More on the election

I thought that would be my last Sarah Palin post a few weeks ago but I have some comments on the Vice-Presidential debate. First, let me say that Sarah Palin did a very good job. She made some good points, beat Biden over the head with them and winked, smiled, and empathized her way to the hearts of Americans. Second, I think the line of criticism which states that Palin was not original in her thoughts is unfair. It is true that she was rehearsed and was clearly repeating her talking points, but this is something which most politicians do – maybe less obviously than she did yesterday. But that is easily correctable through experience and time. Finally, there is an argument to be made for connecting with the voters in a visceral (as opposed to a purely intellectual) way – and Palin clearly has the capacity for visceral empathetic connection.

Having said that, I have two major criticisms of Palin and one of Biden. Biden did not respond to some of Palin’s barbs which showed the difference between Biden and Obama. I think those issues should be dealt with. He should have responded more seriously to these assertions.

In case of Palin, two parts of the debate worried me. First, her assertion of constitutional power for the Vice-President!!! As we all know, the Constitution does not tie the Vice-President to the legislature, nor does it give the office the power she was talking about. There is no such discretionary power given to the Vice-President as she seemed to suggest. That statement showed a profound misunderstanding of the office she is running for.

Second, she refused to answer the questions posed to her by Ifill. Now, all debaters do this to some extent but she did it to an unprecedented extent. In fact, she acknowledged what she was doing saying, “I may not be answering your questions Joe or those the moderator wants me to answer…” Now if a student came to take a test and then said, “Prof. Bagchi, I am not answering the questions you have given me on this test, but I am saying what I think is important” that student would fail immediately. This was not a campaign speech, it was a debate. You cannot make the rules here, you have to play by pre-set rules. By not playing by these rules, you give the impression that you are incapable of doing well by playing by the rules. Wouldn’t you assume that your student was not answering the given questions because he/she did not know the answer?

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In Other News:

The local branch of the grocery store, Stauffers, has opened about 3 miles down the road from us. This is the equivalent to Whole Foods and is really very good. I had been traveling to one about 15 miles away every couple of weeks or so. Now, I will pass it every day on my way to the train station. The good thing is: I will be saving on gas. The bad thing is: I will probably lose that saving by buying too much at the store. But I am delighted nonetheless.