Stunning Revelations!
Well, the two VP candidates have officially finished their debate. It was stunningly mundane and completely expected. Palin had her bar set so low that her appearance would have been considered a success had she managed only to not mutter incoherently and drool over herself while Biden could only have been a success if he had suddenly developed the oratory power of Lincoln on a hot streak. Neither of those things happened - on the contrary, both candidates spoke well (good for Palin) and avoided any unnecessary rambling or gaffs (good for Biden).
Indeed, both candidates spoke well, but Palin seemed to have a large problem with listening. It seemed as though there was a mysterious field between her and the moderator that transformed every question into a request to talk about energy policy using folksy Alaskan metaphors. Also, I’m almost completely convinced that Palin has no comprehension of what the term “Achilles heel” means. Seriously, when she was “answering” the question, “what is your Achilles heel?” I was embarrassed for her. Here is her answer in brief: “My Achilles heel is that I’m so awesome because McCain’s energy policy rocks and the middle class need money.”
Biden, for his part, managed to not say anything stupid. According to many pundits that makes this his “best debate ever.” Sure, that’s not exactly how they phrased it, but we all know what they meant. Biden did, however, go out of his way to talk about how he’s got a serious man-crush on McCain despite the fact that McCain has been wrong on every issue throughout his entire life. And that’s a lot of issues because McCain is very old.
All in all, though, this debate isn’t going to change anything. It answered the two remaining driving questions of the campaign. One: can Biden talk for an hour and a half without planting his foot firmly in his mouth and Two: can Palin talk for an hour and a half. The answer to both of those questions is, as everyone knew but somehow no one expected, yes. So we’re back where we started, only now the pundits have their Scooby Snacks for the week.
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