Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Vice Presidential Debate
After watching the debate, discuss one topic that interested you. Explain each candidate's view on the topic and then tell me what your opinion is. Finally, tell me who you think won the debate and why. (Be sure to put your name and period at the beginning or end of the post so I can give you credit.)
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16 comments:
Grace Chen
Period 2
Government
The topic that really interested me was when the senators had to answer what their plan was for leaving Iraq.
As soon as Senator Palin began to answer, I noticed that she was talking fairly slowly and was saying something along the lines of "I would first like to thank the American government for having such strong troops..." or something or other along the lines of that. I found it humorous because she was not only trying to avoid the question, but she also was trying to make her answer as long as possible so that the people watching the debate would think that she knew what her and John McCain's plan was, when really, she had absolutely no idea what their plan was. I also found it funny when Senator Biden answered the same question by first saying that Senator Palin had not even answered the question.
I havn't watched the end of the debate yet, but I think that Senator Biden will win the debate. While I was watching I felt like Senator Palin wasn't sure about some of the questions she was asked, and I also feel like she wasn't well prepared for the debate.
Grace Chen
Period 2
Government
ichelle Jun
Period 5
U.S. History
I thought the topic of the vice presidents' weaknesses was interesting. Sarah Palin said lack of experience is not her Achilles heel, but rather that she had good experience built up from her position as Governor of Alaska. She said that she would use her experience to help our country grow and keep our status at the greatest nation. Joe Biden admitted that his lack of control or restraint was his weakness, annd that he had grown from his experiences and hardships acquired throughout his life. I'm pretty sure that Biden won the debate because Palin seemed to dodge the questions and talk about different subjects. I thought Biden was very honest and patient with Palin, and that he did a better job overall.
Carissa Hanen
Period 2
10/2/08
The topic that surprised me was the question stating that your the v.p. only a heartbeat away from being president. And wanting to know how they would follow. I like how they both stated if anything happened to either candidate it would be a national tragedy and awful. They both sided with the fact that they would follow through with the orginal presidents plans., although they might change a few things. I could tell Senator Palin would because she gave a couple looks and a wink. While Senator Biden seemed like he would follow Obama.
I think Senator Biden held himself taller. He was more knowledgeable about the topics, and he was able to answer quickly and sharp. While Palin spoke slower, and seemed more unsure of herself, and the topics. Biden also spoke at a higher level, while Senator Palin, spoke at a lower level like a common-folk.
Carissa,
Do you think Gov. Palin spoke like that on purpose, as a strategy?
Ethan Don. Period: 3
Overall, i believe Joe Biden preformed well in the debate tonight. I admired Biden's ability to fight back for what he, and Barrack Obama stands for. Sarah Palin, in my opinion, did not preform as well as Biden, and i think Biden won the debate.
The most important subject that was debated, was the situation in Iraq. Biden sought to make McCain out as a straight-ahead successor to an unpopular President Bush. "He voted four out of five times for George Bush's budget, which put us a half-trillion dollars in debt and over $4 trillion in debt since he got here," he said of McCain.
Palin merely accused Biden of reciting the past rather than looking to the future. "Americans are cravin' that straight talk" that McCain offers, she said. Biden impressed me with his suggestions in helping the administration.
Michele Grogin
Period 1
Government
My favorite part of the debate was the discussion of Iraq and Afganistan. Governor Palin thought we must have victory in Iraq )although she never mentioned what that means). Senator Biden thinks we need to get out of Iraq and focus more on Afganistan, he believes it is more serious and a necesity. I think that, in a perfect world, all war would stop of course. I think the U.S. needs to get out of Iraq, for sure. I think that it was a dumb, made up reason that we were there in the first place and part of Bush's fathers unfinished business.
I felt that Senator Biden won the debate. The debate was generally uneventful and I don't think it heavily influenced any undecided voters.
Governor Palin had obviously been getting run through on what to do so as not to make herself and the Republican party look ridiculous. Despite obvious practice, it was clear that Senator Palin had been given attack lines which she used freely and still managed to avoid questions. Governor Palin was obviously trying to dodge questions and I thought it was interesting that at one point, she announced that she would not answer the question at all. This is an example of partisan politics and I assume her party will think even more highly of her for it.
I cannot wait for Saturday Night Live to make fun of this rather uneventful debate. I hope they will highlight Governor Palin calling Joe Biden, Senator O'Biden. Also, Senator Biden's repetition of how similar Bush and McCain are.
Jessica Evans
Period 5
US History
I just had the time to watch the beginning of the debate, but it was interesting to see the responses that the two vice presidents had in reference to the economic crisis that is going on at the moment. Ofcourse, both candidates are supporting their presidential candidates and trying to defend them as much as possible, but it was interesting to see how no matter how much Governor Palin could say John McCain would change things, she was kind of in a bind since republican rule is what got the economy in this mess. Don't get me wrong, I am a republican, but I just think it put her in a rough spot. It's hard to believe, personally, who will actually take action and make a difference. As far as the approach to their debates, Senator Biden is more reserved and conservative...i think. He does seem quite a bit more comfortable though. Governor Palin on the other hand seemed really uncomfortable, but who could blame her with it being her first try and all. I also find it funny how she tends to use her soccer mom or hockey mom analogies constantly. I guess it makes her more relatable, but at the same time, she should be a little more professional in her approach. It was also kind of funny because sometimes as I was watching, all I could think of was the Tina impersonations of her and how well she did. In the first topic that I watched, nobody really specifically answered the question in how they can change the economy as vice presidents so in that case, nobody won.
Jenna Sanitsky
Period 3
Government
Pertaining to the topic of gay marriage, I think Biden did an excellent job of appealing to his followers. He clearly stated that he supported gay marriage. However, I felt that Palin was less than persuasive. I felt that she was hypocritical. First she states that she believes that marriage is between a man and a woman, and then states that she agrees with Biden. I felt that she was wishy-washy throughout her argument. I also felt that throughout the whole debate, she was constantly dodging questions and saying what she wants to do, instead of answering the question. I felt that her debate was weak. Overall, I think that Biden one the debate, as he clearly stated every question and explained his theory behind each, while Palin looked unprepared as she was unable to answer questions.
Brianna Gribin
Period 2
Government
The topic that interested me the most was the Iraq war issue. Palin attempted to separate McCain from the Bush administration by saying that they are mavericks and will do what is in the public interest. I feel like this was a vital move because previously Biden stated that McCain has the exact same views as the Bush Administration- which is not something to want to be associated with. The public is divided on the Iraq war and so it was necessary for Palin to make their views clear and appealing to the public.
My view of the Iraq war is that we should continue having our troops in Iraq to stabilize Iraq and the entire mideast area.
I think that Palin won because she illustrated that she has strong opinions, came across presidential in her views, and she well prepared to answer the questions.
Brianna Gribin
Period 2
Government
Matt Rosenthal
Period 5
Right from the start, it was apparent that Biden had been here and done that a hundred times over, and Palin was clearly lost. When both canidates walked on stage and when they shook hands, Palin said "hey, can i call you Joe". This trying to be quirky and cute wasn't professional, and when she winked to the audience and whatnot during the debate in my opinion turned off the educated profesional voters. It may appeal to the uneducated, rural hick voters of the country but those were the states that McCain was already winning, she needed to appeal to the demographics of Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Florida etc. and I feel she did a very poor job.
The topic that caught my attention was the 700 billion dollar bailout of wall street. Biden stated that this was the worst 8 years of the nation and the economic policies. Palin stated that also she said it was a disgrace of what has happened. Both canidates voted yes on the bailout proposition, but after McCain said that president Bush should veto the bill. Hypocritical? Much so. Why would he vote yes on the bill then later say to veto it, it just doesn't make sense. He is doing what he has to do to win, and going against all his philosophies that he stands for. He stood for them in 2000, he lost. He sold his soul to the devil in 2008 and we will see what will happen.
(Something was bugging me, I had to make a small revision)
Vinh Nguyen
Per. 2
Gov.
At the final quarter of the debate, Ifill pointed out the general public perception of Biden and Palin's Achilles heel; "lack [of] discipline" and "lack [of] experience", respectively. She then asked what they believed to be their weaknesses.
Rather than giving a straightforward response, she went on to defend herself. It seemed as if she attempted to defend herself using "[her] connection to the heartland of America", her children, marriage, etc. (while looking at the camera, I might add).
Biden; however, responded by in the fashion that he was intended to -- he also asserted that his other flaw was his "excessive passion". He was not sugar-coated about it at all; he mentioned that he was "not going to change", and also managed to slip in a bit about his personal struggle as well.
I'm not going to pretend to be unbiased, though I share some views from the Right as well. Biden gave very straightforward, often passionate answers, citing statistics and the like. Palin could not even pronounce "Iraq", and the last time I checked, "nuclear" is not pronounced "nucular" (in all fairness it's probably an accent). I'm not going to say that it was pretentious, but her overuse of colloquial speech and curious sayings might have been overdone, in my opinion.
To be fair to Palin though, seeing that speaking to the entire nation is a far cry from the "huge state" of Alaska, she performed well, which will be an advantage given the cynical sentiments that were floating around previously. In spite of that, I preferred Biden's relentless-yet-calm approach. Despite his clear advantage, I'd have to say that he won, but the polls might prove me wrong.
if you go on this this website. there is hundreds of polls on here and check it out. quite interesting.
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/
Matt Rosenthal
Period 5
Jared Ordenes
Period 2
Government
Well, let's start off with my political views. I like to stay independent because I personally believe that people who just simply choose a party to side with are very ignorant of the facts, and also because I have views on both sides. Before you choose a party, you should start by hearing both sides, Obama doesn't necessarily represent all of the Democratic ideals, as McCain doesn't for the all of the Republican ideals. That being said, I came into this election with a "sell me" attitude. The first election I was still unsure, but this one hit home.
I felt very disheartened about Palin's performance. To think that she is "a heartbeat away" from running this country scares me. Clearly she had been coached on what to say, and what techniques to use. My favorite part of this debate was towards the end, when Biden noted that, (McCain) "Maverick he is not, on important issues." Those comments did not turn around the debate, rather they sealed it. In my opinion, that finalized it. Yes, I do agree Israel is our greatest ally, and I don't agree with the 16 month plan, since terrorists can easily take a break for 16 months, and then come back in and fight. This could even be more dangerous, and in my opinion you need to get rid of all the enemies without trying to "make friends." In my opinion, you can't just simply "talk and discuss" with terrorists. That being said, for the vice presidential ticket, who has even Republicans questioning her abilities as to whether she's ready for office, I'd venture to say that she may very well cost McCain this election.
Although, Biden does have more experience, so you can argue that he had an advantage. I still don't think Palin came anywhere close to winning, however AOL's polls think differently. I also thought the first debate was extremely close, no one in particular winning. So, in conclusion, as for this debate, I'd say Biden made up for mistakes and uncertainties that Obama had made in the past debate.
One topic that interested me in the debate was health care. Joe Biden view is to make healthcare a right for people by making a government program so that no American gets left behind. Instead of socializing healthcare, Sarah Palin wants to make healthcare more affordable for individuals. I definitely agree with McCain and Palin's point of view due to evidence of past government program failures. For example, social security was created in the 1930s to socialize retirement. Back then, the average age of death was 62. Now the average age of death has increased, and social security is failing miserably because its so far in debt. Americans are paying for people's retirement from their own pockets and it's depleting the original purpose of the plan. That is just an example of many social problems that have failed over the years. Obviously I believe in everyone having the ability to get healthcare at an affordable price, but I don't think a government run program is the answer to this. People should be able to afford healthcare to create equal opportunities throughout the country. Unnecessary socialization will eventually lead to devastation and increased debt. I feel that Joe Biden was blatantly lying about many of the things he was saying about helping middle class Americans. Palin, on the other hand, is a normal middle class American herself. She may not be as politically experienced as Biden, but she can actually relate to the country. She is a great choice for the Republican Vice President. Many thought she would stumble and embarrass herself tonight, but I thought that she held herself very strongly and professionally. I was surprisingly impressed.
-Lacey Rothman
Period 3
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