SOME OF IT LOOKS GOOD TO ME!! Wash Post reports Biden=Pain debate parameter

[trueblue2007]

Looks like they will be asked ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL....I think that is good. The more they will ask...they more Sarah the Pig will have a chance to slip up.
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Format of Biden-Palin Debate Sets No Limit on Subject Matter

By Robert G. Kaiser
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 21, 2008; Page A10

Negotiators for the campaigns of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama agreed yesterday on a format for the Oct. 2 debate between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., resolving an issue left open in August after the campaigns settled on the structure of the three presidential debates, according to sources involved in the talks.

Under the plan agreed to yesterday, Palin and Biden will have less time than McCain and Obama to reply to moderators' questions and discuss each other's answers. And there will be no guidelines given to Gwen Ifill of PBS, moderator of the vice presidential debate, as to subject matter, allowing her to mix in questions about foreign and domestic matters, the sources said.

Both sides were satisfied with the final agreement, the sources said. The Commission on Presidential Debates, the independent nonprofit organization that manages these quadrennial events, had hoped the campaigns would agree to the same longer segments for the vice presidential aspirants as those adopted in August for the presidential debates.

In the negotiations, Republicans wanted to limit the amount of time available for their neophyte candidate, Palin, to be questioned on a single topic. Democrats, meanwhile, wanted to be sure Biden and Palin spoke from lecterns rather than sitting at a table the way Vice President Cheney and his rivals in 2000 (Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut) and 2004 (Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina) did. Both sides got what they wanted. Palin and Biden will each have 90 seconds to respond to questions, followed by a two-minute period for discussion between the candidates.

<snip>

The same possibility will exist in the format agreed to yesterday for the Biden-Palin debate, but there will be less time available for such back and forth on each question. Ifill said Friday that she was satisfied with the five-minute segments.

The Democrats' desire to put the vice presidential candidates behind podiums grew out of the 2000 and 2004 vice presidential debates, when the candidates sat close to each other behind the same table. Cheney had the upper hand in both debates, said several Democrats involved in the debate process, in part because the setting made it difficult -- if not impossible -- for Lieberman and Edwards to go after Cheney aggressively. Whether that was because of the setting or because the two Democrats wanted to avoid confrontation is a matter still disputed by participants.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092001992.html

[InternalDialogue]

1. Good and (not so) bad

The (not so) bad first: "Palin and Biden will each have 90 seconds to respond to questions..."

My guess, they're schooling Palin right now on how to eat up as much of that as possible without getting to any answer -- she'll dodge the bullet, but maybe look incredibly vapid doing it.

The good: "...followed by a two-minute period for discussion between the candidates."

This is where it will get fun.

[trueblue2007]

3. Yeah....this is where JOE will nail her.

[MirrorAshes]

2. If the primary debates taught us anything... its that the rules were meant to be broken anyway.

I have a feeling if Biden has something to say, he's gonna say it.

[Window]

4. Yep, me too.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. The format helps Biden!

This debate format will be most beneficial to Biden who often has a habit of talking too much. This will allow him to practice with Gov. Granholm how to give short and concise answers. Think about it: the short answers will save time for more questions. The more questions there are, the more time will be left to see how much The Puppet knows.

I may be the only one who is not upset with this decision because I think it helps the Obama team more. The Democrats--and this includes both Obama and Biden--suffer in debates because they give too nuanced, long-winded responses to questions. The average American voter does not understand the nuance of policies or governance. Sadly, this typically hurts Dems and benefits Republicans who have mastered the art of short sound bites and colorful language.

Remember, the Republicans often win because they try to appeal to our emotions, using fear, anger, or highly sensitive subject matter like gays, guns and abortion. The Dems tend to make the false assumption that voters think intelligently and will thus be up on the issues. Americans are not like that. They want short, easy-to-understand answers, nothing too deep. Gore, Kerry and now Obama suffer because they are often accused of being too "cerebral" or too "professorial." If Obama can work on short, precise answers to questions and provide quick responses or solutions to problems, he will win this debate.

Rest assured, both McCain and Palin will use the following words over and over again for effect: victory, win, fight, security, enemies, extremists, democracy, raising taxes, spending, country first, threats, killers, freedom, we must act, etc.

Spread the word. Let the media tell voters how they had to dumb the debate down for her because she is "inexperienced." But at the same time, this will be an opportunity moment for Biden to work on dumbing down the answers himself so that the average American can understand.

[Top Cat]

6. Joe will do her in her non experience will show