Why did the Obama camp agree to this VP debate format?

[onehandle]

We should have held our ground for a totally open VP debate. Now Palin will memorize fifty responses and look like a genius.

The GOP won big on this Obama campaign mistake.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/09/20/mccain-camp-argues-that-a-loose-debate-format-could-leave-sarah-palin-vulnerable-as-a-relatively-inexperienced-debater/

[FrenchieCat]

1. How do you know something is a mistake before it even happens?

Let's just watch and listen, instead of bitching so much.

[EffieBlack]

18. THANK you, Frenchie!

Jeez!

[AzNick]

33. "John McCain secures presidential debate advantages"

Or ... did he?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection20...

I like to read the foreign press, because they usually take a truly independent approach to our issues.

How is it a victory for McCain to debate Obama in the format that he thinks fits him best?

We know Obama has a tendency of getting uneasy with hard, unexpected questions, which is the mark of a younger politician, but one thing we know from McCain is that he has a short fuse and could show a side of himself that people are not always aware of. And he's shown several times these last weeks that he could not answer certain questions, had a tendancy to be unprepared, and it shows even more since he ran out of POW wildcards.

Also, Obama is going to be preparing himself for a week and my guess is that he knows he needs to meet this challenge.

In my own personal dictionary, at the word "ambitious", you see a photo Obama.

You also see Napoleon, who knew how to make his enemies over confident, and let them take the offensive and then turn it around with something completely out of the ordinary.

I know most of you are not militarists and usually hate talking about war and strategy, but this is a war.

You need to know your opponent's strength and weaknesses and moreover you need to respect him. And this is where McCain is at a disadvantage.

[endthewar]

21. It may not be a mistake, but it's definitely an advantage to the McCain campaign

[SwampG8r]

27. perceived advantage

it may turn out to be a total disadvantage

[DearAbby]

29. She spent nearly two weeks

in seclusion before the "ChUrley" interview...She came off looking like a complete idiot. The advantage is ours, Don't underestimate the experience and talent of our own VP Candidate.

[blondeatlast]

22. What she said.

:thumbsup:

[onehandle]

30. Our knives are not as sharp as they should be.

She'll show up with a stack of index cards and make a "strong showing" at the least.

Good intentions and positive thoughts don't win elections anymore.

Anyway, your disagreement is with John Amato. My point was his point. We could have done better.

[Drunken Irishman]

2. Right, because the structured interview with Gibson did wonders for Palin, right?

[No Elephants]

3. No clue why, but I hope it works. Maybe they want the American people to see her fail with every

possible advantage the McCain campaign wants to give her, so there are no excuses.

With apologies to Judge Judy, "Beauty fades; stupid is forever."

[samuraiguppy]

4. we gave a little on the VEEP

debate (one debate--and people don't choose the pres based on veeps) but we gained big time in the presidential debates. Obama is going to have more opportunities to get under McCain's skin. We know McCain loses his temper easily and a misstep will kill him.

So we are getting that in exchange for not letting Biden get personal with Palin--which probably would have looked bad anyway (being that she would scream he was sexist)

[Uben]

5. As a professional newscaster, Palin....

....will do fine on memorized material. It's all she can do. She has no brain of her own, but she does what she's told very well. Republicans have a history of lowering expectations in order to make a mediocre performance look brilliant. Look at Bush and Cheney...they are no more than Stan and Ollie!

[chascarrillo]

6. Because if the Palin-McCain camp didn't get their way, they would have bailed.

Any debate is good for us, and now the media story is how the Palin-McCain camp demanded a less strenuous debate. That's a win right there. Not to mention that any showcase where Biden directly and intelligently and concisely nails an issue while Palin gives a pageant answer is worth any price that needs to be paid.

Another plus: It reduces the chances for something like the Clinton-Whoeverthechumpwas NY Senate debate in 2000, where Clinton masterfully stepped back when the GOP candidate approached her, leading to the impression that the Republican candidate was physically threatening her. That was a game over tactic right there. Absolutely brilliant. Not chancing that is a major plus.

[Monk06]

7. Because Obama?Biden know that Palin will read from the script like a Chatty Kathy Doll

Unresponsive responses. Saying nothing about nothing
with all the passion of a broken record.

For all the children reading this, a record is
a vinyl or bake-a-lite disc with an engraved
surface that stimulates a vibrating needle to
create sound.

A broken record is a such as the above where a
damaged engraving resulting in what formerly was
called a 'skip' resulting in an annoying repetition
of a portion of the recording.

[1corona4u]

13. LOL...

Thanks for mentioning the record. :-) And, yes, she will parrot the same lines over, and over...I have total faith that she will forget some important things. Plus, people aren't stupid. Her background is already out there. The only people who will buy her; "I have experience, and I know everything" bullshit, are the republicans.

[sandnsea]

8. To protect Biden from sexism attacks

if the debate is open she'll be able to attack him with her pithy little remarks, but he won't be able to attack back. It could end up looking like he was skewered by her. With a structured format, they have to stick to issues and Biden easily wins. They done good.

[Jennicut]

12. Exactly. Biden is now protected as well.

Its just all about their answers and the issues which Palin is not good at anyways. She can memorize all she wants but Joe knows so much more then her on every subject. No need for them to "go at each other" so Rethugs can say he is sexist and condescending (like Poppy Bush vs. Geraldine Ferraro in 1984).

[scheming daemons]

9. Because we can "frame" the story prior to the debate that she is being "coddled"

Subliminally.... "she's not ready".

[iceman66]

10. Hopefully

The contrast between the debate formats will serve as a not-so-subtle reminder that Palin really isn't ready to be president.

[AllentownJake]

11. Debate rules were agreed to prior to the VP picking I believe

I could be wrong though.

[dailykoff]

15. Read the link.

"At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates. McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive."

[Thrill]

14. You seem to forget. You don't get to go unchallenged in debates

Biden doesn't have to let her get away with sound bytes.

[Motown_Johnny]

16. So, after she fails miserably there will be no excuses

[dailykoff]

17. It doesn't work to Joe's advantage at all.

He's thoughtful (some would say long winded) and doesn't think in cute little slogans and soundbytes. Longer answers on the other hand would show the shallowness of Palin's preparation.

WHY do we always get bullied into agreeing to whatever the pukes and their media co-conspirators demand? :banghead:

[Willo]

19. The excuses for Palin's expected failure have been entered

so the spin will be rating the newbie debater, rather than rating VP qualifications. Meanwhile...

PACT ON DEBATE WILL LET McCAIN AND OBAMA SPAR
<from page 2>

"The Obama campaign has been studying Mr. McCain’s debate performances from the Republican primary as well as in his 2000 race for president. Each debate has been rated and scored, with briefing points and highlights sent to Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama’s advisers have been studying in particular Mr. McCain’s temperament and mood and looking for potential flash points of anger.

Mr. McCain, his advisers say, has yet to spend much time watching the dozens of primary debate performances of Mr. Obama over the last two years. But they said that a small staff of aides had been reviewing them and that Mr. McCain would see some highlights next week."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/us/politics/21debate.html?pagewanted=1&_r=7&hp&adxnnlx=1222006563-F2QYUOJ0ra1E%20TUMFLLwsA

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. I disagree!! The format helps Biden!

This will be most beneficial to Biden who often has a habit of talking too much. This will allow him to practice with Gov. Granholm how to give short and concise answers. Think about it: the short answers will save time for more questions. The more questions there are, the more time will be left to see how much The Puppet knows.

I may be the only one who is not upset with this decision because I think it helps the Obama team more. The Democrats--and this includes both Obama and Biden--suffer in debates because they give too nuanced, long-winded responses to questions. The average American voter does not understand the nuance of policies or governance. Sadly, this typically hurts Dems and benefits Republicans who have mastered the art of short sound bites and colorful language.

Remember, the Republicans often win because they try to appeal to our emotions, using fear, anger, or highly sensitive subject matter like gays, guns and abortion. The Dems tend to make the false assumption that voters think intelligently and will thus be up on the issues. Americans are not like that. They want short, easy-to-understand answers, nothing too deep. Gore, Kerry and now Obama suffer because they are often accused of being too "cerebral" or too "professorial." If Obama can work on short, precise answers to questions and provide quick responses or solutions to problems, he will win this debate.

Rest assured, both McCain and Palin will use the following words over and over again for effect: victory, win, fight, security, enemies, extremists, democracy, raising taxes, spending, country first, threats, killers, freedom, we must act, etc.

Spread the word. Let the media tell voters how they had to dumb the debate down for her because she is "inexperienced." But at the same time, this will be an opportunity moment for Biden to work on dumbing down the answers himself so that the average American can understand.

[treestar]

23. Another amateur campaign manager

[votetastic]

24. After each candidate speaks, there is a 2 minute period for "discussion"

Looking forward to that...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

32. That's precisely where Palin will be vulnerable

Palin will have to follow up on Biden's points (I presume) and Biden will be able to rebut her points. I'm sure a candidate can anticipate virtually every question and prepare a position in short answer form. The issues are clear. But when they have to respond to each other, that's where it's necessary to improvise. Biden is a master at that and, frankly, Palin doesn't have a clue. Biden will be playing progressive jazz and Palin will be tinkling the keys on a tiny toy piano playing Farmer In The Dell.

[demwing]

25. NOPE! This format is EXCELLENT!

It keeps the focus on McCain, where we want it. Right now, the Palin luster is off. If you make the debate about her, she gets the opportunity to shine up, or act like sh'e a victim. We don't want people questioning whether Palin is as bad as they thought.

The Obama campaign is wise to get thrown into this briar patch of a debate.

Besides, you know Palin will trip, at least once :)

[vanderBeth]

26. Remember how when Paling memorized the responses for the interviews

and everybody said they KNEW they were well practiced- they came out canned.

[Top Cat]

28. I think we are fine either way..... It just shows how not ready Palin is.

[DiamondKrosse]

31. the same reason Obama took forever

to hit back at McCain after the vicious attacks: they have no campaign strategy. Their GE mode is little different than their primary election mode.

[demwing]

34. Are you claiming Obama has no campaign strategy?

really?

[Clio the Leo]

35. How do we know that.......

..... the Obama camp didn't conceed a more traditional VP debate in order to get TWO more free flowing presidential debates which will benefit us?

One of the reasons we're voting for this man is that he's willing to work with "enemies" in order to achieve a common good.

Or in other words............