McCain Campaign So Concerned about Palin, They’ve Forgotten about Joe

/in /by

The McPalin campaign warns Gwen Ifill they believe it would be unfair of her to hammer foreign policy questions during Thursday’s VP debate.

The moderator will have some questions to answer themselves if they do go so heavily foreign policy.

Not only is this another pathetic example of McPalin trying to play the ref, not only are they forgetting that Palin has been no whiz on domestic policy issues either, but they’re forgetting that Joe Biden is, himself, quite accomplished on domestic policy issues.

Consider the law of which Biden is most proud: the Violence Against Women Act, a law that, among other things, uses federal dollars to coerce states into making localities–like Sarah Palin’s Wasilla–pick up the tab for rape kits. Not to mention made it a lot easier for women to leave abusive relationships and cops to prosecute such abuse.

Or what about the COPS program, which tried to make policing more effective? Given Palin’s current and past problems with law enforcement in her state, Biden’s proactive efforts to improve policing make her look like a thug by comparison.

Or how about Biden’s recent work to make college more affordable–an issue that many of the still-undecided swing voters may value highly? 

Frankly, I’m sort of glad they’ve got Palin sequestered at McCain’s "ranch" cramming about foreign policy. It leaves them unprepared and vulnerable on areas that are just as much Biden’s strength as foreign policy is.

And those areas, particularly this year, are going to sway undecideds more than foreign policy will. 

Update: Meanwhile, the bulldog in lipstick is talking some trash:

“And I do look forward to Thursday night, and debating Senator Joe Biden,’’ said Ms. Palin, whose uneven performance in interviews and unscripted events have sown seeds of doubt in recent days among some conservative commentators who support her.

“I’m looking forward to meeting him, too,’’ she said. “I’ve never met him before, but I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade.’’

“I have to admit, though, he’s a great debater, and he looks pretty doggone confident, like he’s sure he’s going to win,’’ Ms. Palin, 44, said of Mr. Biden, 65. “But then again, this is the same Senator Biden who said the other day that University of Delaware would trounce the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wrong!”

Someone ought to remind Palin that CSPAN didn’t start until 1979, when she was in ninth grade, and the congressional focus not until 1986, when she was 22, so her attempt to call attention to Biden’s age–like just about everything else that comes out of her mouth–is almost certainly false.  Not to mention her clear indifference to federal policy makes it completely unbelievable she was a congressional speech wonk at the age of 7.

Nice try though.

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  1. Leen says:

    I was wondering if the Biden campaign will have Tina Fey spar with Biden in preparation for the debate. Maybe the McCain campaign could ask Tina to play Palin during the debate. I bet Tina knows more about foreign policy. I bet Tina Fey knows more than Palin about everything.

  3. JohnLopresti says:

    I would ask Palin whether she believes the bank failures will impact natural resource development enterprise activities in AK much. She has a disconnect between environment disregard and global monetary systems, would be my guess. And on the international topic, which seems to be where my interest resides in examining her official credentials, I wonder how much of the neocon plank of prosecution of wars of aggression to change the world order is intended by her trainers to be part of her own personal politics if she elevates to a national leadership post. In sum, I would ask if she thinks it worth a few more wars to extract more petroproducts while repressing pockets of resistance overseas and haphazardly digging for more within territorial US irrespective of environmental consequences. I suspect she is more aligned with Biden than she imagines at first impression on social wellbeing matters. But the polemics should be funny when they meet in the lists for tourney.

    • Leen says:

      She has all ready repeated the inaccurate and inflammatory rhetoric about Iran that the right wing radicals have trained her to do! She is a walking talking dangerous G.I. Jane.

  4. emptywheel says:

    Jennifer Granholm is standing in for Palin during debate prep, an inspired choice IMO.

    Not only is Granholm every bit as charismatic as Palin, not only is she also a former beauty queen, but she’s faced some of teh same family issues while governing.

    Granted, Granholm is tons smarter than Palin, but she’ll kick Biden’s ass but good to prepare him for the debate.

  8. skdadl says:

    Biden also sounds real when he talks about working people. Palin sounds faux-folksy, which Tina Fey captures perfectly. (Biden calls workers “middle class,” which I guess he has to do — and nothing against the middle class, but us old labour types up here are searching for better terms.)

    I can’t think of anything Biden can’t do, actually. He can do anger; he can do fact; and he can do disarming smiles at just the right moment. He’s obviously a guy very comfortable in his own skin, and he has sounded very cheerful this week. Palin has a kind of preternatural confidence even while spouting nonsense, but it’s not the same thing.

    And to be warning Ifill — the noive.

        • scribe says:

          So what that the Dow is dropping. The fact of the matter is, (no punning or comedy here) the fundamentals of the economy are dictating that the markets will drop to a certain point. No one knows exactly where that point is but, for the purposes of my comment, it doesn’t matter. That point is where people decide that the stocks and bonds are worth more than the market has priced them at, and they decide to buy.

          But, more importantly, the market will continue to go down until it reaches that point. In the meantime, we can pump all the money in the world at it, and it won’t make a bit of difference. It’s going to go down, and continue until it reaches a fair valuation. Throwing money at it – in a bailout or otherwise – is throwing money away.

        • Ishmael says:

          Agreed about the stock market – is is possible that while the drama continues, there is essentially a “slow motion” bailout going on, as the major banks shore up their capital bases by acquiring failed banks with substantial deposit bases such as Wachovia and WaMu? I’m with Krugman on this, a credit crunch is nothing to be playing chicken with, but there does seem to be a rational market response, shored up by responsible FDIC action.

  14. Neil says:

    Biden needs to be the grownup in the room debating Palin, the same way Obama was the grownup.

    If you were the McPalin campaign, how would you play to your candidates strengths?

    • skdadl says:

      I hope they don’t tell him to rein back the smiles, though. That smile really works on an important demographic group, the upper cohort of boomer women. There are a lot of us. Fear us.

  16. brendanx says:

    Palin is on her chosen turf talking about domestic issues and the economy. She gets it:

    But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—it’s got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we’ve got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we’ve got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that

    Particularly the connection between the bailout and health care reform, which most of us eggheads have missed.

  17. radiofreewill says:

    Imagine you’re in the Ring – shakin’ out your muscles and staying warm – when the ropes part across from you, and…

    …an Imposter in gym trunks, an up-do and striped white socks steps thru and starts talkin’ trash.

    Except Political Debates aren’t a spectacle like NASCAR – rather, they’re a Blood Sport without the Blood.

    On Thursday Night, We aren’t fighting to Win the Women vote – Obama won that Friday night – 60% of All Women chose Barack.

    No, what we’re fighting for is the Conservative-but-not-Rich White Male vote – the last 20% segment still in play – but only because that demographic hasn’t given Palin any thought beyond photo-shopped bikini pictures.

    Biden should be delivering shot after shot on Issues that matter – Really Matter – to guys in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida – standing-up for Jobs, Healthcare and Safe Retirements.

    He ought to snap her head back with a few thematic jabs like ‘imposter’, ‘liar’ and ‘ambitious’, while driving home massive factual body shots into her lack of character qualification for the Vice-Presidency.

    She cuts easy and is prone to getting imbalanced. She should be susceptible to a clock-cleaning counter-punch.

    After the Beatdown Clinic Biden gives the Wolf Shooter on Thursday, it won’t even be close when we go to the cards on Nov. 4th.

    The Goopers have lost their minds betting the farm on Sarah – they must just want it to be…

    …eight!…nine!…ten!…It’s ovah!

    Ding! Ding! Ding!

  18. freepatriot says:

    wile e mcsame is off the cliff, holdin the sign

    now comes the fall

    and princess pandora has her comin out party thursday

    and to all the people sending “comin out” gifts, if you’re sendin road kill, make sure you use an appropriate contained, no buckets this time please …