Debating Sarah Palin: A First Hand Account

Christian Science Monitor :

When he faces off against Sarah Palin Thursday night, Joe Biden will have his hands full.

I should know. I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do.

Read the whole story: Christian Science Monitor

Comments

[marymansour]

Joe Biden is the master of speaking of facts which he knows by having been on the scene for many years. I hope he can take this medusa down and that will be the end of it. Jus' hopin'.

[Ramus]

Palin will spend ALL her time attacking Obama in that snide sarcastic mode she has. Biden should not stoop to her level and engage her in these attacks.. He should just attack John McCain and ignore, as best he can, Palin. And he must be careful not to wag his finger at her or be high handed in any way. Gwen will need to remind Palin when shehas not the specific question. She must do this very nicely. The worst that could come from this "debate" is that the Republican right thinks that Palin is being attacked..So they must not attack her..just kindly demand specific answers.

[PT6]

LETS MAKE THIS DEBATE ABOUT MISUSE OF POWER BY TOP OFFICIALS!

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR HER "THEORY" ON THAT!

ALSO THE "FOREIGN POLICY ASPECT OF SEEING RUSSIA 800 MILES FROM HER HOME AND OFFICE" WOULD BE INTERESTING!

I STILL WANT TO KNOW WHAT READING SHE DOES. EXACT PERIODICALS - JUST TWO!
WITH A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION ON WHAT SHE GETS FROM THEM!

[drolleen]

The only way to debate her and beat her is to connect better to people and provide simple folksy solutions that sound like they are a bit more complex than usual (everyone knows we are in complex times, but most cannot admit to themselves that they don't understand what that means. Note that 80% rejection of all bailout plans with 88% wanting some plan).

Biden can do it, but will probably not. We will probably lose the debate.

The reason is the silly practice run. The practice run with Michigan governor makes no sense. Granholm is a good looking woman, but that's where the similarities end. She is a master of the facts. I lived in Michigan in the 1990s and still remember her as being one of the most knowledgeable candidates for the Michigan Attorney General position thus defeating a popular republican in an era in which republicans were in the majority. That's not Sarah Palin.

Granholm is more similar to Obama than she is to Palin.

[Ramus]

maybe Biden should be practicising with Madonna..or Mariah Carey

[Myshkin57]

She's being given too much credit. She's not a master of anything. she gives non-answers because she can't communicate coherently. I've graded plenty of papers from students with her level of reasoning ability. It's not because they're trying to be clever that their writing is incoherent. Their writing is incoherent, like Palin's speaking, because they can't string together two thoughts. Every once in a while she might string together a few sentences that have relevant terms in them, but it's not orchestrated.

[Rumba]

There is a saying in the Armed Forces "Bulls*** baffles brains." Hopefully the moderator will not let Palin get away with rubbish just because of pity.

[HarryTichbaum]

Hey, Myshkin57--
I couldn't agree more. One of my mantras to my students is "You can't speak or write more coherently than you think." Or, to put it another way, those who speak and/or write in nonsensical non sequiturs do so because their HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) aren't so hot. From what I've heard Palin say so far in 2 legitimate interviews, she would be earning a C- in my eleventh grade English class. But then, unlike many voters, I don't give politicians (or students) extra credit for being cutesy, folksy, colloquial, snarky, circuitous, ridiculous, or vacuous. Palin relies almost exclusively on PATHOS when giving an interview or speech; unfortunately for her, most independent swing voters care more about a candidate's LOGOS as well. As to her ETHOS, who cares that she's in favor of banning books, denying women the right to choose, charging women for their own rape kits, using her political position to fire underlings without proper cause, hiring a man who's been reprimanded for sexual harrassment, stonewalling official investigations, and building a 26 million dollar road to nowhere with federal money earmarked for building the bridge to nowhere? Thanks, but no thanks.

[SPiHC]

It's not as if Biden hasn't reviewed the tapes. It's really more a matter of style and substance.

Biden only has two valid avenues to go after Palin. Her incredibly thin/unimpressive biography & her far right fringe issue stances.

Anything else, and it'll be spun as over personal and inappropriate.

If you'd like a brief overview of Governor Palin's biography and issue stances, in contrast to Senator Clinton -- www.SarahPalinISNTHillaryClinton.com

[DonDavis]

Who Says Palin Doesn't Read? -- Sarah's Top 10 Newspapers/Magazines
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3632

[PT6]

LETS HOPE THE MODERATOR WILL "CALL HER ON THIS" EMPTY STUFF.

"IF I SHOULD BE SO BLESSED AS TO HAVE YOUR VOTE" CAN ONLY GO SO FAR!

[Progress08]

Gwen Ifil said to the KC Star.

"The biggest pressure you have as a journalist ever is to make sure you get an answer to your question," said Ifill, whose crowded resume includes The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC News. "That"s what I"m focusing on " how to ask questions that elicit answers instead of spin, or in this case to elicit engagement between the two."

This quote tells me that Ifill isn't going to let Palin give a non-answer. I believe Ifill won't let Palin off the hook at all. Of course the Republicans will say that Ifill was in the bag for Obama and that's why Biden looked good and Palin looked like a moose in the headlights.

[emily00011]

Let's hope she is better at this than Couric. All she gets from Sarah is a bunch of incoherent hot air.

[robXdion]

Katie is a softball Today Show alumnus. Plus she has a soft spot in her heart for women like Palin because she appointed herself to lead the "Sexism Police". Gwen Ifill is a hardened PRO. Katie isn't really in her league. She's just more well known.

[classicalmusicman]

I'm no fan of Katie Couric, but I thought she exposed Palin for what she is. And quickly. She got nothing but hot air because hot air was all there was to get. That's Palin's fault, not Couric's.

[Ramus]

Thanks for this comment from Gwen. This is very encouraging. She is not a gotcha kind of interviewer but if she wants real answers to real questions..it's a good omen.

[kellygrrrl]

Rove picks up the WHINE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6KDuy0rr-I

[gladys46]

"MorningHoe" (lol) attempted to make Ifill a subject of bias ... apparently Gwen has written a book about the rise of AAs in this country! Did ya see the Indian "monkey" !!??

[Sonny James]

Palin realized what Machiavelli did.

"People in general judge more from appearance than reality."

"All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration."


Unfortunately, the stakes are too high for Sarah this time.

Sooner or later, she will see what all hustlers do:

"No one fools all the people all the time."

[loax]

i'M still waiting for ANY answer to a question from her! I do not hope Gwen Iffel will not go easy on her. BTW, the one whining about her new book coming out in January is also about all the other African Americans that have moved to the forefront and making their way in Washington. The whining about her ability to be impartial is moot. She is too professional to allow that!

[atila]

i'm really si.ck of this woman,i respect her as a mother but please! she can't be a heart beat away from the most powerful job in the planet,now she admit that she is an "average joe six pack"! and we already know what does it means have some "joe six pack" for the last eight years...

[rinpochet]

As a mother myself, I don't respect her as a mother. I can understand that no matter how hard you educate them, young girls do become pregnant. The problem was that Palin then threw her on the international stage, announcing to the world that she was pregnant and unmarried!!! And that was to protect herself from the rumors that she was not the Down's baby's mother (Track?).

In other words, she threw her 17-year-old daughter under the bus!! Not my idea of a good mother.

[rustydarbonne]

Sarah Palin has already won tomorrow's debate. All she has to do is stand, breath, and string together a few well-rehearsed phrases, until the 90 seconds is up. She'll find this a lot easier than free-flowing interviews with Curic or Gibson. Plus, the David-vs-Goliath narrative has been firmly established and will be followed by plenty of post-debate spin already being manufactured by the likes of Hannity and Rove. And if the days after the debate bring too much unfavorable scrutiny, look for a major news story and/or a smear campaign againt Obama to divert attention from where it is not wanted.

[Paula1953]

Here's a link to a newspaper in Kansas City. It gives a little insight as to what we can expect from Ifill, in her own words.

http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/819201.html

[Progress08]

"The biggest pressure you have as a journalist ever is to make sure you get an answer to your question,” said Ifill, whose crowded resume includes The New York Times, The Washington Post and NBC News. “That’s what I’m focusing on — how to ask questions that elicit answers instead of spin, or in this case to elicit engagement between the two.”

This quote tells me that Ifill isn't going to let Palin give a non-answer. I believe Ifill won't let Palin off the hook at all. Of course the Republicans will say that Ifill was in the bag for Obama and that's why Biden looked good and Palin looked like a moose in the headlights.