Making sense of the VP debates

Those anxiously waiting for Sarah Palin to implode in last night's vice presidential debate were probably disappointed with the outcome. The debate resembled a conversation between a human, and a doll with a pull string in its back. No matter what you asked the doll, the answer you got was pre-programmed, and invariably a non sequitor to the question at hand.

When not displaying the cutesy, Barbie-like characteristics evinced in the Tina Fey SNL skits, Palin lapsed into "Chucky" mode, often trying to skewer the clearly ill-at-ease Joe Biden. Some will view the debate as highly successful for the former almost Miss Alaska. Others will cringe at the prospect of our country in the hands of one so utterly clueless about the grave issues we face as a nation.

Those who went into this debate republicans, likely came away breathing a sigh of relief, and with renewed enthusiasm. She didn't have a melt-down or lapse into stupefied silence. But let's not kid ourselves, Sarah Palin's inclusion on the Republican ticket is nothing short of gendermandering. It is transparent ruse to transform the political landscape by manipulating a key demographic, all the while appeasing the fanatic zealots that constitute the base. If they were so sure that Palin were a qualified candidate, the McCain camp wouldn't have insisted that the format of the debate be altered to prevent the moderator from asking follow-up questions. After the Couric debacle, they stripped the moderator of the ability to hold Palin accountable for actually answering the questions. I guess they were worried that it would distract the Alaskan parvenu from the talking points which she worked so hard to memorize during the last few weeks.

It's no secret that Joe Biden didn't score a unanimous knock-out victory. But Democrats should take heart that Palin was unable to engage on any single issue of substance, proving incapable of defending accusations against McCain on matters of the economy or the war in Iraq. We can all hope the media will pick up on Palin's assertion that she wants to explore the constitutional means by which she can expand the vice president's role in the legislative arena. After eight years of Dick Cheney...that is the last thing we need. Especially from one so ideologically linked to the reigning sith lord.

I think Palin lived up to her very meager expectations. The pull-string doll didn't implode. But the fact remains: the McCain-Palin ticket does not auger well for the fate of this country. Four more years of Bush/Cheney politics would be a disaster. Just saying that you are agents of "change", or that you are "fresh" or a "maverick" doesn't make it so. I thought Biden successfully challenged these misconceptions. Let's pray that Americans were paying attention to the facts last night...and not the winking, smirking marionette. I will try to take comfort in the words of a great Republican president: you can fool some of the people all of the time; and all of the people some of the time...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time.