8:57 CDT: [Sean] Biden gives very strong answer right after Nate offers constructive criticism; maybe Biden's having better luck reloading blogger.com.
8:54 CDT: [Nate] Biden has getting a little bit too wordy in the last couple of responses.
8:53 CDT: [Sean] Awww, they both love Israel! Too cute!
8:51 CDT: [Nate] If any of the pundits are watching the audience meters, I don't think they'll say that she's beating expectations.
8:49 CDT: [Sean] I think a lot of regular Joes and Janes are empathizing with Palin, who is giving it her level best. The pro-Obama crowd we're sitting with is not getting the Miss Teen South Carolina show it expected. Now Biden is smirking as Palin talks about diplomatic relations with enemies.
8:46 CDT: [Sean] On the split screen as Biden gives this strong answer on which is a greater threat, Palin was smirking.
8:45 CDT: [Sean] I can foresee the praise for Palin's performance on the post-mortem cable shows already. She has beaten expectations -- the lowest expectations in history.
8:42 CDT: [Nate] To be completely frank if that were anyone other than Sarah Palin on stage, this would be regarded as a blowout at this point.
8:38 CDT: [Sean] Palin seems a lot more relaxed than she was at the outset. But I'm not sure that's a good thing, it makes her go freestyle, and freestyle hasn't really worked very well recently.
8:35 CDT: [Nate] Biden has figured out that he can take a bunch of free shots at McCain since Palin can't go off-script. Fairly well played.
8:34 CDT: [Sean] Thanks for bearing with us. Not blogger.com's finest hour.
8:30 CDT: [Sean] "I'm not sure what her position is" is a good way to provoke Palin to have to explain.
8:29 CDT: [Nate] Palin's peaks on the audience meter keep getting lower. I think a fraction of people are tuning her out at this point. It feels to me that they might have decided to play it safe and concede a tie or a small loss for the sake of avoiding some kind of catastrophe.
8:25 CDT: [Sean] Palin: “How long have I been at this, like, five weeks?”
8:23 CDT: [Nate] I'm watching the CNN audience meters. Biden is doing distinctly better than Palin so far, although she had one or two very favorable responses.
8:21 CDT: [Sean] "The Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere!" [Nate] I actually think that answer could have been a little bit tighter. Biden got a little bit too caught up in the details at the end.
8:20 CDT: [Nate] You can tell she's scripted because she's literally rushing through her lines.
8:18CDT: [Nate] Over under on number of “middle classes?” 20? [Sean] Gimme the over, baby.
8:17 CDT: [Sean] Biden’s other mission – to hammer the issue of taxes and fairness and middle class. And” “the governor didn’t answer the question.”
8:15 CDT: [Sean] And I think we have our theme – Joe Biden: “she did not answer the question.” And the reply. “I’m not gonna answer the question, and people are gonna love my spunk!” Biden finds this hilarious. The split screens on C-Span are priceless.
8:11 CDT: [Sean] Biden is not going after Palin, he’s explaining why John McCain’s philosophy has led to this economic crisis.
8:07 CDT: [Nate] Holy run-on sentence, Batman! [Sean] Joe Biden is definitely letting her talk.
8:07 CDT: [Sean] We have the C-Span feed here, by the way. She seems very rehearsed. Biden seems relaxed. Palin endorses new and different change, not someone who's been in the Senate for a long time. Coming soon: Obama-Palin '08!
8:07 CDT: [Nate] Palin is doing well enough so far, but sounds very nervous.
8:05 CDT: [Nate] Is Biden sick or is this his way to take an exceptionally sober tone?
7:58 CDT: [Sean] Hello from Washington University in St. Louis. This is kind of home turf for me, as I grew up in neighboring University City and Clayton and went to public schools nearby. During high school I spent many hours in Olin Library.
We’re going to do our best, given Blogger.com’s major problems, to bring you a good liveblog. If we have gaps, we'll keep timestamping our comments and update when we can.
237 comments
Prediction:
Biden won't be Biden. He'll be the Obama '08 version of Biden. In my view, that's a bad thing.
Palin is fully protected from any embarrassing moments. Modfications to the debate format, courtesy of the McCain campaign, effectively saw to that. Biden isn't even allowed to engage in a face to face debate. That's absurd.
Like we saw at the RNC, Palin will be fully prepped and ready with talking points that have been drilled into her head by Schmidt. Even a blithering idiot who's spent time in debate camp can be made to look good.
Gwen Ifil will lob softballs at Palin at night. Jim Lehrer's moderating in Debate One was piss-poor. He let McCain ramble and get in the last word. Expect worse from Ifil. I still remember her utterly irrelevant, not to mention retarded, questions 4 years ago with Cheney vs. Edwards.
The MSM will instantly declare Palin the winner (exceeding low expectations, a zinger here and there, etc.),. Bottom line: The McCain Media need a HORSE RACE, or the perception of one.
She's true to form so far.
So is Biden. The format sucks balls.
Who is winning?
The girl Sarah or The Old Joe?
Biden speaks as thought he understands and believes what he says.
Palin sounds rehearsed.
shes accualy looking at biden! holy cow!. mccain needs to take notes......i still cant figure out why he didnt look at him.
go plain!>
LIE. He said it would be patriotic for the RICH to pay taxes.
Ifil has been terrible.
Biden is losing it - he is speaking to Gwen and looking at Gwen. Palin is speaking to "the people" and looking at the camera. But yes- she sounds nervous - her voice is shaking.
She's been working hard for this one. I liked the speechlet she had ready for when her script didn't match the question.
I think this is going to come out as a tie, unless Joe purposefully goes somewhere he doesn't think she's rehearsed, but there's no reason for him to take the risk.
It's a FOLK-OFF!
Scranton! Soccer sidelines! Betcha! Gas!
it's kind of a switch around from last week. she's looking at him and the camara like obama did and he's looking at her alittle more and the camara like mccain last week.
I think Biden have shit in his clothes.
Obama-Palin!
The ultimate bridge to nowhere!
LOL!
LOL
Rwag, Biden is looking at the camera. What the heck debate are you watching???
this debate is so much better then last weeks. and they arnt even yelling at each other!.
this debate is so much better then last weeks. and they arnt even yelling at each other!.
You can almost see Steve Schmidt pulling the strings behind her.
As much as I agree that it's the smart play for Biden to take the calm, thoughtful approach, it's a bit sad that we now get this rather dull waiting game of "will she implode" rather than the "god damn hell of a show" we could have had. :-(
She is doing very well---don't agree with her but doing well.
If indie/undecides are buying this shit, America is doomed.
Intrades for the debate?
Obama / Biden are winning the war; all Biden needs to do is hunker down and let Palin talk herself into a hole. Even if Palin "wins," remember John Kerry won three out of three debates...
did she just say "bless their hearts" to the oil companies??? WTF! guess the same goes true in Alaska as in my native South Carolina... "Bless your heart" means "F&%k You!"
Rich Merritt
She's jumping away from issues like crazy. Biden is chasing her and calling her out on each of her bullshit lines. Sadly I think her "bouncy" persona might win over people.
Also, Biden is looking at the camera. Go figure!
Biden is a great debater. He stays on point.
They´re buying porridge.
Biden on pts so far.
But I'm judging on substance. Juge mistake on my part.
She has not answered a single question. This makes me sick to my stomach.
She´s nervous?
Palin's bangs keep getting in her eye. Kinda annoying.
"Toxic mess on Main Street affecting Wall Street"?
I think she got that backwards...
Bleh, they're both just regurgitating talking points.
Is Palin running for Gevernor of Alsska? I'm not sure.
Guess she did not want to talk about that---back to energy
She's so scripted it is scary.
All I can think of is the Republican election winning machine.
She's dodging the points!!!
Biden is doing great, but her little aura of bouncy optimism and obnoxious smile might win this. Her body language seems better.
Palin: "Toxic mess on main st. affecting wall st." I hope this gets some air time in this sound-byte world we live in.
What a snoozer. Boo.
Palin is a Star Search spokesmodel.
Mmmmm-kay.
She is not going to answer a single question in this debate. She is simply talking about whatever she wants to talk about.
good debate so far, Palin is quite good if the question suits her preparation - Biden knows the details though... a shaky situation.
I'm sooooo tired of hearing the word FUNDAMENTAL! I probably won't say it for a year.
WWWWWWWWWWWWHAAAAAATTT
Senator O'Biden!!!
"the chant is drill baby drill"
OMFG
She bothers the living shit outta me.
She is spouting talking points. Biden is laughing and smiling- not in an angry way like mccain did but he looks like he knows all of this, and he's just getting warmed up.
she's doing well, biden too.
he doesnt seem to look at her while hes talking kind of like mccain last week, he looks at her, just not while its him speaking. like i said kind of a switch from last week.
I think this debate would be great for Palin if it was about 4 days after the RNC. However, given her incredibly bad numbers as of late I think this debate will just reinforce that she doesnt answer questions and is quite deceitful. I think Biden is doing a great job pointing this out. It's not going to be a game changer, but right now that's exactly what is needed
Biden just owned her hard on Energy. Unfortunately people will still buy her Drill Baby Drill Bullshit even when the facts are stoutly against it.
Obama-Palin!.
Bipartisan work!
Change!
The audience meter dips every time Biden mentions John's name. When he sticks to Obama's policies he's doing ok.
Palin is doing a bit of side stepping, but she's communicating well. No babbling yet...
I don't think he's supposed to "talk" to her, so that's likely why he's avoiding looking at her while he's speaking.
Both are good but I prefer Palin more.
Biden may have just cost Obama that 6% cushion, but holy fuck, bless him for it.
Gay marriage recognition for the win!
She's lying. She's a BIGOT.
I am so glad she is tolerant
No babbling yet? WHAAAATTTT are you talking about?
Vynce-
That's not what he said.
Oh ida slap the bitch....just tolerate me? you had quite a (grr...i hate this topic) look on your face...chose realtionships that they seem fit. F U sarah palin
She's nuts. Is she seriously tring to shore up the right-wing?
She's got this answer ready to roll.
She might as well have said "some of my best friends are gay." What a liar. What she said about "tolerance" was patronizing.
Oh. then he backpedalled. fucker.
(or maybe I was hearing more of what I wanted...)
Not the damn surge again!
I-raq
Biden is going to dominate this foreign policy.
Lol! "He voted against **in small voice** funding the troops". You could see her thinking "Damn, that's bullshit and was covered in the last debate"
OH SNAP!
Re: Iraq
"I didn't hear a plan" - Biden
At what looks like about the halfway point, I'd say that Biden is winning but isn't beating the point spread.
(or maybe I was hearing more of what I wanted...)
I think this is it.
J I totally agree. I know for one she is a bigot..she wanted the "Daddy's Room-mate" bk gone from the library. Where in the hell has her record of "gay tolerance" been all this time. She's not fooling me..perhaps she is trying to drum up support from the log cabin republicans
Oh great. Blame the Iraqis for our debt. Christ, I hate the warmongering of both sides.
""the chant is drill baby drill"
OMFG
She bothers the living shit outta me."
I'm watching on CNN where they have live trackers of male and female undecided votes. When she said that the female tracker *plummetted*. LOL
Nate, you are missed on another site conducting a live roundtable:
Will Carroll (6:39:06 PM PT): I want Nate mocked mercilessly for watching the VPilf debating tonight rather than the Cubs. This is the biggest waste of baseball talent since Rany started medical school.
Did Biden say FUNDAMENTAL again.!
I can't believe here. Is she serious?
She is just pumping out stock answers for every question and if she does not have an answer she will change the subject to one that she has an answer for---very clever.
I was terrified at first with the same sex answer.
Palin almost froze there.
She's getting extreme, this tower is going to topple.
Biden needs to start going on hard offense.
i think shes doing alot better then mccain did last week.
wether you say shes scripted or not. i still say shes doing better.
"I didn't hear a plan."
Hawt. Nate is dead on. Biden realizes she can't say anything but the soundbites they gave her, so he can goad her and make her look unresponsive.
Loved that awkward "um......" before the surrender line.
Joe Biden is like...is she forreal???
Personally I think in the body language, style of speaking and coherence. It is reinforcing exactly what people think about Palin and is giving nothing but positive press to Biden.
Oh, she's gone attack dog. Wonder how this will play out.
Uh oh Biden is getting pissed. Fuck her up dude!
oh wow, the mrap thing from biden was good
Joe is sounding like a kindly grandfather. Let's see how this plays out for him.
No kidding alyssa, look at his eyes...he's gettin mad...hope he doesn't let out a bad gaffe
But please don't do any preemptive bombing, Obama. No more dead children. Please. :(
he makes points with authority
she is tending to come across as snippy and snarly -- and wrong
holy shit, watching cnn...bidens line reaction was off the charts
She said the war on terror is in Iraq... Wow.
I can't watch/listen/read/type at the same time...
I'm like McCain = can't multi-task
Debate camp, huh?
CNN graphs show that women cringe every time Palin goes on attack.
could someone tell her how to pronounce Iraq
She just agreed with Bin Laden. You heard it hear first, folks.
Palin got nothing out of the meeting with the Pres of Iran...Biden got alot out of it...
not nukular again for f**k sake!
She doesn't know jack-site about Israel/Palestine. But she's know to say Osrael....ALOT.
Did the audience ripple a murmur when she said she'd recently met with Henry Kissinger?
Biden just did an excellent job with the Iran issue.
Don't confuse the American people with facts Joe.
Some of her soundbites are borderlining hilarious! Seriously. I loved:
"They hate America! They hate our... freedom!" The way she said it sounded like something out of American Dad
Nate, Sean, everybody, if you think Biden is tarring Palin, you're making the pundit's mistake. You're listening to the points, instead of the delivery.
Iraq is the biggie for Obama/Biden on the CNN throbo-meter of Ohio undecideds. Otherwise, Palin is not making a complete embarassment out of herself, and is scoring well.
Lowered expectations may give her a win. But on content she's very scripted and not answering any specific questions.
Once we turn to foreign policy de hors Iraq this should become a rout.
But Palin has not been run off the stage. McCain will be quite proud.
yeah, biden. he sent some to sit down with iran. what did we get out of it? a slap in the face......as expected he tryed what you wanted and it didnt work!.....
if it would why could our friends not have already had it work by now? why could the pres of france not convince putin to leave georgia?. i mean you always talk about speaking with our enemys yet it hasnt worked what makes you think it will now?
Is she calling him Obiden all the time?
Vynce, while palin is not bombing, she is tripping more often lately on foreign policy.
wtf was biden just doing with the heavy breathing...he is getting annoyed
she if full of it!
She's really unlikable. I can't imagine indies are falling for this shit.
Bush hasn't been a failure in Israel?
Oh... I forgot... She's a fundie who wants the cause the Second Coming.
Palin has been prepped on energy - so she keeps going back to that, did you notice?
Joe Bidentis sooo cool!
keep saying bush biden...it's helping you..tie mccain to bush as much as possible
Joe just killed us
Wasn't she on the Brady Bunch?
Holy crap. Nukes as a deterrent?!?
She can't say NUCLEAR! She's disqualified!
Safe way to use nuclear weapons? huh?
Absolute train wreck.
I just might vote for Obama/Biden yet. I can't believe what I'm seeing.
Jesus christ, she can't even deliver her canned response without sounding like an 8th grader delivering a book report.
It's a sad state of affairs when we're at the point that this women could potentially be president in less than a year for now. Thank god that Obama has been running away with this thing lately.
It's pronounced fucking NEW-CLEAR
[Nate] OMG I love Biden.
[Sean] OMG I love Biden too!
[Nate] OMG!
No, it's absolutely true. We are killing civilians in all of these wars.
New-kew-ler??? Not this again!
He's seeming less calm, more like mccain last debate. Turn down, Joe.
anyone notice that on the cnn opinion line?
"were fighting terrorist" line goes up
-next line-
"promoting democracy" line goes down
if she says nuc-u-lar again, I'm going to scream
Joe is doing a great job. Palin had a Miss South Carolina Teen USA moment on a nuclear weapons question until she remembered the talking point fed to her.
She is not answering the questrions, but so far she has not started crying or even acted "cute." So, this is a win for her. She acted, well not "presidential," but competent in parroting Steve Schmidt's talking points.
Biden is hitting it out of the park on the Throbo-meter on Afghanistan.
Can we talk Afghanistan for a minute as well? She must have memorized the name of the head of state there too.
NUCULAR...she's a moron
Tie war to economy. Good points, Biden.
Seriously... I think this is an absolute wash. She's beating expectations which, to quote CJ Creig, could only have been accurate if she's accidently set her pedastal on fire. Biden looks complex, multi faceted and educated. She looks like she's regurgitating sound bites
Ughhh, this isn't a debate, it's interlaced monologues. Biden takes his monologue so far, then Palin says hers, then Biden picks up his again, then Palin picks hers back up, Ect.
They would both be saying the exact same things even if the other wasn't in the room.
I may be changing the channel. This format is a waste of everyone's time. This format only works if the participants are allowed to speak at length and in complexity, but they are not, they are giving quips.
The independent line on CNN is low when Palin speaks.
yes mule rider
this is bad :-(
"you always talk about speaking with our enemys yet it hasnt worked what makes you think it will now?"
Much like diligent efforts to master basic grammar and formatting will make your comments readable and effective, honest and meaningful diplomacy will create effective international dialog.
Biden has referred to himself in the third person 2 or 3 times now. He needs to stop, it makes me nervous about SNL jokes.
OK - she had a Miss Teen South Carolina moment with the nuclear weapon question.
Good lord Jesus preserve this nation from this woman with a finger on the button.
oh god a sigh
why does it sound like hes breathing hard? or is it just me?
The leaders in Afghanistan? The taliban is working back in over there!
I'm trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she's so poorly spoken. It's maddening.
I think he's calming down now. Like he caught his breath.
Did Palin just say that Obama thinks all we do is bomb Afghan villages? 1. That can't be true
2. Why the frick didn't Biden jump on it?
Joe Biden is a blowhard asshole who I am diametrically opposed to on many policies...but there's not hardly any conceivable way I can see myself contributing in any way to putting this lady from bum-f***ed Alaska in the #2 slot in the country.
Look at CNN- people are LOVING Biden!
this is not going anywhere
joe is crushing us :-(
I wonder if even Real Joe will start questioning having this woman weak heartbet and an arm's reach from the button.
She is not ready to be President. She is not ready to be Vice-President. She is not ready to manage the McDonald's on Broadway.
bring back Romney !
Palin's sitting there thinking "WTF is Bosniak"
Biden is losing this. Badly.
God, he's on fire.
Biden is doing great, except that he's worried too much about being exact on the facts. When he corrects himself ("7 years! Well, 6 and a half years") he makes people aware of exaggeration, and makes it look like he must be exaggerating the facts a lot. He needs to let small bits of inaccuracy just be rather than trying to fix them on the fly.
/Hugs Mule Rider
This speech of Biden's is really hitting home. Excellent speech. Palin is now going to alienate everyone by using lame talking points that impress no one.
LIke the bridge to nowhere? For it before you were against it?
She didn't hear the question, did she? Pretty blatant. Straight to her talking points.
OK - she had a Miss Teen South Carolina moment with the nuclear weapon question.
Somewhere in there she started talking about denying nuclear *power* to different nations. No one cleared that with the McCain team.
I won't vote for them, but I'm going to have to hold my nose and hope for an Obama/Biden win in one month. I'm starting to get that nervous itch myself thinking about a McCain/Palin victory.
Biden is going to slap her
Someone didn't study up on Bosnia, Kosovo or Darfur...
Bosniak's an old fashioned term for guess Bosnian -read a ----ing history book.
Hey, Biden nigh hit the roof with Darfur.
bad for what Real Joe?
Blogger Poker Samurai said...
Biden is losing this. Badly.
Are we watching the same debate? Or is SNL doing a skit on another channel????
Her flag pin has got to be at least triple the size of his. Who's patriotic now?
Mr. Whipple, is your first name Adam?
We won't be touching Darfur, folks. China has those oil contracts in the Sudan sewn up, and we agreed to look the other way on the genocide. :(
Mule Ride, do you vote for Bama?
I'm kind of surprised Biden didn't get further in his presidential campaigns. This guy sounds really smart. :/
LOL David you're such a fool. Even the republicans in this comment thread are embarassed at her performance.
Dario,
I don't know if I can bring myself to vote Obama on Nov. 4th, but I'm almost convinced now a McCain/Palin ticket would be bad news. God, I hate to say it, but I'm leaning a little left right now.
I think the last thing the people want to hear is that "McCain knows how to win a war."
She's using the wrong talking points.
McCain knows how to win a war. Just like Vietnam... and Iraq... and Afghanistan. All overwhelming victories
assmole - It isn't an "old-fashioned" term. "Bosniak" and "Bosnian" are not synonymous.
I think it's important that the words coming out of a candidate'smouth is is/her own. The differnce is pretty stark.
Do we really want four more years of a national leader who cannot pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly?
---Are we watching the same debate?---
We are, but I'm not basing my opinion on how I'll vote, but how undecided voters will vote.
Biden's given Palin credibility, offered her easy opportunities to parrot talking points and come across as a shifty insider.
Polls will close at least 4 points nationally.
Sorry.
"...making sure we stop preemptive bombing." Please say this. Please.
OMG!!!! If she says "nuc-ular" one more time, I'm going to shoot myself!!!!
This woman is BUSH in DRAG!!!
Biden is sounding pretty good. I'm surprised as well that he didn't make more noise in the primaries.
It just shows that those things are celebrity who's-who events and not a selection process of the best person available for each party.
I don't know if I can bring myself to vote Obama on Nov. 4th, but I'm almost convinced now a McCain/Palin ticket would be bad news. God, I hate to say it, but I'm leaning a little left right now.
Walk to the light.
As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown
Good Lord, show me the way !
O sisters let's go down,
Let's go down, come on down,
O sisters let's go down,
Down in the river to pray.
Damn! Look at how Biden is doing, this guy is a great speaker. He's killing on foreign policy.
Absolutely outstanding performance, Senator Biden. Bravo!
Even CNN is showing him on the roof.
Mule Rider said...
Dario,
I don't know if I can bring myself to vote Obama on Nov. 4th, but I'm almost convinced now a McCain/Palin ticket would be bad news. God, I hate to say it, but I'm leaning a little left right now.
Welcome, I think I speak for everyone on this side of politics when I say thank you for looking beyond partisanship and looking at things how they are. I also promise that so long as there are people on the right that continue to question their ideals, so will I.
Chris - What, someone can't make fun of both the candidates and the pundits?
Hey J,
I agree with you. I would have voted for Biden. He's super smart
I'm literally rolling my eyes at her answers. Dear lord.
Polls will close at least 4 points nationally.
Yer nuts.
new thread
The "Analyst Scorecard" on CNN is hilarious. Rollins scores Palin +39/-2 while Rosen has her at +10/-18. Huh?
Reality of Wasilla: 22MM$ in debt when da mayor left.
he's killing her on the foreign policy stuff. she just keeps repeating the same things over and over. jeez.
oh yeah, www.ObamaMinute.com
Poker Samurai,
I beg to differ. Four points the other way. This is the nail. In the coffin. Tomorrow we dig a six foot hole.
she is imitating tina fey right now
How many schools did she attend??? And she still can't pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly? And she was a journalism major? SERIOUSLY???
Biden is even making a killing on this rebuttal to Palin, even though it was forced. Palin is running scared and people aren't liking it. She's embarassing with the vague "backpedaling" comment. She's giving a shout-out? Get out of here, this is a Debate, Palin.
In my eyes, she's embarrasing herself. But in FReeptard World...
IF Repubs had their way, we wouldn't even have public education.
A shoutout? What is this, homecoming?
Actually...this weekend is homecoming!
did she just say something about Biden's wife and heaven?
wow.
and did she just give a shout out? holy cow, this is like TRL
You have got to be kidding me---a shout out. Her reward will be in heaven.She's married to Joe and gets rewarded every night.
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