Palin Is A Formidable Debator

[Yavin4]

I'm watching a replay of her debate on C-Span, and she can indeed handle herself in a debate. She's not stupid, and she's not a bimbo.

Granted, this debate is solely about the arcane governmental issues of Alaska. However, she does take command of the facts, and she can handle herself. She also knows how to insult people

Biden's strategy should be go after her hard and pull no punches. The media will give the debate to Palin any way, so I think that Biden should be himself and hammer away at her. He has nothing to lose.

[Eric J in MN]

1. We watched her insult Obama on Wednesday night....

...for having been a community organizer in Chicago 20 years ago.

Obama as a community organizer helped poor adults get job training and poor teens get tutoring.

Most pundits praised the speech, with George Stephanopoulos giving it an "A."

Jon Stewart was one of the few pundits who objected to her speech.

[Kdillard]

2. We'll see what happens but Biden doesn't seem to be underestimating her

which is a good thing. If he is clear and concise he will do fine. I believe the campaign is smart and will go over her tapes to get a feel for her debating style and they have gotten a look at her talking points so all Biden needs to do is be prepared to knock them down soundly. Get her on the defensive and keep her there.

[WinkyDink]

24. It isn't going to be a "debate". It will be two people answering separate questions.

[akangel2008]

36. Yup. Fish in a barrel for Biden.

She debates very simply and when flustered has trouble recovering.

[akangel2008]

37. dupe delete

[melody]

3. She is stupid -- shockingly stupid and simple-minded

She just parrots position papers. I watched it, too.

[Yavin4]

6. No, She Is Not Stupid

She handles herself well. She's far better than Bush in a debate.

Calling her stupid lowers her expectations, which means that she will be declared the winner going away.

[melody]

16. A 10 year old with debate skills can handle themselves as well

And intelligence is not revealed by verbal skill but by the simple-mindedness of her arguments.

That said, she'll definitely get the simple-minded, emotion-driven vote.

[kurth_]

33. That's exactly how the chimp became Texas governor

He was very focused. His answers were simplistic and simple-minded. In fact he answered some questions with just one word: "No". No explanations, no nuances. He beat Ann Richards.

[melody]

35. Yes, I understand that, but it still astounds me n/t

[ClarkUSA]

20. A longtime friend described Palin as "not smart but very cunning"

I've known women like this and they get far by having no scruples and through conniving manipulation, not to mention
the charm of a sociopathic extrovert.

[bulloney]

28. Saying you're better than Bush in a debate is like bragging you're the tallest midget.

Seriously, I would go into this thing expecting her to be a good debater and deliverer.

A key will be whether she actually answers the question, or will she just parrot the talking points Republicans have thrown out.

[nc4bo]

29. She's not stupid but she's no Einstein either. She IS cunning, slick and manipulative

which can sometimes come across as extreme intelligence.

She is no Joe Biden.

[wizstars]

4. More likely, she is a formidable screamer

[lolamio]

5. I think we should definitely talk up her debating skills.

We need to set the bar high for her and talk about how good she is, how well she should do in the debate. That way, when Biden owns her, her fall will be that much greater!

[stolivodka]

7. Biden is gonna be tempted to treat her with kid gloves..

..but, he's gotta resist that impulse and attack her hard on the issues. He needs to make this about the Republican Party and their 8 years of CONSTANT failure.

If he can keep Palin defending Bush the entire debate, then he wins hardcore. As shown by her whining about the "liberal media bias", she can't fight as well from a defensive position.

[justiceischeap]

30. Did you watch MTP today? I don't think he's going to treat her with kid gloves

He talked about how he's debated educated, strong women before. He does it every day in Congress. He's got this.

[Frustratedlady]

I got the impression they all had the questions ahead of time.

None of them hesitated in answering, or hem-hawed during their time. I did notice one thing, it seemed Palin was given much more time than the guy to her left. He was always getting the timer. Maybe I missed hers, as she had some answers longer than 30 sec.

She was too rehearsed.

[Lucinda]

17. this was the 21st debate of the election. They all knew their stuff by then...

[BlueStater]

8. Biden, in my opinion, consistently won most of the debates.

If he can beat Hillary Clinton in a debate, he'll stomp this nobody from Alaska...

...if he doesn't hold anything back, that is.

[Colobo]

9. We need to praise Palin as an unbeatable debater. Let's raise those expectations.

[Cha]

27. Yeah, palin is the Master

baiter.

[BeyondGeography]

10. Biden is a formidable debater

I expect he'll acquit himself quite well.

[jzodda]

11. Biden will eat her alive in a debate

just my personal opinion. Let her try and defend the past 8 years as Biden reflects and deflects every question and answer back to that.

[27inCali]

21. shhhhhhhhhhh!

don't let people know how good Joe really is!

raise expectations for her.

lower the expectations for him.

ergo.

Joe talks too much! he's a big windbag!

That Palin, boy she sure can debate!

haha

[BlueIdaho]

12. 1, 2, 3.

1 - Pailin is no pushover, her political instincts just landed her a bid for the office of Vice President of the United States.

2 - Joe Biden thanks you for your concern but he hasn't survived decades of political hardball by underestimating the enemy.

3- We need to raise expectations for Gov. Gimmick - just showing up and not pissing her panties is not a "victory."

[burythehatchet]

13. All she knows how to do is spout Gingrichisms and smile real purtee for the camera

she is an evil bimbo

[Not the Only One]

25. that goes a long way

Being able to go on the attack and be ferocious, with a smile, is a skill. She has it.

[BlooInBloo]

14. She's a blithering idiot.

[Barack_America]

15. As I said in a different thread, Biden is going to have to ignore the moderator and pose questions..

Directly to Palin about complex FP issues.

[President_Obama]

18. all Biden must do is steer the debate into areas out of her depth

there are only so many talking points they can stuff in her.

1 month of Foreign Policy 'Training' <> 36 years of Real Experience

[nini]

22. This is exactly what he'll do - he's no dummy

welcome to DU :hi:

[ClarkUSA]

19. We need to shout it to the rooftops about how terrific a debater Palin is.

Downplay Biden (as he did himself today on MTP), thereby creating high expectations amongst the voters we encounter.

[quakerboy]

23. You are absolutely Correct

In fact, if she does not absolutely leave Biden dumbfounded, curled in a fetal position on the floor, then she will have put in a very poor showing indeed. In fact, some might say that failing that bad would be a horrible defeat for her, showing she is not ready to be on the national scene.

[Chasing Dreams]

26. She's the best I've ever seen. Biden has no chance.

Psst...



:sarcasm:

:crazy:

:puke:

:wtf:

:rofl:


I can't wait until the debates!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

31. She's not stupid. She intensely ambitious and intellectually incurious. Like Bush.

Things that make this clear to me:

Her answer on the questionnaire about the Pledge - "If it's good enough for the Founding Fathers..."

Her recent admission that she didn't know much about Iraq. This despite the fact that she has been inconsideration, as we now know, for months for the VP slot, and her own son is getting deployed there!!

The revelation that she made the decision to take the nomination without consulting her children, including her pregnant daughter who is now being dragged through the media mud. Apparently, they were surprised with the announcement in Ohio. No, this is not a comment about Palin's choices as a woman. It's about her being a shitty uncaring parent. I would be equally disgusted with Obama or Biden in the same situation.

The fact that she is being kept sequestered from the press because she needs to be coached on the issues. WTF?? I can understand not knowing the names of the leaders of every country but come ON.

I'm sure she'll handle herself fine in the debates and even if she doesn't, hell, Bush was a babbling moron in them but the press acted like he was fucking Cicero because he didn't shit on himself.

[lady lib]

32. I read somewhere that she's also very good at playing victim

(which we've seen already). So Biden is going to have to keep that in mind in how he presents himself.

[npk]

34. She may be a formidable debater

But her voice is so annoying that it distracts me from what the hell she is saying. I could barely make it through her speech at the conventions. It's like grinding nails on the chalk board.

[Pirate Smile]

38. We need to be raising expectations for her, not lowering them. She will probably do very well

in her interview with Gibson.

Drop the experience argument and use the "she is Bush in lipstick" talking point - RW extreme views, four more years just like the last eight. That is our argument against her. When we push inexperience then when she can talk without drooling, it is treated like a triumph.

[Frank Booth]

39. I agree. I think we have enough proof now that pulling punches isn't working.

Like you said, she's already won the debate anyway, so Biden might as well take her down a few pegs while he has the chance.