Perceptions matter.
This could reinforce "John makes bad decisions" if it goes really badly. But Dukakis wasn't ever a really big threat in that election. The bottom line is that we aren't electing a VP.
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