The Rookie and the Veteran

Ms Palin did a better job last night than I expected from the Couric interviews. But, I can't say she made the sale, far from it.

Palin came across as a very young and inexperienced salesperson just out of a company's internship program. She had memorized the three or four basic selling points and the 'negatives' about the competition and tried to wrap them up in a folksy - you and me - manner. She spoke in generalities as to why her 'product' was better - we'll make changes and you'll pay less in taxes. Most of her pitch was focused on trying to knock down the other guy; a lot of what she said was just wrong. Her presentation was based on a contradiction - we need more regulation but the government should get out of the way. And, if I hear the word 'maverick' once more, I'll scream. Biden did a good job of demonstrating the falsity of this claim, but McCain being a maverick seems to be embedded in the nation's psyche.

Biden did a better job than Obama. He pointed out many of Palin's 'misstatements' (to be polite about it) and made some strong points. I suppose that in this setting it would have been foolhardy to question the success of the surge, but, at some point, this issue will have to be raised unless Iraq gets back on the media's front burner in the next month.