Dave’s Photo Blog

Republicans are fine if you’re a multi-millionaire
Democrats is fair if all you own is what you wear
Neither of em’s really right ’cause neither of ‘em care
‘Bout that hot plate heaven, cause they ain’t been there

Frank Zappa, Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel

I just finished watching the only vice presidential debate we will see in this election cycle. Here are some thoughts.

Disclosure: I tend to identify with progressive candidates, although my voting record includes votes to members of both the democratic and republican parties at both the state and federal level over the years. And it’s not my desire to espouse one view or the other in this post. But I’ve been looking forward to this debate since John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate and want to provide some hopefully balanced views.

I think both candidates did an OK job. I also think both had a few problems. For me, it was a mixed result that did little to change the decision at the top of the ticket – the president. I thought Palin did a good job of casting doubt on Biden, most notably by using his record and statements when he was a presidential candidate competing against Obama. That was a very clever strategy and it worked. But Biden had a lot of substance behind his answers whereas Palin tended to fall back on talking points and promises.

I found Palin’s ‘soccer mom’ affect to be a bit disconcerting. I think that by the time you get to be governor of a state you are not a soccer mom anymore. (can you say, Jane Swift?) You are not like the people you represent. So to represent yourself as an average American is a bit disingenuous, but it’s great politics and I think it will resonate with a lot of people.

But the one moment I replayed was where Biden choked up talking about his son. The moment where he stammered and his eyes got big and watery and he had that look on his face. I believe that was genuine. As a parent, I know what it means when you get that look. Not as well as Biden or Palin – they both have had it harder than me. But I think it drains some of the advantage Palin has built in her everyday woman approach to her candidacy.

Frankly, I don’t trust many politicians of either party when they start throwing around ‘so and so voted for/against this 6,000 times’. That’s not the way it works. Most elected officials can be made to look foolish when you start extracting bits of bills and challenging them on their overall vote on said bill. In Biden’s case, he takes McCain to task for voting against MRAP armor because the bill contained a timetable. Let’s be serious, McCain was voting against the timetable, not the MRAP armour appropriation.

So how does all this shed light on the presidential race? I don’t think it’s going to change a lot of minds amongst republicans or democrats. Look, the election is highly polarized. If Obama had selected a vice presidential running mate with a résumé as light as Sarah Palin’s, do you think his supporters would still vote for him? Yup. This race is not about the vice presidency, it’s about two very polarized political parties. In some sense, you could argue that someone who believes in Obama’s platform could not bring themself to vote for McCain and vise versa. Not on the choice of vice president, anyway.