Monday, October 6, 2008

Palin during the Vice President Debate

I know a lot has been said about Senator Palin, so I thought I throw my two cents into the mix.

Many people were expecting Palin to crash and burn last Thursday at the Vice Presidential debate. Some believe that the fact she showed up and opened her mouth and didn’t say things like rape/incest victims should have their babies or they are murderers and/or pay for their own rape kits, she would be a success. She was far from successful.

Palin believes that a stage=beauty pageant. Her “knowing” smiles and winks to the camera were pretty disrespectful given the serious nature of the debate. Instead of using world peace as a catch phrase, she would use words like Maverick, hockey/soccer moms, and Joe-six pack. Her shout outs also made the debate seem more like the MTV music awards.

The most disrespectful statement she made during the debate was the “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.” We can forget everything else she has said and done and only focus on this statement. Anyone who was giving Palin any slack should now realize she truly does not know anything. She refused to answer the questions in the correct manner (breaking the rules mind you) because she couldn’t. She claimed she wanted to speak to the American people, but the reality of the situation is she could only speak on the material fed to her. The more specific the questions got, the more general she spoke. She could not deviate from her script or it would have been the Katie Couric disaster all over again. People think she sounded more “on her game” this debate, but had she actually answered the questions correct, she might have sounded more like her previous interviews.

Her stance on being a “normal” person just like us scares me. Call me crazy, but I want the next (Vice) President to know more than the average Joe or soccer mom. I want other countries to take the U.S seriously. I want our leaders to be well versed and knowledgeable about important matters. I don’t want our leaders to get their information from the same new sources as I do. I want our leaders to be smarter than me and the girl next door. It is great you think you can connect with me on how you came from nothing, but wanting to help soccer moms and claiming to still think like one is not acceptable.

Biden should have called Palin out on her avoiding the questions, as should have the moderator. Perhaps they thought Americans could see her flaws. But Biden did not want to come off like a bully, picking on the poor hockey mom from Alaska. Ignoring her obvious scripted answers and trying to showcase his own view point was a smart/safe move. The moderator forgot the American people tend to be swayed by a pretty face and a sad back story.

I actually think all politicians are seriously flaws and there are much better people out there for the position. They are liars and tell us what we want to hear. We vote for the person we hate the least. McCain made a mistake picking a woman based on likeability and/or based on the fact she is a woman. Candidates should choose their running mates based on their knowledge of political matters and their plans to make to better the future. Palin might have made a good home town mayor, but she is not the person who should lead our country.Palin on the ticket makes me think that McCain cannot make correct decisions regarding our country. Hopefully, this will open other people’s eyes and help them pick the “lesser of two evils” person for the job.

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