Saturday, September 20, 2008

Ready to Lead Debate on Day One

Okay, not that either.

In reaction, August J. Pollak makes Nerf a verb.

I approve.

Posted by bjkeefe at 10:29 PM
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can the Republicans get away with this kind of stuff? Is this true? How can they have the nerve to simply keep modifying everything to protect this woman's incompetence?

Unbelievable...

11:21 PM, September 20, 2008
bjkeefe said...

In a word: groundwork.

They've spent decades conditioning the media and the public on many things. They have cowed everybody by making so many outrageous statements and demands that nothing they ask anymore is really surprising, and even the slightest movement by them away from their opening statement is seen by too many as a sign of them "moderating."

Second, they have conditioned many in the electorate to resent "elites," meaning the media or anybody who's smart enough to call a dimwit a dimwit.

In this case, though, it's probably not that big a deal. There was no way Palin was going to come out of this debate looking bad. Expectations have already been so lowered for her that as long as she doesn't fall on the floor speaking in tongues she'll be proclaimed, at minimum, as having "held her own."

The restriction on candidates exchanging directly may even work to Biden's favor. Think of how Palin looked foolish when Charlie Gibson asked her a straightforward question, yet how well the GOP was able to spin this as him playing "gotcha" and "grilling her like an Ivy League professor." This worked with the GOP base, and probably a few undecideds.

It did not at all work with those of us in the reality-based community, of course, but then, Palin is already decided in our minds.

But back to Biden -- if he were to get off some good lines, even without being cruel or cocky or whatever, that called out Palin for the unprepared and closed-minded person that she is, there would still be wingnuts screaming "Foul!" and plenty of "balanced" journalists willing to repeat their talking points.

Really, from the first time that I thought about the VP debate, my sense was that the best we could do on this one is hope to break even, or maybe at most, pick up just a tiny bit of advantage among undecideds.

But your questions were probably rhetorical, so I apologize for going on at length.

11:51 PM, September 20, 2008
Anonymous said...

Nothing to apologize about and thanks for the response. I think that we are all running into the same puzzling reality, which is so intrinsically irrational that there will never be enough words to explain it or denounce it.

However, I'm not so convinced that Palin will come out looking well in the debate.

12:04 AM, September 21, 2008
bjkeefe said...

When you say that you don't think Palin will come out looking well, do you mean according to your estimation, or do you mean that you think there's a good chance that she will do so poorly that it will cause further downward movement in her approval ratings?

12:17 AM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

Did you know that the Green Hornet's sidekick was originally "Kato" a Japanese, but during WWII the Japanese were so unpopular that they morphed Kato into a Phillipino and always introduced him on the radio show as "the honorable Mr. so and so. I can't remember this name any more. Why put this off topic comment in here?... it's one of the comments between the main comments on the blog about both directing and playing the part of Kato.

1:40 AM, September 21, 2008
bjkeefe said...

Heh, yes, I saw that. (I hate blogs that don't have one post per page for linking purposes.)

I always thought Kato was Chinese, but that's because I was big Bruce Lee fan. Truth is, not only did I never read any of the comic books, I never saw the TV show, either. Except for maybe two guest appearances by the GH and K on Batman, the only Kato character I've ever seen is the one in the Pink Panther movies.

So, no, I didn't know that about Kato's identity. Thanks for sharing.

1:50 AM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

Going back to Palin in the debate. There will be a group of people that are going to be impervious to anything that can be said. For them the debate will not make a difference and they might as well skip it altogether. These people have already made up their minds about who to vote. They belong to both parties. I am one of them.

And then there are people in between. My case is that Palin will do badly enough that some of the undecided will lean towards the Dems. If Biden does a good job, the same people may actually decide their vote.

The big question will be the Presidential debate. McCain is very artful in his tricks.

10:01 AM, September 21, 2008
bjkeefe said...

I think you're right about Palin, although there probably are some who will turn in because they're fans, and a few of those could have their eyes opened if she continues to sound like a parrot. (It's also possible, I suppose, that she could win over a few who start out by leaning against her.) But, to first and second approximations, I think your prediction is sound.

I agree that the presidential debates are much more important. I am less concerned here about McCain's trickery than I am about Obama's sometimes limited ability to deliver snappy answers. When your opponent is spouting slogans, you've got to be able to respond in kind. You can't rebut "Drill, baby, drill" with an essay answer, especially not in the sort of forum that our presidential debates have become.

I'm pretty sure Obama has locked up at least 80% of all voters who appreciate nuanced answers, so I hope he is practicing some other styles of response as well.

1:18 PM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

Do you think the Democratic party would allow the two of us to meet with Obama for a day and give him a crash course on "smart thoughtful brief snappy responses"?

No, seriously, he needs to reduce his reaction time and come up with concise but firm responses. I think the irrationality of the interlocutor throws Obama off and for a moment doesn't know how to respond. He needs to learn a few rapid stereotypical responses while he figures the substance that will follow.

7:37 PM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

Evil me came up with an answer that Obama should direct to McCain each time he comes up with one of his irrational ideas:

With a calm voice and a smile Obama should say: "Ahhh, that's what a captain would do... But an Admiral would....blah, blah, blah,...."

Oh, well, what the heck! He deserves it!

7:47 PM, September 21, 2008
bjkeefe said...

Delicious!

He would, of course, be crucified if he said such a thing.

7:55 PM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

I know...

But, "delicious?"

I thought the word is used for tasty food or some other sensually pleasurable stimuli of sorts... not for intellectual satisfaction.

Are you sure you used it appropriately or was that a "slip of the tongue"? :)

8:02 PM, September 21, 2008
bjkeefe said...

No, I meant what I said. Delicious can be used in this sense. There is a sense of savoring in appreciating a remark like the one you suggested for Obama.

Perhaps one way to see this is to realize that Andrew Sullivan's blog is called "The Daily Dish." Here, dish embraces a combination of gossip that delights, as well as the way of relating the anecdote.

9:27 PM, September 21, 2008
Anonymous said...

I had no idea! Thank you for the explanation.

But, let me point out, it would have been waaaay more interesting if it had been a slip of the tongue...

Hey! It's Sunday. I've got to work tomorrow. I've got to do something entertaining, like bothering people...

9:39 PM, September 21, 2008

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