With Palin, Good Coaching Can Only Go So Far -

But It Can't Overshadow Reality

I'm going out on a limb here, because I'm going to let my personal impressions override the debate material.

1st impression: Palin was coached very well. She faltered several times on ideas and kept trying to change back to the talking points she was coached on. That will be pointed out ad nauseum by bloggers everywhere. She was more confident because she had been coached. Whoever coached her knew which points to cover. She was drilled time and again on these points and told never to waiver from them. Every time that she did, she went into "my-family-hockey-mom" mode.

Unfortunately, that didn't hit middle America ("heartland") as much as it should have. Whatever she says about the middle class, she somehow falls short of describing herself as such.

As I noted in a previous post: neither candidate were given the chance to talk about inner city problems. It was fortuitous for Palin, because she knows absolutely nothing about inner city strife. The inner city votes should go heavily for Obama.

2nd impression: as one journalist put it in the CNN post debate discussion: Joe Biden gave the debate of his life. He was up on facts and figures and kept hammering away at the possibility of no change with a McCain/Palin ticket. The impression that the analysts caught most was that Biden had restraint. I take that to mean that he could have hammered at issues in a more strident way than he did.

Standout points:

Biden: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch.

Brave Sarah:. And I may not answer the questions that either the moderator or you want to hear, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record also. First of all, Sarah, your answer was ungrammatical: are the questions or the answers the things we don't want to hear? And it's very brave for you to state that you wouldn't be answering some questions or avoiding others. I salute your bravery here. But it makes you look a bit silly. You could have phrased it differently.

Biden: "So you're going to have to place -- replace a $12,000 plan with a $5,000 check you just give to the insurance company. I call that the "Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere." Wow! What a punch! Biden covered several pieces of ground with that one and it's sure to be quoted often.

Palin: John McCain has been the consummate maverick in the Senate over all these years. The maverick thing has been floated way too much lately, and it's too easy to disprove. BTW: did Palin say the name "Republican Party" at all? This is called "uberdistancing"

Palin: Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq.This is sure to go big with the "Kill 'em all!" die-hard single-wide trailer residents out there. She probably clinch the NRA on it (if it was ever in doubt).

PALIN: No and Dr. Henry Kissinger especially. I had a good conversation with him recently. And he shared with me his passion for diplomacy. And that's what John McCain and I would engage in also. But again, with some of these dictators who hate America and hate what we stand for, with our freedoms, our democracy, our tolerance, our respect for women's rights, those who would try to destroy what we stand for...aaaA "good conversation with him"? Huh? "passion for diplomacy"?? Is she trying to sound like she's a BETTER Barack Obama? And the flag-waving seemed to go on and on. She really did sound a lot like "The President Who Shall Remain Nameless."(PWSRN)

Biden: Look, past is prologue, Gwen. The issue is, how different is John McCain's policy going to be than George Bush's? I haven't heard anything yet. (Shock! He mentioned the PWSRN!)

In a sense, the above comment of Biden's is the soul of the Democrat's campaign. Unfrotunately for Republicans, it fits. So much so that even Republicans don't say the words "Bush" or "Republican."

PAST IS PROLOGUE.

Just a thought.

What WASN'T Said By Palin: "Bush" or "Republican" As Well As A Host Of Other Things

What Wasn't Said Is Just As Important!

As I've posted before, the subject of RACE never came up in last night's debate. The subject of POVERTY didn't come up, either. Neither did the candidates embrace CRIME nor even ABORTION. The only domestic issues considered were: energy, "gay marriage", and the economy. Reading between Palin's lines was a daunting task, but one that was necessary. You had to get past the "hockey mom/tolerantly diverse family" stuff to REALLY hear what she was prepared to say. And two words that were absent from Palin: "Bush" and "Republican". Palin is being backed by THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. She could have at least mentioned it once!


Not Mentioned
but certainly understood

She didn't.

She took Biden to task for looking to past mistakes, but Biden said it best in response: "Past is Prologue."

Oddly, if you look at the hard word count (I have), "change" is mentioned by Palin only several times. It's mentioned more by Biden. And her phraseology was definitely tutored (as well as tortured).

On Gay Marriage:

"But in that tolerance also, no one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed, negotiated between parties."

Huh? "Visitations" are not the same thing as automatic power of attorney. "Contracts" are not the same thing as valid commitments that ensure couples of all the benefits of "marriage." They are certainly not the same thing as a legal document being recognized by all states. There are definitely cracks in Palin's "tolerance."

And then we have: "Passion for diplomacy" followed by a big BUT! that wound up to be "If they hate us, we hate them! Naa na na naa naa (make rude face, put tumbs in ears and wiggle fingers). Maybe Kissinger gave her that last part as a diplomacy tip.

Words, words, words. They matter. They matter when they ARE NOT stated or stated enough. I've gone to the site Wordle.com to help me consider what words were said and which ones weren't. I made two "wordles" or graphics depending on how many times a word is said. Both "wordles" have 160 of the most mentioned words. See for yourself. Look to see what/who was mentioned and how many times. BUT: make your own list of important words and see if they were ever mentioned significantly in either Palin's or Biden's responses.

You'll be surprised.

Click on each icon to see the entire "wordle".

Here's the Wordle about Palin's side of the debate.



Here's a Wordle about Biden's side: