The Veep Debate

Per Factcheck.org:

* Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to
“pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would
have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.

* Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a
controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.

* Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on
“families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in
question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a
family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000
a year.

* Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the
budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000
a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that
didn't address taxes at that income level.

* Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,” costing the
government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain's plan would
cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for
exact estimates.

* Biden wrongly claimed that McCain had said "he wouldn't even sit down" with
the government of Spain. Actually, McCain didn't reject a meeting, but simply
refused to commit himself one way or the other during an interview.

* Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax
increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand
business owners would see increases.

So you want the good news or the bad news? The good news is, the Veep debate doesn't really matter. These two aren't going to have anything to say about policy...unless McCain or Barack die. Which brings me to the bad news....

Here's my issue with both candidates. I don't think Palin knows what she's doing. Period. Her best detectable talent in politics is memorizing talking points and repeating them like a parrot...even when asked a follow up question...or a different question entirely for that matter.

With Biden, I can't tell if he knows what he's really talking about or not, because he says everything very convincingly, even if he's dead wrong. I've really tried to like him and I don't. Despite his short-comings, I think he definitely knows what he is talking about more than Sarah Palin.

My final take? Biden won the debate, Sarah exceeded expectations*, but slipped back into her usual self by the end (somewhere just before the "Shout Out"...Oye).










* Note: Most of us expected her to make no fewer than three (3) fart noises into the microphone as responses.