The upside of sexism
Joe Biden will have to debate Sarah Palin with one arm tied behind his back because… well, she’s a girl. The New York Times has the story.
At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.
Are you kidding me? Has this ever happened before? Can you imagine these rules being put in place when Dan Quayle debated Lloyd Bentsen? Of course not. Can you imagine them changing the rules of this debate if Sarah Palin was Sam Palin? Again, of course not. Why? Because it would be viewed as a sign of weakness. Know what? It is a sign of weakness.
So the next time a man claims that a woman is not capable of being President, or strong enough to deal with the demands of a job, or doesn’t deserve equal pay for equal work they’ll have evidence to back up their claim.
Tags: 2008 Presidential, John McCain, Not Ready, Sarah Palin
Biden’s command of the facts gives him an unfair advantage.
More bar lowering from the GOP. Palin will have to have a catatonic seizure for the press to report anything other than her great success.
IOKIYAR..liburhul media my ass!
Yeah, God forbid you should be able to get up and debate with someone WHEN YOU WANT TO BE THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED F*$&^ING STATES.
This is pathetic. If she’s not ready to DEBATE, she’s not ready to be vice president.
Get back in the kitchen and cook me up a mooseburger, sweetheart (sorry, couldn’t resist… she brought that one on herself).
Palin is a joke, and anyone defending this change in debate format is an idiot.
Personally, I expect complete silence from McCain/Palin supporters.
Every presidential debate format is the result of negotiations between the campaigns.
They cover every detail down to the shape of the podiums and the color of the backdrop.
I don’t remember you-all squeeling with outrage because Obama wouldn’t participate in “town hall style debates” with McCain.
The debates in question are the Commission on Presidential debates formal ones. The Town Hall ones were a stunt — especially since the Obama Camp did suggest an alternative number (5 or 6) including the upcoming debates that the McCain folks rejected. You’d think that if all of this face time was really important, then McCain’s people would have taken what ever additional debates they could get.
The problem with making the Biden/Palin debates easier (besides pandering to the girls can’t play by the same rules BS) is that it 1) starts the press grading on a curve now (unless there is a big effort to bully them into another posture) and 2) it will look more like an oral exam than a real debate.
I’d bet there are alot of political women on both sides who are plenty pissed about this.
Girls should NOT have to play BY THE SAME RULZ!!!
This country was BETTER OFF when everyone agreed WITH THE BIBLE that WOMEN ARE WEAKER and STUPEDER than men.
Agreed, Monkey.
If the Founding Fathers thought women were smart enough for politics, they would have given them the right to vote.
Sounds like a great compromise–protects Palin from having to say too much, and Biden from habitually saying too much.
“Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
I Timothy 2:11-14
I doubt if 90% of Americans care or know much about the debates or if they will sway many voters unless something monumental happens.
One simple reason why? These events are not debates, they are media events full of spin and posturing.
The World Series will get more coverage and attention.
Translation of Mike Protack’s response: “I really hope no-one bothers to watch the debate because if they realize just how annoying Palin’s voice and accent are they may vote Obama simply to not have to listen to her for four years.”
Look she just keeps repeating the same lies over and over. The sad part is most people believe them.
“Biden’s command of the facts gives him an unfair advantage.”
Really? You and I must be watching a different Joe Biden at debates. Mr. Joe “mentally qualified” Biden doesn’t have control of his emotions, much less the facts.
TT – Just like Obama eh?
As far as these format changes go, I think they’re unnecessary. Palin can hold her own against Joe Biden just fine. That said, at least this way we won’t have to hear Biden go on and on and on as he usually has a habit of doing.
Drinking Games
I look forward to the publication of a drinking game guide to the “debate.” You folks know the issues better than I…
Each time Sarah Says:
Ethics or Ethical
Experience
Family or Family Values
Abortion
Mayor
Fiscal Responsibilty
Delaware
Social if she tells a homey story about Alaska.
Each time Joe Says:
Pork Barrel Spending
Troopergate
Russia
Iraq
Economy or Wall Street
Social if Joe goes past the time limit.
Palin wins by staying on message. Joe loses by going overtime and discussing real issues. According to Fox!
Who’s hosting?
Palin hasn’t done so well with questions. I’m still wrapping my mind around “fungible molecules.” This is the woman who McCain says is the country’s energy expert. I’m not sure why Obama/Biden agreed to the rule change – it’s basically so that they can’t answer each other?
I’m sorry… is this (#11) the same Mike Protack who was screaming at the top of his lungs “Lee won’t debate me! Lee won’t debate me!”
Nice to know that was all faux outrage.
Good grief, you missed the best part of the article:
Indeed, both the McCain and Obama campaigns have similar concerns about the vice-presidential matchup in St. Louis: that Ms. Palin, of Alaska, as a new player in national politics, or Mr. Biden, of Delaware, as a loquacious and gaffe-prone speaker, could commit a momentum-changing misstep in their debate.
IMHO, Obama has more to worry about.
Biden doesn’t have control of his emotions or the facts? How you must worry about John McCain.
You know him, the one who confused Sunni and Shiite more than once and needed his boy Friday, Joe Lieberman, to correct him. The one who said the fundamentals of our economy are strong. The one who doesn’t know how many houses he owns.
Oh, by the way, he called his wife a very vile four-letter word and is known for his volcanic temper.