Election Issues Today

The audience to the VEEP debate perceived the War in Iraq to be the most contentious issue of the night.  For once, the economic crisis took a back seat in the viewers’ minds.

As I watched last night’s VP debate I found myself “holding my breath” as I awaited each response from Sarah Palin.  Okay, she got through that one: didn’t say much of anything, but didn’t screw it up either.

I don’t believe that any enthusiastic supporters of either candidate would have changed their minds or opinions of their OWN candidate based on the VP debate. And, if they changed their minds about the OTHER candidate, it wasn’t enough to change their vote.  Nope.

Prior to the VP debate, polls showed that previously uncommitted voters were moving into the Obama camp, with some previously “pink” States, now turning “light blue.”  The question is….will Palin’s performance be perceived as strong enough to stop the movement toward Obama-Biden?  I say not.

And,  I think the target audience for the remaining debates, and for the remaining days of the campaign,  are the “undecideds” and “uncommitteds.” The fence-sitters.

Based on post-VP debate interviews and polling, “uncommitteds” are strongly opposed to the Bush Administration’s war strategy in Iraq and perceive the McCain-Palin ticket as continuing that strategy. Therefore, post-debate polling found that the uncommitteds, were more favorably disposed toward Mr. Biden’s view of the war.

This Presidential Election outcome depends on the currently uncommitted voters. And it appears that their decisions matter in only a few key states. We are talking about a few thousand votes, each way.

Many “uncommitteds” are likely to be making up their minds by the end of next week, following the second Presidential Debate, and they will in all likelihood be selecting the Obama-Biden ticket on their ballots.

I don’t think Governor Palin did any disservice to her Party during the debate; I think she did as well as she could. She repeated the Party line, she supported all of Senator McCain’s positions, and she followed the recommended tactics selected for her: be  charming and “down-home” and “folksy.”

World leaders do not have to be charming. “Down home” is for country-western singers. She has overdone folksy. “Folksy” has become annoying.

About the only thing missing from Governor Palin’s presentation last night was a final, “Ah, shucks, I’ll tell ya, Joe, yer just downright wrong.”

Yup.  You betcha.

HERE WE GO! THE DEBATE IS ON!

Prove your Preference by Purchase!

Choose your mug and proudly display your candidate preference in your hand or on your desk.
Hold it up above your steering wheel at every traffic light.
Display it at the water cooler to the consternation of your opponent’s supporters.
Take it to the gym for a workout.
But you better buy only one; after all, tomorrow….

Yes, the big Veep debate is going forward. There seems little to say right now except we hope to see a little more excitement than during the Peep debate last week.

The Two MAIN Questions the media mouths seem to be talking about most: Will Biden be polite? Will Palin be pretty?

(Oh, I guess only one of those questions really remains to be answered.)

Political Poll “aggregators” show continuing shift towards Obama-Biden ticket, with several states now changing from “Red” to “Blue.”

Can Governor Sarah Palin save the GOP?   The ticket of the Grand Old Party needs another boost; will Palin deliver it? Can she hit another home run in the Veep debate?

The collateral questions:   Has she been adequately “prepped” by the McCain team down in Arizona? Can she avoid the big “gaffe”? Will she choke?

2008 Presidential Campaign Debate Schedule

I’m surprised that I have so much difficulty in coming up with topics to discuss this week.

Other than the financial crisis and the deadlock in Congress over the bailout, there isn’t much going on.  Both of the Presidential campaigns and Vice-Presidential campaigns seem to be flying low this week.

So, just to fill up a little space, I am going to set forth the schedule for the remaining Presidential Campaign Debates.  At least I will now know where to quickly find the schedule.

Vice Presidential Debate:

October 2, 2008, Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Moderator: Gwen Ifill. Time:  9 pm, Eastern Time. Length: 90 minutes.

Presidential Debates:

October 7, 2008, Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Moderator: Tom Brokaw. Time:  9 pm, Eastern Time. Length: 90 minutes.

October 15, 2008, Hofstra University in Hempsted, NY. Moderator: Bob Schieffer. Time:  9 pm, Eastern Time. Length: 90 minutes.

And just for the historical record of really, really interested readers, the first Presidential debate of the 2008 campaign was held on September 26, 2008, at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. The moderator was Jim Lehrer.