Win, Loose, or Draw?

If you are reading this blog, I suspect you were interested enough in politics to watch the VP debate last night between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden. After the debate, the political spin machines went to work to proclaim a victory for their side. Those viewers who tuned in to see a game changer were disappointed. There were some minor gaffs, but nothing to derail either side. The Republicans had to be very happy about this outcome, given Palin's recent performances in several news interviews that made her a running joke on the late night circuit. She was "folksy" and well rehearsed. As for Biden, he didn't ramble and had good, crip answers. So from the standpoint of moving the needle for the average voters, Joe Sixpack as the Governor irreverently calls them, it seems this was much less dramatic than all the TV hype by the talking heads.

But take a closer look. Although Palin was well rehearsed enough to string a few sentences together, it was also obvious to me that she was really only parroting back prepared scripts that she was coached to say. In fact, she often ignored the question asked by the moderator, Gwen Iffel, and proceeded to say something totally unrelated to the question. Further it was clear that she had certain "buzz words" to get out. You know most of them already: Maverick, lower taxes, jobs, job creation, I met with Henry Kissinger, change is coming, I am an energy expert, Maverick, there you go Joe, White Flag of Surrender, the Surge worked, Maverick, lower taxes,corruption on Wall Street, hockey mom, and need I say Maverick?

So do we really know anything more about her qualifications to be president in case something happened to McCain? Yes and No. We know she can take direction from handlers, but likely doesn't have a deep understanding of the facts or the policies. When asked by the moderator specifically what she would do if she had to assume the presidency, she gave a rather broad brush answer that spoke in vague generalities about change. Contrast her answer with Senator Biden's on the same question: his was crisp, and a well thought out series of policies that left no doubt about what he would actually do if he had to step into the Presidency.

So what do we really need in a VP? The simple answer is someone who would make a great president if needed. Joe passed this test. Sarah did not. She may be folksy, cute, and sassy, but the job is too important to make a decision based on these incidental criteria. We have had eight years with someone at the helm who people wanted to have a beer with, was a cheerleader, and did not have a real command of the issues, but could simply parrot some buzz words: cut and run, conditions on the ground, victory, we do not torture, axis of evil, the fundamentals are strong, mushroom cloud, and the list goes on. What we got was the worst eight years in our history and a failed government that will take years and a lot of money to fix. Let's let Sarah and Todd go back to Alaska and do some moose hunting while John and Cindy sell some more Budweiser beer to Joe Sixpack, so that Barack and Joe can get on with the job of fixing America. We don't have any more time or money to waste.