Urban Thought Collective

All that cramming Sarah Palin did over the last few weeks paid off Thursday night. The governor of Alaska was surprisingly poised and knowledgeable during the vice-presidential debate. She was charming, folksy and likable, too. But she also dodged the issues and failed to show how John McCain’s policies would differ from those of President Bush. Instead, Palin cluttered up the conversation with clichés, talking points and irrelevant anecdotes about Alaska. That’s why she was no match for Joe Biden.

The Democratic v.p. contender was the obvious winner last night because he gave direct, factual answers to moderator Gwen Ifill’s questions and he repeatedly drew damning parallels between John McCain and President Bush. I just wish Biden hadn’t gone so easy on Palin. He let her wriggle out of a few traps and failed to put her away with a forceful closing argument.

For instance, the trump card in Obama and Biden’s hand is their tax plan which will give relief to 95% of Americans while eliminating President Bush’s tax breaks for people who earn over $250,000 a year. McCain supports Bush’s tax cuts for the rich as well as tax breaks for oil companies and other big corporations. On top of that, McCain wants to tax employee health care benefits to pay for a $5,000 health care credit (which is only about half of the $10,000 to $12,000 that you’d need to buy health insurance on your own). Biden did a brilliant job of explaining all that early in the debate. But he should have restated it over and over again.

Every time Gov. Palin made the ludicrous claim that Sen. Obama’s plan would raise taxes, Biden should have been there to remind viewers that Obama wants to reduce taxes for the middle class and raise them for rich individuals and big business. That should have been the central point in Biden’s closing argument. He could have sealed his victory, focused the public’s attention and set the stage for Sen. Obama’s second debate on Tuesday, October 7. Unfortunately, Biden let Palin’s nonsense hang in the air unchallenged.

But don’t expect Barack to make that mistake when he faces McCain on Tuesday. Obama will use his plan for middle class tax relief and affordable health care as cudgels to continually go upside McCain’s rhetorical head.

Sure, Sarah Palin did a lot better in her debate than most people expected (which isn’t really saying much since expectations were so low). She’ll probably get a boost in the polls about her competence and John McCain may enjoy an uptick in his numbers as well. But this will be temporary. The bottom line is that most Americans are tired of Republican policies (especially here at home) and McCain, despite claims to the contrary, represents a continuation of those policies. Biden made the point eloquently and passionately when he debated Palin and Obama will drive it home when he faces McCain on Tuesday. And when the dust settles after November 4, Barack Obama will be President of the United States.

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Cameron Turner is a Los Angeles-area native whose editorials, entertainment news features and audio documentaries have appeared on national radio networks, online and in print for over 20 years.