One issue which has intrigued us no end has been the build-up to the election of the President of the United States. We have had Barack Obama, a Black man nominated by the Democratic Party. Before that he had to overcome Senator Hillary Clinton, a woman who many agree has the pedigree to do the job. On the Republican side we have seen the emergence of a political neophyte in Sarah Palin selected by Senator John McCain to be his running mate.
It was a selection which fitted the public perception of McCain that he is truly a maverick; the BU household suggests that it shows he is a high stakes gambler.
In less than 24 hours the world will witness the Vice Presidential Debate 2008 between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. While Joe Biden is known as the gaffe machine, Sarah Palin has quickly attracted the reputation of providing answers to questions which lead to nowhere – see the video above. In Biden’s defense his gaffes are usually based on his abrupt answers and tendency to be verbose. On the flipside, Palin’s answers to many questions in her handful of interviews have been idiotic.
Against this background the Vice Presidential Debate is being eagerly awaited by Americans and World Citizens. We say World Citizens because whether mainstream America is aware, what happens in their domestic politics will have geopolitical implications. They are some who are trying to muddy the pristine reputation of Gwen Ifill, the Black PBS moderator of the upcoming debate. The fact that she will be under the microscope to protect her good reputation as a journalist should make her a good moderator.
One bit of advice BU can give to the veteran Biden is not to be sucked to the level of Palin. She obviously does not have the political dept to adequately win a economic and foreign policy debate; she will have to rely on hyperbole and emotional arguments. Her only chance to create a favourable impression will be to stay focus on attacking Obama to deflect attention from herself.
Will Gwen Ifill’s questions allow Palin that luxury?
Previous BU Sara Palin blogs
Eyespy,
So I take it you believe that in the current financial climate and with a national debt that now exceeds $10 trillion, Obama will take a tax plan to Congress that cuts federal taxes for 95% of working families next year… we’ll see.
Incidentally… according to the US Tax Foundation (http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/1410.html) 32% of working Americans and at least 13% of working families (or households) in America in 2006 already pay NO federal taxes… so technically you can’t CUT federal taxes for 95% of working families when less than 87% pay federal taxes in the first place. You could increase the number of working families that pay no taxes, and the level of rebates for those who already have a negative tax liability… maybe this is what he means, but I would be very surprised if they implement a plan that does this in the current financial climate.
Note: According to the US Bureau of the Census, the total households in the US (both working and non-working families) in 2006 was 108 million (http://www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/hh-fam/table1n.txt)
Interesting clip on the Bush presidency.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/bush_tours_america_to_survey
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