Sunday, October 05, 2008
AMATEUR NIGHT
As a real debate, the vice-presidential confrontation was little more than a farce, as judged by most competent observers.
It was like amateur night for the winking Hockey Mom and former beauty contestant turned (repeatedly) self-proclaimed maverick. She had been well coached as to how to deliver her party’s talking points, just as those other stage contestants tell us how their mission is to bring peace to the world – a little more complicated perhaps, but of the same character.
While Palin did not fall on her face as some expected, she was strictly an amateur in a professional league. From her manners and her use of cute folksy language, one would have thought she was running for the mayor’s position in some small town in Alaska.
Few of us would sleep well knowing her to be the backup for a cancer survivor president already 72 years of age.
Most of us who call the plumber’s shop expect them to send a technician who goes about his job in a professional manner. We expect the same when we call an air conditioning person or and electrician. We do not want them to send an amateur, or one who is cute and folksy. Why should we expect less of our elected public officials?
The more informed among us do not want a president or vice-president who is not more competent and knowledgeable of the issues and the governing process than we are. The McCain-Palin effort to be seen as “just one of the regular bunch” is not all appealing to this voter. “Just like us” is not a good criterion for a president, or for a would-be successor.
Having been a high school debater, and having served as a judge in several collegiate debate tournaments, Ms. Palin’s incessantly winking, bubbly manner, erroneous facts, and specious arguments all fell short of acceptable standards. Had this event been governed by any normal rules, she would have been disqualified.
As a starter, one does not tell the moderator that one will not answer her questions or rebut the arguments of the opponent, but that she will instead give a prepared argument on some other subject.
One does not say, “May I call you ‘Joe’?” A formal manner of address is expected, such as “my opponent” or “Senator.” She was correctly addressed as “Governor” by her opponent, and never as “Sarah.”
Then, one should not lie or state erroneous facts, giving no authoritative attribution or source or misquoting that source, which the Governor did repeatedly. False claims about matters of record are unwise. Deliberate misinterpretations of past happenings or statements are usually shown up.
One should not mention some feature related to a weak point in one’s case, lest the opponent seize the opportunity to expose that weakness. Palin’s mention of the premium tax credit for workers’ in McCain’s health insurance program was an example.
Biden was able to point out that this came at the expense of cutting health insurance premiums from the employee and employer’s tax sheltered benefits, and putting the employee on his/her own to purchase health insurance. Thus, costs to workers would increase, and some 20 million more would be uninsured.
Biden’s spoke of the futility of their “drill, drill, drill” energy policy, because it would bring too little too late (10 years), he said. She reminded “Joe,” and all of us, that their cutesy slogan was “drill, baby, drill,” but never attempted to refute his facts or logic. This was typical of her evening.
Yes, Governor Sarah Palin was successful in that she did not verbally and intellectually flounder as she has done in her interviews with mainstream reporters. Had there been a tough moderator who held her on the point and forced her to actually debate, it would have been a pitiful sight.
In that format and with that moderator, she was able to get by with the party talking points upon which she had been coached.
To say that Ms. Palin won the debate, or that she even belonged on that stage, is to commit outright, abject sophistry. But then such is not new to that party’s spin artists.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
It was like amateur night for the winking Hockey Mom and former beauty contestant turned (repeatedly) self-proclaimed maverick. She had been well coached as to how to deliver her party’s talking points, just as those other stage contestants tell us how their mission is to bring peace to the world – a little more complicated perhaps, but of the same character.
While Palin did not fall on her face as some expected, she was strictly an amateur in a professional league. From her manners and her use of cute folksy language, one would have thought she was running for the mayor’s position in some small town in Alaska.
Few of us would sleep well knowing her to be the backup for a cancer survivor president already 72 years of age.
Most of us who call the plumber’s shop expect them to send a technician who goes about his job in a professional manner. We expect the same when we call an air conditioning person or and electrician. We do not want them to send an amateur, or one who is cute and folksy. Why should we expect less of our elected public officials?
The more informed among us do not want a president or vice-president who is not more competent and knowledgeable of the issues and the governing process than we are. The McCain-Palin effort to be seen as “just one of the regular bunch” is not all appealing to this voter. “Just like us” is not a good criterion for a president, or for a would-be successor.
Having been a high school debater, and having served as a judge in several collegiate debate tournaments, Ms. Palin’s incessantly winking, bubbly manner, erroneous facts, and specious arguments all fell short of acceptable standards. Had this event been governed by any normal rules, she would have been disqualified.
As a starter, one does not tell the moderator that one will not answer her questions or rebut the arguments of the opponent, but that she will instead give a prepared argument on some other subject.
One does not say, “May I call you ‘Joe’?” A formal manner of address is expected, such as “my opponent” or “Senator.” She was correctly addressed as “Governor” by her opponent, and never as “Sarah.”
Then, one should not lie or state erroneous facts, giving no authoritative attribution or source or misquoting that source, which the Governor did repeatedly. False claims about matters of record are unwise. Deliberate misinterpretations of past happenings or statements are usually shown up.
One should not mention some feature related to a weak point in one’s case, lest the opponent seize the opportunity to expose that weakness. Palin’s mention of the premium tax credit for workers’ in McCain’s health insurance program was an example.
Biden was able to point out that this came at the expense of cutting health insurance premiums from the employee and employer’s tax sheltered benefits, and putting the employee on his/her own to purchase health insurance. Thus, costs to workers would increase, and some 20 million more would be uninsured.
Biden’s spoke of the futility of their “drill, drill, drill” energy policy, because it would bring too little too late (10 years), he said. She reminded “Joe,” and all of us, that their cutesy slogan was “drill, baby, drill,” but never attempted to refute his facts or logic. This was typical of her evening.
Yes, Governor Sarah Palin was successful in that she did not verbally and intellectually flounder as she has done in her interviews with mainstream reporters. Had there been a tough moderator who held her on the point and forced her to actually debate, it would have been a pitiful sight.
In that format and with that moderator, she was able to get by with the party talking points upon which she had been coached.
To say that Ms. Palin won the debate, or that she even belonged on that stage, is to commit outright, abject sophistry. But then such is not new to that party’s spin artists.
Dr. Edwin E. Vineyard, AKA The Militant Moderate
