Heh
Listening to Gov. Sarah Palin. Nothing to change my mind regarding her qualifications to be Veep but the woman has first-rate political 
skills coupled with a genuine mean-streak that she can execute on live TV without looking like a cast-iron beeatch. That’s a neat trick that most VP and Prez candidates never master ( ask Bob Dole).
Joe Biden just went from heavy debate favorite to underdog.
Addendum:
Against most of my expectations, a home run. No, make that a grand slam home run. McCain rolled the dice on his career with Palin and raked in the chips.
Addendum II:
Spengler on Palin and Biden. Hat tip to Dan of tdaxp.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
We’ll see what you think after the VP debate, since Palin is refusing to do the weekend talk shows or talk to any groups outside the right-wing base. Probably good for her, given her razor-thin resume and limited executive experience. Hell, the mayor of Los Angelos has more people, organization, and armed forces than the governor of Alaska. You remember when Gov Kaine’s name was passed around as a potential VP for Obama? Karl "the Brain" Rove dismissed Kaine as a very small fish, being in Richmond was insignficant compared to being a VP. So what does that make Palin?
Given this record (http://thinkprogress.org/palin-digest/), how exactly do you see Palin being the winner that you say she is? Or see this letter from a friend of hers in Alaska – http://community.adn.com/adn/node/130537. Recent ABC Poll, Biden adds 15 points to Obama’s campaign for moderate independents, Palin adds zero to McCain. She’s red meat for the base, but is a lead weight for anyone else.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Hi Jason,
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I think Palin is unqualified to be Veep for the same reasons I have long been skeptical of Obama who, if elected, would have the least amount of previous governmental experience of any president in the last century, possibly in all our history ( I’d have to check some 19th C. prez’s before stating that with certainty).
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That said, they both have impressive political skills. both of them can do the prepared speech with great effectiveness and use tv the way a politician should if they care to influence a mass audience. Intraparty-wise :Obama has been a very effective networker while Palin has been very good at political manuvering in her home state. They have talent, if not experience.
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Biden has a good knowledge base. I’m very comfortable with him being "in the room" and think he remediated an important deficit for Obama. That said, I’m not seeing your argument – the guy polled 4 % among Democrats in the primaries, he has an enormous ego and a tin ear for an audience’s limited patience for endless bloviating ( though Biden can also, with focus, be a good debater if he keeps things short and to the point). Palin erased Obama’s bounce and attracts in demographics where the Democratic ticket support is soft or neutral.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
….but Bob Dole did master the art of talking about oneself in the third person. I always found that quite effective on the floor of the Senate. Guess it didn’t play on the stump though. Bob Dole: "Senator, I served with Bob Dole. I knew Bob Dole. Bob Dole was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Bob Dole. Bob Dole’s not going to stand here and tolerate these attacks."