Youth Vote ... Palin proves she should be in the minor leagues

[mrJJ]

Palin proves at VP debate she should be in the minor leagues

During the run-up to the vice-presidential debate, the big question was: will Sarah Palin embarrass herself?

Well, of course she didn't. She's not some kind of school-child, tripping all over herself.

But it was obvious during the debate on Thursday that the two VP candidates were in different leagues.

Joe Biden actually answered questions. He had real things to say about, for example, Pakistan and nuclear weapons. And that makes sense - he's been in the Senate, dealing with these issues, for decades.

Sarah Palin didn't seem to be able to think past her stump speech. When asked about the financial bailout package and the general economic malaise of this country, she said something about "predatory lenders" and "living outside our means." She showed no understanding of the broader causes of the recent meltdown.

That was most telling when she was pressed on Sen. John McCain's record of deregulation. Both Biden and moderator Gwen Ifill both tried to get her to say something of substance on the issue; instead, Palin mumbled something about the tobacco industry and campaign finance reform.

The same thing happened when the conversation turned to bankruptcy. Palin never said a word about the topic - instead, she wandered off through a checklist of general economic talking points.

Biden seemed in command. One exchange early on really captured the feel of the debate: the conversation over health care. Biden laid out the facts clearly: McCain's health plan taxes employer based care, forcing people into the open market. He includes a tax rebate that doesn't come close to covering what it will actually cost individuals to go buy health care on her own.

Palin answered by... talking about energy policy. Because, after all, she knows something about that topic.

The exchange over climate change was equally strange. Palin said she didn't care what the cause was, but she supported fixing it. As Biden pointed out in response, that doesn't make any sense: the cause determines our response. If global warming isn't man-made, then cutting emissions and other measures won't do anything to fix it. Perhaps Palin doesn't understand that. Biden does.

That theme continued throughout. When it came to Iraq and Afghanistan, Palin clung to "Petraeus" and "the surge." Biden gave real, substantive answers.

Palin managed to be folksy, at least. She winked at the camera plenty. She loved talking about Wasilla. She was lest comfortable saying whether or not the vice president was part of the executive branch.

There were some worries leading up to the debate that Biden would come across as "mean," since he has such a better handle on the issues. He avoided that problem by very rarely making Palin the focus of his comments. Instead, he preferred to talk about John McCain: why McCain's positions were wrong, or out of touch, or contradictory. He made Palin defend her running mate.

After all, people don't vote for vice president. They vote for president. Biden took advantage of that, showing why McCain is wrong on health care, or deregulation, or Afghanistan. Palin doesn't have a deep enough grasp of the issues to actually defend McCain against any of those attacks.

People who already like Sarah Palin were probably satisfied by her performance - the bar was set so low, it was pretty much impossible for her to fail. But anyone who actually cares about what the candidates say can see how unqualified she actually is.

This isn't a game. (Unless you were playing Palin Bingo.) We're choosing the people who are going to lead our country. I'd like to think the standard is higher than "she didn't embarrass herself." If we actually expect our leaders to have an above-average grasp of the issues, then the results of Thursday's debate are clear.

http://www.youthvoteblog.com/2008/10/03/vp_deabate_uneventful_but_telling/