May I Call You Crow?

I just finished taking a shower to wash away all of the nervous sweat I accumulated on my body after watching the Vice Presidential debate. It wasn't a train wreck per se, but it was disconcerting to watch a plebeian try to take on an aristocrat who tried to act like a plebeian being attacked by an aristocrat who was cloaked in plebeian charm. Are you confused? Who wasn't?

Biden forgot he was in a silk suit as he invited America to walk over with him to the Home Depot... you know, the one he supposedly frequents. And who coached him to talk so fast? The only time he slowed down was to emphasize disparaging remarks about McCain directly into the camera... repetitively. All that other less important stuff, like policy peppered with big numbers, came rushing out of his mouth in a mass exodus.

Then there was Palin who caused me to cringe the moment she firmly asked the Senator: "May I call you Joe?" Bold, yes, good choice, no-siree. It was a debate, not a back-yard picnic. When that happened at the top of the show I thought, "Oh, boy, this is going to be uncomfortable to watch." And uncomfortable it certainly was! Someone needed to tell Palin that a tough tone on its own does not a good sentence make. But there she was, launching forceful witticisms and campaign slogans back in Biden's face as if to suggest a superior point had been made. 

It's a shame to say, but the most admirable performance in the debate came from the mediator, Gwen Ifill. Her questions and comments were spot on and despite predictions, I didn't sense an ounce of bias in favor of the Obama / Biden ticket. In fact, I thought she seemed to extend an obvious tilt of graciousness towards Palin at certain moments in the debate when she could have otherwise thrust a devastating inquest. 

Like the numerous times when Palin ignored the question Ifill asked and threw her own topic on the table for discussion instead. The first time that happened, Ifill made a pointed remark about it, but subsequent repetitions of the same snub from Palin were otherwise left unchallenged. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily holding Palin in complete contempt for her routine of topical-hijacking. I'm sure she was just trying to prove that she refuses to cave in to the regiment of "politics as usual" but my point is this: Sarah Palin is lucky Gwen Ifill didn't make a huge issue out of it and call her to task right then and there on national T.V. I think we need to give Ifill the monicker of Gracious Gwen from here on out. 

As for dear Joe, I have got to say, I walked away from the debate liking the guy! How the hell did THAT happen? If the stars should align just right and he doesn't become the next VP, he definitely needs to go into acting. He's got a likable personality, regardless of the bunk that falls out of his mouth, and it's for this reason alone that I'm beginning to think Obama and Biden are going to win. I just don't see America giving up on the professional purveyors of sophisticated politics. To put it in Wasillian terms: those boys have got too much spit and shine on their side not to win.

There's no getting around it, we're a country who likes to be dazzled. We would much rather elect a platitude of change instead of actually suffering through the genuine alterations that have to be made in order for change to take root. We'll take the glamour of trendy ethics wrapped in Hollywood posh over the grime of moral principle covered in Old Fashioned work any day of the week!

Even I, a strong supporter of the McCain /Palin ticket, had to turn off the debate 15 minutes before it was finished out of sheer tedium over hearing the word "maverick" for the 100th time. If I couldn't hang in there and listen through that final burst of assertive energy from my own VP candidate, then how the heck could anyone else sit through it and be moved? 

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and read what the pundits have to say. I thought Palin made a good gameplay when she halted the "he said she said" sling- fest by suggesting they let the analysts sort through the records for them. It'll be interesting to see who got their information right and who tripped up on the facts. 

Dollars to donuts, I bet someone will have to eat crow.