7:55— Listening to FNC’s Strategy Room, they’re saying that Palin has much more latitude in going on offense than Biden. I’ll be watching for that. That would be a good thing.
7:56— Qwen Ifill is patiently sitting almost motionless at her desk.
7:59— Neither candidate has entered the room. It won’t be long now.
8:01— Ifill is explaining the format.
8:02— They’ve just entered the stage. Gov. Palin looks comfortable.
8:03— First question to Biden on the bailout. He’s starting off with a whopper, talking about the deregulation & wild happenings going on on Wall Street. “We’re gonna focus on the middle class, not just on the wealthy.”
8:04— Damn livestream dropped.
8:08— Palin talking about Obama not having proof of practicing new politics.
8:10— Palin talking about predatory lending practices, then talking about not getting ourselves into debt.
8:11— Biden is back talking about overwhelming deregulation. John this, John that. He’s piling it on thick.
8:13— Palin responding to Biden. Obama had 94 opportunities to lower taxes. 94 times he voted not to lower taxes.
8:15— I’m gonna talk directly to the American people. As mayor, I’ve cut taxes.
8:17— John wants to add $300 billion to the wealthiest. Typical class warfare.
8:18— Palin: You’re forgetting about all the small businesses that’ll get dumped into Obama’s tax increases. It’s the backwards way to the economy. She’s now defending McCain’s health care plan. She’s just nailed it talking about how inept government is at running anything.
8:20— Biden: Where I come from, it isn’t called redistribution of wealth, it’s called basic fairness.
8:23— Palin: The nice thing about running with John McCain is that he doesn’t say one thing to one group & another thing to another group. As governor of Alaska, I had to take on the oil companies. John McCain voted against the tax cuts for oil companies, Obama voted for them.
8:25— Biden: Why is John McCain adding another $4 billion to Exxon?
8:26— Palin: Weak moment talking about greed on Wall Street, then finishing strong by reminding people that John McCain gave the first warning on Freddie/Fannie.
8:29— Palin: back on energy policy. Some from the East Coast aren’t letting us tapping into our energy supplies. It isn’t just about taxes.
8:31— Palin: We have to clean up this planet. I’m not about to blame every temperature change on man’s activities. I’m willing to talk about the cyclical nature of warming/cooling.
8:33— Biden: We know what causes global warming. It’s manmade. Now he’s talking about clean coal technology. We should be exporting CCT. “I guess John just believes is Drill! Drill! Drill!
8:35— Palin: Sen. Biden, You once said that drilling on the OCS as raping the environment.
8:39— Palin: Barack Obama voted against the surge. “Sen., I respected you when you called Sen. Obama out”, saying that it was all politics.
8:41— Biden: John McCain voted against funding the troops because the bill had a timeline in it. He’s trying to saying that McCain didn’t support the troops because he didn’t sanction defeat? Get serious.
8:43— Biden: On every major foreign policy issue, John McCain has been wrong. That’s strong language for someone who wanted to divide sovereign Iraq into 3 countries.
8:47— Palin: Gen. Petraeus called Iraq the central front in the war on terror. Ahmadinejad calls Israel a “stinking corpse” poses a greater threat than Pakistan. Now she’s nailing Obama about meeting with Ahmadinejad without preconditions & preparations.
8:50— Palin. It’s beyond bad judgment to meet with Ahmadinejad.
8:51— Biden: Sen. Obama did not say that he’d meet with Ahmadinejad. Wrong. This is demonstrably false. Expect Team McCain to have a video out 5 minutes after the debate ends.
8:52— Palin: Israel is our strongest & best ally in the Middle East. A McCain-Palin administration would tell Israel that we won’t permit another Holocaust.
8:54— Biden: There’s no better friend to Israel than Joe Biden. Barack Obama shares my passion for Israel.
8:55— Palin: Biden is wrong in saying the Bush adminstration’s Israel policy was an “abject failure.” “Sen. Biden keeps talking about change but they keep talking about the Bush administration.”
8:57— Palin: The surge principles in Iraq need to be applied to Afghanistan. Sen. Obama said that we’re bombing citizens. We aren’t doing that.
8:58— Biden: Our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge strategy in Iraq won’t work in Afghanistan.
9:00— Palin: First of all, Gen. McClellan didn’t say specifically that the surge principles wouldn’t work in Afghanistan.
9:01— Biden is arguing that Palin is wrong about Gen. McClellan.
9:03— Biden: I’ve got the stomach for winning wars. Proof please?
9:04— Palin: It’s obvious that I’m not from inside the Beltway. Sen. You voted for a war resolution. TAGGED HARD.
9:05— Biden: I’ve never agreed with John McCain’s Iraq policy.
9:07— Palin: John McCain knows how to win wars.
9:09— Biden: God forbid anything happens but I’d follow every Obama policy.
9:10— Palin: I think America needs some Wasilla common sense that says “If you’re gonna dump more taxes on me, I’d rather you got out of the way.”
9:11— Biden: I know about the middle class.
9:12— Palin: God bless you, Joe, but you prefaced your statement with the Bush administration again. Gets a good chuckle from everyone. Now she’s talking about education & her family’s education background.
9:13— Palin: The VP is President of the Senate. My role in the McCain administration will be about energy.
9:15— Biden: Barack picked me to help govern.
9:16— Palin: My executive experience will be put to good use in a McCain administration.
9:18— Biden: It’s bizarre to think that the VP isn’t part of the Executive Branch. (How does he explain the Senate paying the VP’s salary?)
9:19— Palin: The McCain-Palin ticket believes in American exceptionalism.
9:22— Palin: John McCain is the ultimate maverick. I’ve taken on my own party in Alaska, too. Look at all the different people supporting John McCain: Lieberman, Giuliani, Lingle, Romney.
9:24— Biden: John McCain isn’t a maverick. ??? This guy is downright bizarre.
9:26— Palin: “There’ve been times when I’ve wanted to zero-base budget but I didn’t have the votes.”
9:28– Palin: You do what I’ve done. You appoint people who’ll do the best job for the people. You walk the walk. You don’t just talk the talk. You support a ticket that cuts spending. You support building infrastructure.

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2 Responses to “Liveblogging the VP Debate”

  • Walter hanson says:

    You know you missed a few things:

    * Obama will only increase the taxes on the rich. I don’t make $50,000 a year, but my taxes will be increased because the lowest rate will be increased from 10% to 15%!

    * John Mccain didn’t want to reform. Um wasn’t there that bill in 2005 that Mccain sponsored where he predicted what happened this year.

    * Didn’t he say there is no difference between a gay marriage and a hetrosexual marriage. Boy that will wake up the Christian conservatives. Yet I heard that Biden made no gaffs!

    * Oh Bush is wrong in Iraq! Bush is wrong in Afghanistan! Bush is wrong in Pakistan! Bush is wrong in Israel! Biden criticized Palin for supporting Bush policies. Um doesn’t he realize they have no policies and make things worse.

    Walter Hanson
    Minneapolis, MN

  • jt says:

    seriously? Tell you what, if you’re not willing to enlist, don’t vote for McCain.

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