For Republicans to celebrate with the rallying cry: "She didn't fuck up!" is more than a little sad. Last night was the Senator from Delaware vs. the Governor from Stepford. She grinned like an idiot. Trotted out the folksy, aw shucks bullshit. It was all false and contrived. From her initial handshake, she was simply following orders. All she was missing was a moonshine jug, washboard, and overalls.
She tried to land that same talking point about Obama voting to raise taxes on people making 42k. Every time she or McCain tries it the other side beats it back. But they don't stop. Repeat a lie often enough, it'll get legs.
She yanked out that "negotiating with our enemies without preconditions" as if it was tantamount to treason, though no one bothers to define what that means. In terms of negotiating with enemies, I'm surprised Biden didn't mention that Condi Rice recently sat down with Khadafi, the Saddam of his day, without the precondition of having him pay reparations to the families who lost loved ones in Locherbie.
Another snide comment that didn't even draw flack when she characterized Obama's tax plan as a "redistribution of wealth." Unless I'm wrong, wasn't that Side 1 Cut 1 on the Greatest Hits of Karl Marx album? Was that a shout out to the lunatic fringe, Michigan militia types?
And talking about pulling out of Iraq as "the white flag of surrender" is just jingoistic nonsense. I wish he'd called her on a naive interpretation of a complex issue. Somehow we have to get beyond the "winning and losing" mentality if we're going to have an intelligent, informed discussion. It's not WWII. But they must figure it's red meat for the base.
She followed her instructions not to answer a question she didn't want to answer. Just spit back talking points. Though noticeable by their absence: no "no thanks on the Bridge to Nowhere." No "sold the plane on Ebay." Meet the new lies, same as the old lies. I was glad Biden tried to debunk that Maverick bullshit. Where do you get the balls to refer to yourself as a "maverick" unless you're James Garner and played one on TV?
I thought it was very telling that when she went to her party rally afterward, she initiated the "U.S.A! U.S.A!" chant. When in doubt, wave the flag and get the Nuremberg mentality going. It allows you to speak without saying anything.
In all, she was just an actress off-book. She had no business being on the same stage with Biden, nor criticizing Obama. She was outclassed, and outgunned, intellectually. When Biden spoke, he spoke from experience. He had facts because he knows them and understands them. She regurgitated talking points and flashed that moronic grin because that's what she was programmed to do in the Republican lab where she was created. She's still the Miss Alaska contestant giving her "how I would make the world a better place" speech. She is Bush with lipstick and, so far, it seems the public isn't buying the bullshit. Though what is truly frightening about her is that she knows her limitations and still thinks it's possible to ride pat phrases, oily grins and outright lies into the 2nd most powerful job in the world.