Holy Crap!

[Distracted]

Yep.

General Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton

[Alelou]

Thanks. That's a neat story.

[justTripn]

About Palin's performance at the Biden-Palin debate: Holy Crap!!!! We keep coming back to that theme! She said McCain didn't ask her to check her opinions at the door when she became a V.P. candidate. Apparently no one asked her to check her personality at the door either. HOLY CRAP! She is unrelentingly perkey! I was very impressed. I'm impressed with her as a person and a politician. I'm still not voting for her, but she may do alot by her very presence to advance women's status in society. She is a V.P. candidatae and is UNAPOLOGETICALLY feminine. She's going to bring her baby on stage. She's going to wink at the audience and give a shout out to the "third graders." Wow . . . That's who she was 5 weeks ago, before this started and that's how she still is, unsurprisingly. But it cuts through all the crap about "How is a women politician supposed to act among all the male politicians in their boring suits"?" The answer is and should be, like YOURSELF! Anyone who thinks it's weird: Tough! Get used to it! We're going to have alot of female politicans in the future. (Just my gut feeling.) I hate to sound shallow, but I loved that suit she had on. This woman is NOT dumb and I think she charmed even Biden.

The other thing that jumped out at me is this had to be one of the most friendly election campaigns in my memory (if we don't count the political commentators and just look at the Demoncratic and Republican candidates' treatment of one another.)

[blacknblue]

I enjoyed watching the debate for entertainment value. But it bugged me that both sides have been playing fast and loose with the truth. Both campaigns have been guilty of flat out lies, as well as distortions and taking things out of context. And the press is worse than useless at calling either one of them to account over it. The press is supposed to be our watchdog in this, but they only pick out an occasional point to nibble at that they think sounds like it has human interest. The "boring" stuff that actually matters gets ignored. Like I said, worse than useless.

But I had fun watching them go after each other. And I do agree that Sarah Pailin would be a far more decorative representative at foreign funearals and diplomatic missions that Biden would.

[CX]

Palin refused to answer several questions because she apparently had a prepared script she'd memorized. She failed at failing.

[justTripn]

Hmm . . . that's a way of looking at it: Failed at failing. Good one.

[Alelou]

And the press is worse than useless at calling either one of them to account over it. The press is supposed to be our watchdog in this, but they only pick out an occasional point to nibble at that they think sounds like it has human interest. The "boring" stuff that actually matters gets ignored. Like I said, worse than useless.

I'm a little puzzled by this. After both debates I've seen the lies and distortions explicitly discussed in special stories in the New York Times and ABCNews, and our local paper, and I'm sure other places carry it too. (I tried to find them for you today but by now it's old news.) I've seen them discussed on CNN and MSNBC and so on as well. I've also seen lots of stories dedicated to lies and exaggerations in both camp's political commercials. I think the media has improved tremendously in this area over some past elections. I actually think John Stewart has embarrassed the regular press into doing this stuff better.

[justTripn]

I guess I spoke to soon about the candidates being nice to each other.

[justTripn]

WARNING FROM ADMINISTRATOR:

Dark Rain was right. We aren't supposed to be discussing politics per se. We can't be campaigning for one individual or another, although it's fine to say who we support. We can talk about the campaign in general, as a cultural event in America, but the political discussions just get everyone riled up. Posts that step over the line will be deleted.

[Linda]

Okayyyyy, I will try not to be too specific. I agree with Bnb that the campaign has gotten out of hand (as they always do) and both sides are playing fast and loose with the truth. They taking their opponent's words out of context and twisting what they are saying. I am disgusted with both sides and wonder how many people are actually buying these distorted views. I knew who I would be voting for a long time ago and this mud flinging will not change my mind. It only makes me ashamed of what are supposed to be the leaders in this country.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Is it safe to say that I still thinks Sarah Palin looks hot?

[Asso]

Is it safe to say that I still thinks Sarah Palin looks hot?

I am not used with American modes, but I agree with that!

[blacknblue]

I am disgusted that the press is not digging into the actual voting record of either candidate. They are responding to the sound bites and snippy comments. But when it comes to the actual depth of either man, when it comes to who they really are, the press has fallen down on their job. Both of these men have a past, both of them have a prior life. Who are they? What have they done? What have other people actually said about them, and NOT in sound bites? NOT in isolated sentence snips taken out of context.

Nothing.

[Alelou]

What are you reading, USA Today and the Drudge Report? There's tons of stuff out there on these guys. I recommend the NYTimes, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the more serious magazines. There's plenty of in-depth information out there. Yes, they do ignore or debunk some of the bogus claims like somebody voted for something 94 times -- because they are wildly inflated and profoundly out of context. But if you want to examine this stuff in detail, the Congressional Record is online too. And probably also available in your local library.

[blacknblue]

I know that the information is out there. I am talking about the mainstream media (tv-radio-newspapers). Granted, anyone who has both the time and inclination can find this information on the web. But what about my parents, who are computer illiterate? What about Joe and jane Sixpack, who are working two jobs at 70 hours per week to cover the rent and babysitter? Wnen are they going to find time to sift through a dozen web pages?