6 - Vice Presidential Debate

Well the vice presidential debate is over so here are my reactions to it. In short, Joe did better, I still don’t like Palin. I feel this way mostly because Palin didn’t answer questions. However, considering how terrible she did in her interviews this was a very nice performance for her. I think that most of the media and possibly some “swing” voters will find this debate to be a draw because of that.

Now for a bit more of the long answer stuff. I’m just going to start out with the whole, not answering questions thing. Now, don’t misunderstand, Joe Biden did a little question dodging stuff as well as both presidential candidates did in the first debate, but nothing to the extent that Palin did. I think it was about 20 minutes in, during the question about deregulation of the banks and who should be at fault for the crisis, that Palin said something I couldn’t believe. Here is what she is responding to for some context to:

BIDEN: The charge is absolutely not true. Barack Obama did not vote to raise taxes. The vote she's referring to, John McCain voted the exact same way. It was a budget procedural vote. John McCain voted the same way. It did not raise taxes. Number two, using the standard that the governor uses, John McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. It's a bogus standard it but if you notice, Gwen, the governor did not answer the question about deregulation, did not answer the question of defending John McCain about not going along with the deregulation, letting Wall Street run wild. He did support deregulation almost across the board. That's why we got into so much trouble.

IFILL: Would you like to have an opportunity to answer that before we move on?

PALIN: I'm still on the tax thing because I want to correct you on that again. And I want to let you know what I did as a mayor and as a governor. 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. As mayor, every year I was in office I did reduce taxes. I eliminated personal property taxes and eliminated small business inventory taxes and as governor we suspended our state fuel tax. We did all of those things knowing that that is how our economy would be heated up. Now, as for John McCain's adherence to rules and regulations and pushing for even harder and tougher regulations, that is another thing that he is known for though. Look at the tobacco industry. Look at campaign finance reform.

I put what I thought was so amazing in italics. When called out about not answering the question she pretty much said, “I’m not going to answer the questions asked in this debate.” There are the lies in that block of text about how McCain pushed for regulation even though he is a big deregulation conservative, but I was expecting shit like that. To just flat out not answer the question and say you aren’t is ridiculous.

Of course she made other mistakes, mostly in stuff involving Iraq. Like saying “And with the surge that has worked we're now down to presurge numbers in Iraq.” Which is wrong, they have brought some troops back since the surge but we still have a larger number of soldiers there then before the surge happened. And “You guys opposed the surge. The surge worked. Barack Obama still can't admit the surge works.” Which is also wrong, something like 2 or 3 weeks ago Obama admit that the surge had worked beyond what could have been anticipated.

However the other big point in the debate was about them, and about the role of vice president. It was about the job of being vice president and how they felt about Dick Cheney’s interpretation of what the vice president is. You know what, I’m just going to put the direct transcript of what was said during that part here.

IFILL: Governor, you mentioned a moment ago the constitution might give the vice president more power than it has in the past. Do you believe as Vice President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the vice presidency, that it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?

PALIN: Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation. And it is my executive experience that is partly to be attributed to my pick as V.P. with McCain, not only as a governor, but earlier on as a mayor, as an oil and gas regulator, as a business owner. It is those years of experience on an executive level that will be put to good use in the White House also.

IFILL: Vice President Cheney's interpretation of the vice presidency?

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. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

Damn right Joe Biden. This was the real turning point for me. This question is when I truly felt that Joe Biden was the solid winner of this debate. The constitution is what this country is founded on. And there is NOTHING more patriotic then defending the what the constitution says, and following its directions on what each job is and how each section of the government is run.

Ok I’m done with the debate, but I do have one last thing I want to mention. This senate vote on the bailout bill thing that happened. Now see, things involving money are supposed to originate in the congress, and the congress voted down the last bailout bill and hasn’t voted on this one. So what the hell just happened? Why did the senate vote on any kind of legislation involving this money stuff? Does the constitution say that it must originate in the congress? Well hopefully I can find some answers to that stuff soon. That is all for tonight though.