BitaTruble
Posts: 9779
Joined: 1/12/2006
From: Texas
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Okay.. this is probably going to be my last OP for a while since I'll be in CA for the next 3 weeks. (Hey, quit the cheering!)
Ladies first:
Gov Palin - You're going up against a smart, educated man who has the same sort of mostly middle class values that you do. Stay off religion.. he's a staunch Roman Catholic and you won't be able to get him in that area. You need to attack him on congressional spending, flipping on the Surge and his several failed bids for Prez as well as the poor approval rating of Congress. As often as possible go back to the fact that if the people had wanted him in a higher office, they've had plenty of chances to vote for him already .. and didn't. It's going to be hard for you to attack Biden too much because except for that whole plagarism thing, which was decades ago, he's pretty clean in most other areas and has proven his mettle as a Senator. He's good at what he does. Acknowledge that .. then suggest he keep doing it. Do not attack his son working for the bank. Biden's family is too clean and the fact that your own husband wasn't that keen on you being mayor is not going to serve you well. Biden has the loving and whole-hearted support of his whole family so don't even go there.
You're going to need to come up with something regarding your serious lack of formal education, the number of schools you went to, the fact that your degree is in such a soft area and that the ticket you represent really doesn't pass muster in that regard. Folks are going to be hard-pressed to believe that education is all that important to you given that you didn't spend too much time on your own and educational issues are virtually non-existant in your runs for mayor and gov. You can bet that Biden is going to go on the attack on the brains issue. You have good instincts, but, even if you never did homework in the past, you'll need to do it now. Use the 'bridge to nowhere' to your advantage. Okay, you flipped on that one a bit, but make it clear that you have no problem readdressing issues when they aren't feasible or don't tow the line with voters. Be strong without being whiney, direct without being combative and show the voters (NOT Biden) that you've got your shit together. You won't win the debate, but you don't have to .. you only have to make a good enough showing so that you don't turn people off, especially, your base. Your base is on your side, but you need to sway the indies and you're not going to do that if you take too hard a line. People looking for change don't want the same old song and dance and let's face it, you're really not a maverick here and you're not going to fool anyone into thinking you are so do what you do best and let the other guy stick his foot in his mouth. He's good at that. I'd avoid too much talk of ethics given the investigation into your own activities and for crying out loud, if you bring up Clinton, it's going to come back and bite you in the ass. The man hasn't held elected office in 8 years so let it go.
Sen Biden - use your smarts to your advantage. You're miles above Palin in the education department and on women's issues and anyone who's done a scrap of investigating into your background is going to know that so bring those up as often as you can. She's savvy on energy, but so are you so that's going to come out as a wash. Talk up your own expertise in that area and don't sweat it too much. She's good, but you'll more than hold your own here. Don't let the fact that she wears panties instead of boxers stop you from doing what you do best, which is attack, just be careful of which subjects you choose to use against her. You've got quite a lot to choose from so make your points count without looking like some misogynist ass. Attack her on taxing employer paid health insurance benefits and point out her stance on embryonic cell research. Most voters are 'for' rather than against that issue including her own running mate. Call her on her isolationist stance and her remarks about only taking on the VP job if it's doing what's best for Alaska. Call into question whether or not she's capable of setting aside her home state for the good of the Nation. We have 50 states here, not just one and she'll be VP of all of them. You can throw in a remark or two about CIC of the National Guard if she uses that to as proof of military or command experience. Point out that the National Guard is not under command of the Gov when called to national duty but that authority transfers to the federal level. Point out that, as Gov, she's never had to call out the National Guard so really doesn't have any sort of military command experience to draw on. Don't push it too much because you're sorely lacking in that area. This is a case of the best defense is probably just to keep your big trap shut unless she brings it up first. You can certainly bet on foreign policy and national security coming up several times over the course of your debates so do your own homework and don't take credit for things you didn't do! That's a big problem with you and, like Palin, you're not going to fool the savvy voter. If you must, acknowledge her assets as a small town mayor and the progressive rigor with which she held office, but certainly imply that it was done at the expense of a lot of people. Question her loyalty. She'll be hard pressed to defend it given her track record. You should feel free to bring up Clinton .. Hillary that is .. and if you throw out a line or two about the fact that she's no Hillary Clinton, the Hillary supporters will be happy and anyone who was already swinging over to the McCain ticket might take a second look at it. Probably not, but it's worth a shot.
You're really in sort of a no-win situation here. Everyone expects you to win this debate so if you do, the most it will garner is a yawn .. so the main thing here is don't fuck it up. If you lose, it's on you.
Good luck to you both! I can't wait to see ya'll in action. 
_____________________________
"Oh, so it's just like Rock, paper, scissors." He laughed. "You are the wisest woman I know."
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My advice for the VP debators - 
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