The debate from this point of view ...

[Point_n_click]

Before I get into this let me acknowledge some bias in that I am an Obama supporter and remain so. In fact I donated yesterday and plan to do so again tomorrow.

Plusses and minuses for Joe Biden:

He looked tired to me. A little bit road weary. Could have been a bad make-up job or maybe he is feeling a little run down. Health is always a factor that colors how people perceive candidates in a debate. Minus.

He seemed a little annoyed as if he was biting back comments he knew would be dead on, but would be easily twisted by the opposition. That look of annoyance wasn't constant fortunately, but still noticeable. Minus

He remained focused on the message that McCain and Palin weren't showing how they were going to do anything different from Bush. Plus

He took away Palin's family as a prop when he spoke of his personal loss showing that he knows full well what family means. Plus

Joe missed an opportunity to take the sting out of Palin's accusations about him tearing down Obama on experience, etc by not pointing out that over the course of the primary campaign and up till now Obama proved Joe wrong about his initial opinions and he has come to admire Obama. Minus for missing that chance to pull out the stinger of that particular hornet.

Biden answered every one of the moderator questions and even made time to point out some falsehoods in Palin's attacks. Plus

His overall command of the facts was evident and his passion shone through when he was speaking on the topics that really motivate him. Plus

He hammered the economy and the gaffe about Spain to point out how out of touch McCain is on these critical topics. Plus.

Joe also made sure to point out exactly how limited of a role the Veep has as laid out by the Constitution right after Paliin said she would push for expanded power as veep. Plus

Now for Palin:

She refused to answer the prepared debate questions put forth by the moderator. Minus and Plus from a debate presentation point of view (if you avoid the question you might avoid the evidence of your ineptitude)

As I watched this debate and the way Palin was presenting herself I found myself having a deep visceral reaction that I had to force myself to try and fairly analyze. Since I already dislike the lies she's told, and I dislike McCain for those reasons too I decided it was time to put those aside and try to look just at the performance to find out why I wanted to get away from her far and fast.

It wasn't fear since I don't think of her as a physical threat so that got ruled out.

I paused and watched the body language because that is where everything was screaming that something was very wrong. When parsed along with the grating tonality of her vocal inflections it started coming into clarity. Sure enough I found my answer:

She was coming off as a pushy, condescending, clueless-know-it-all, smarmy, snake oil salesman. Did I say smarmy? Let me reiterate ... S M A R M Y

The winks and head shakes at inappropriate times, the leaning toward Biden while raising herself up on the balls of her feet while tilting her head downward like a mother scolding an idiot child.

I've never been able to tolerate people who present themselves in that fashion. My gut reaction is always "this person is up to no good".

This proved itself out throughout the debate, but came into stark focus when she blatantly said she would grab more power if put in office. My, how like Italian Fascist dictator during WW2, Benito Musellini, McCain's Moosellini is proving to be.

It also sickened me how she totally ignored showing any sympathy for Senator Biden when he expressed the depth of his own personal loss and instead dove back into her snake oil pitch. Where's the compassion? Hello? Is there a soul in that shell?

I could go on, but I know this won't change the minds of those predisposed to vote against their own best interests who troll these boards to see what the libruls are saying. I leave it for those who watched and couldn't quite place why they felt the urge to throw up in their mouths to see and recognize the why of it.

[amitten]

1. Agreed. She came across like a used-car salesman. n/t