Biden Palin Debate Highlights

"Fear, Fear, Fear" says Palin in her opening debate response.

Dodge, Dodge, Dodge the question Sarah.

Team of "Mavericks." If you say so Sarah.

"Never Again" will a corrupt speculative bubble be allowed to grow and burst if Palin and McCain win. OK. If they win, lets hold them to the regulatory oversight Palin has promised.

Palin side-steps the question about McCain's record on deregulation, twice, an very blatantly shifting the question to... a Republican favorite, buying votes with tax cuts.

Then there is the tax question:

Palin plays the "redistribution of wealth" card.... in this case, opposing the redistribution from the ultra wealthy to the middle class. She still believes in trickle-down economics despite the train wreck that we're experiencing because of.... trickle-down economic ideology.

Oh Boy! The health care "ultimate bridge to nowhere" line by Biden deserves more air play.

Taking on the oil companies in Alaska. Did she really break up a monopoly?

Yea. Windfall profits tax on the oil companies. Let see you implement that nationally Sarah.

Uh, Sara. You mean toxic waste on wall street that's affecting main street. Will any of the pundits mention her freudian slip in reversing the streets?

Sarah is a question-dodge. Will she and McCain support reducing both interest and the cost (principle) of the houses to keep people from being foreclosed upon.

Sarah and climate change. "I don't want to argue about the charges." At least she finally admits we've got to reduce emissions.

Some people might be happy that Joe Biden referred to off shore drilling as "raping" the coastline. Not Sarah.

What was the answer on civil unions Sarah? Not the the "marriage" question. Another obvious dodge.

"Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq." Well, now there is some "straight talk," not presidential, but straight.

Obama is not just naive, not just a bad judge, he is "down right dangerous" when it comes to negotiating directly with adversarial foreign leaders. (Fear, Fear, Fear).

World view: America is that nation of exceptionalism, which is why we can attack countries, unprovoked, and it's "OKaeee". The US can do no wrong. When the US kills civilians it's OK because the US is exceptional.

"Consummate Maverick." Are we supposed to believe that?

How many times did Palin say "Maverick" in this debate?

Oooo. The "Maverick he is not" memorable line by Biden blasting McCain's claim to be a Maverick.

Fight Fight Fight, says Sarah. Nice closing statement. Apparently Republicans like fighting.

The Rub of the Shrub: Chapter 1

It was a cold winter day in 2009 when Jeremy started his journey. Walking his dog, he called Gary on a whim.

As Murphy's Law would have it, God decided to take a shit just as Gary's phone started ringing. Jeremy fumbled off his gloves, pulled a baggie out of his coat pocket and cradled the too-small-to cradle cell on his shoulder, holding the leash in one hand while he did hid doggie pick-up duty with the other. Jeremy briefly thought of the joke about aliens observing this scene and concluding that humans were the slaves of dogs when Gary answered.

Hey Jer. Been a while.

Yea. Thought it was time to catch up.

And they did. Work, family, friends, Gary's law school. Finally Jeremy popped the question.

So, now that you're a lawyer, are you going to help prosecute the Shrub for war crimes?

Just making idle conversation. Gary laughed and Jeremy felt a little silly. Gary replied,

I was thinking more along the lines of 'crimes against the peace.'

This wasn't totally lost on Jeremy, though he wasn't quite sure exactly what that meant. Gary continued, beginning to change the subject.

So, whaddya think about the new administration?

New boss. Same as the old boss, I guess. But Jeremy wasn't quite ready to let the last topic drop.

No really. I don't mean be the lead prosecutor. How can we let the Shrub get away with ... everything?

There was a pause on the other end.

Look. He's a fucking ass hole. A fuck'n disgrace to the Country. He should be tried. But it ain't gonna happen. I mean, come on.

Yea, well, Biden said don't worry about whether we impeach him, we can prosecute him for war crimes.

Biden isn't President.

Maybe that's to our advantage. These guys get into office and ... they go conservative. Biden's on the outside.

Well, if you hear Biden talking it up, let me know. At which point the conversation drifted to another topic.

Later that day, Jeremy spoke with his dad. He had apparently hit a deer... again.

Guess I should check my e-mail more often, Jeremy said, feeling guilty about his lack of family contact, living on opposite coasts. Everyone was alright, but Jeremy was reminded of the elderly couple whom he'd met in Colorado, visiting his grandparents, who were killed in a head-on while trying to miss a deer or elk. He shuddered. Then he popped the question.

His father's response was a bit more supportive than Gary's. He didn't change the subject.

If I could see the Shrub get convicted for war crimes before I go to my grave, I'd feel very satisfied. To which he followed up. Look. It's not healthy to be vindictive, but here's a case where I'd make an exception, to which they both laughed.

Jeremy asked his dad if he was aware that Senator Biden had once made reference to war crimes prosecution as an option in the face of impeachment being off the table. His dad seemed to recall something along those lines. Jeremy followed up,

And Congressman Naylor, I forget his first name, represents Manhattan I think,

Jerry his dad offered.

Jerrold... Nadler. That's it. I think he was the chairman of some subcommittee, something to do with the constitution... I think it's part of the Judiciary Committee. I heard him on a podcast, and he was asked about Impeachment of the Shrub. His response was clear. He said the Shrub should be prosecuted.

You'll have to get passed his Praetorian guard first. He didn't realize how prescient those words were.