I have two words of advice for the Obama camp tonight: Shock Collar

I wonder if it would help if Joe Biden just printed out Palin's responses to Couric/Gibson questions and just read them as his response. I'd love to hear a reference to "Dollar Menu" tonight.

OT, but oh holy hell these two videos are funny as shit.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/homer-tries-to-vote-for-obama

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/lil-oreilly-bu

I really dont see Biden doing that. Why would he help her? All he has to do is let her ramble.

There is no way Biden is going to finish answers for his opponent in a debate. Being respectful of her and resisting insults to show you're aove the crap is one thing, helping her by passing notes during her finals is another.

Joe's going to be gracious, there's no doubt. I agree, though, that he doesn't have to help her along.
I'm divided on how he should handle it. No matter how inept or uninformed she is tonight, the fanatical base is going to love her anyway. They will also attack Joe Biden for however he treats her. As usual, they've probably got the press releases and commercials in the hopper already.

My hope is that she's enough of a train wreck to get a few more undecideds to show up at the polls on November 4.

Let me help you with that sweetheart. Hold the club like a penis and swing away.

What is the deal with Dennis Miller? If he were at SNL doing the news he would have been giddy with this Palin drivel...and of ALL people to not call BS about her choice of information sources, or lack thereof?? I mean, some Republicans BELIEVE in the cult, but Dennis is just a hired gun. He doesn't need to say this crap just to keep a paycheck coming, does he?? It's embarrassing.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3127172&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/

Nancy "My Face Is Made Of Fiberglass" Pfotenhauer just said on MSNBC, in Palin's defense of her complete lack of knowledge on the Supreme Court:

I'm sorry, I've been in public policy for twenty years, and unless you're a Washington attorney, it's not easy to roll Supreme Court cases trippingly off the tongue. I mean really.

Ludicrous. Fucking criminal. And exactly the opposite response to a nation of mouth-breathing morons that think Joe Six-Pack is A'Okay for the penultimate responsibility on Planet Earth. Not, "I think it's every American's civic duty to have a conversational knowledge of the land's highest court and the decisions it hands down, since they effect every last one of us and how we operate as a free and open society," noooo, lets not make it about being informed, educated, capable and engaged. Let's not point out that a more-than-passing understanding of the Court's most important decisions and how they were arrived at -- not just a blind regurgitation of facts and figures, which is the very least Palin could do and failed even at that -- is absolutely crucial for someone that could possibly appoint LIFETIME MEMBERS to that body. No, fuck that! Just make the mouth-breathers feel better about their stupidity, validate their intellectual laziness and spackle over the absolute scandal that is a Vice President that cannot even name a single SCOTUS opinion.

The Constitution of the United States is the bible of American philosophy. The Supreme Court of the United States is the cathedral in which that philosophy is interpreted. In this most crucial trial, Sarah Palin is a heretic.

Cut it out El, you're making me swoon.

"Back to School" reference?

Kinison: "Thank you very much, Mr. H[a]lper!"

You should see me in my Obama underoos, Paddy. Talk about swoon! KA-POW!

Just because there is no requirement for a President to have a specific education does not infer that there is no RESPONSIBILITY for anyone seeking that office to educate themselves.

Ask Nancy if she'd like to get her next botox from someone that's never studied musculo-skeletal structures. Or if it'd be OK to replace Gen. Patreaus with Billy-Bob down in the other holler 'cause he shoots guns and his 4x4 is as big as a tank.

This crap that lack of comprehension is justifiable and laudable in public office is mind-freakingly unnerving to me. Idiocracy was a satire...but it's looking more like a documentary by the day! AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Oh if only we still had Kinison, Carlin and Dangerfield. They'd show that half-wit Palin NO MERCY!

Not to mention the speciousness of her argument that "we should let the States decide".

Helloooo? Is anyone home? Maybe someone should remind this air-head that we worked this out about 150 years ago? (stage whisper "The Civil War, remember?")

Because you can't have it both ways. I'm from CA and we all voted to legalize medical marijuana.
On the down side - what if the Georgia decided slavery wasn't such a bad thing after all?

I am hoping that this evening given 5 minutes to be coherent on a subject, Palin will spout 2.5 minutes of recycled campaign rhetoric, bitchy soundie-bitey quotes, and catty zingers about how Obama isn't qualified - then melt down into a gooey puddle of bullshit and nonsense.

Sign me: "Pay now attention to the little man behind the curtain".

I'm with Nano on this. The reviews have already been written...

I've got plenty of faith in Joe. Obama's advisors clearly know what they are doing. There will be a strategy, and it will be a smart one.

Maybe she'll break down and begin talking in tongues. That would be cool.

Biden has three rules tonight in my opinion:

1. Do no harm.
2. Get Palin off her scripted talking points.
3. Keep the Obama campaign on offense.

Let's face it, tonight's debate format & extremely low expectations are set up for Palin to look good (it reminds me a lot of her pre-convention speech scenario). She's been rehearsing scripted answers for the last few weeks so let's not all think she's going to completely fall on her face out there. If she does have a major gaffe though, this thing is completely over.

Look, let's put this in a package that Joe Six-Pack can really understand, in terms so moronic as to command their most pablum-sucking assent: Suppose you, Joe Six-Pack, were given the responsibility of electing the owner of an NFL franchise, your favorite team in fact (let's say, for the purposes of political analogy, that it's the Washington Redskins). The one team upon which you hang everything and expect to perform for you, Joe Six-Pack, because you are their biggest fan. And now you can elect the next General Manager of this team.

Thing is, in the 2008-2009 season, the Skins have three -- maybe even four -- key players, real game-changers, the stars, the guys without whom the Skins simply cannot function, that are thinking of retiring. And let's just say that whomever you elect as General Manager is the only one that can pick replacements for these guys that make your team the functioning whole that it is. Yes, his picks are subject to a board of directors, maybe a few get shitcanned in the early rounds, but it's this guy's judgment, his intimate knowledge of the sport and its history, and the stats and specifics of the players available for the draft, that count. Now you have two choices for General Manager.

The first choice is literally a football scholar. He went to a school where all they do is read books about football, talk about football, write papers about specific plays, analyze and dissect the very rules of football, and then went on to become the president of the Football School's Gridiron Review, the country's most prestigious journal of everything having to do with football. After graduating at the top of his class from this institute of Football Knowledge, he went on to teach other students of football and its many rules and regulations. For twelve years. This General Manager would pick players based on their statistical records, on their game play, on their attitude towards other players and towards the Rules of the Game. He’d base his draft picks on temperament and reason, using all the many years of studying the game of football to place the best available players in the game for the good of the whole team, and all its fans.

Your second choice knows absolutely nothing about football. She has never herself played football or studied it in any way. She can’t tell you a single play or describe the scoring system. She’s watched a few games, can tell you one or two of the team names, but that’s it; she simply has no interest in or comprehension of the sport of football. She’d make her picks to staff your favorite team based on the color of their jerseys, and their opinions about God and whatnot. And once she’s made her picks, those players – for better or worse – will be stuck playing for the Skins for possibly the next 20-30 years. But she doesn’t care, because football means nothing to her, really; she’s just blessed that you chose her.

No football fan would do something so mind-bogglingly assheaded. No football fan could comprehend putting a rookie asshole in charge of their most cherished team. Well you know what, Joe Six-Pack? The United States is my team, you stupid fuckhole; the Constitution is my playbook and the Supreme Court is my RFK Stadium. I need my players to know what the fuck they’re doing, and I need their manager and all their coaches to run the best plays, all the time, for everyone, not just Skins fans. Why on earth wouldn’t your choice for Vice President be at least as informed as your choice for the manager of a football team?

And yes, I understand that Obama is running against McCain, not Palin, but I’m basically assuming that McCain strokes out or dies shortly after nuking Iran. You have to assume the worst in government. Obviously.

She'll talk in her whinney, bitchy nasal voice and since she's such a congenital bullshitter, (but without real facts to fall back on), she'll spout lies and innuendo to try and taunt Biden into getting all mad, defending Obama. Call it the "Yer a dooty-head. Uh-uh, you are." debate style.

If Biden keeps his cool and focuses on how badly the Republicans have run this country into the ground, he'll do okay.

And of course, he has a LOT of material to work with....

Elvis, absolutely brilliant analysis!

@ El-
It's a good thing none of us that stop by the blog are "JOE SIX-PACK", cuz we wouldn't be able to comprehend you!*smile*

Very few Joe Six-Packs read political blogs. They're too busy watching football.

Seems like the BBQ media is setting the bar pretty low tonight for Joe, too. (And based on mnost comments here, so are we?) All we're hearing is how Joe is a "gaffe machine," and that all he has to do is make ONE "gaffe" and they (the media) will be talking about it for a week. This is BBQ media's big hope. You're all right that Palin will do no wrong in the media's eyes, based upon their coverage that echoes the McCain spinmeisters.

Elvis, Good God that was inspiring.

Gwin Ifill and her book are going to be their main talking point reason if Palin does bad. Andrea Mitchell Greenspan just interviewed the Debate Chairman (former head of the GOP!) While he said the book makes no difference, he did say that the Debate Committee/Commission WAS NOT AWARE of the book!!! (Gimme a break!) And McCain flipflopped from his message yesterday that Ifill would be fair to today appearing on Fox & Friends (and with their goading, of course) admitted LIFE WASN'T FAIR! (I got that off the "Yahoo Home Page" link, story from AP)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081002/ap_on_el_pr/mccain;_ylt=AjHOVXoG6LgGWjxvqqcb3rqs0NUE

Crap -- hold on --- that's the wrong story link.

Here's the right article about McCain complaining about Ifill ... it was a Politico story (linked from "Yahoo Home Page" news)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081002/pl_politico/14207

Bob, Elvis, et al...thank you for getting me through this election cycle with a smile on my face even when things sometimes appear so grim. I have passed this site on to so many of my friends. It's really brilliant. Speaking in tongues!!! That WOULD be awesome! I also love the choke collar! He was pretty good though during the Dem debates, wasn't he? T- and 7 hours...

Oh yeah, and not only do you get McCain's comments about Ifill, but Palin's comments too, WHEN SHE APPEARED ON HANNITY'S RADIO SHOW yesterday ("fair and balanced" questioning, unlike Couric's!) And, per Palin, where "based on Ifill's comments" is she going to show the contrasts between the two tickets -- in the fact that Obama is BLACK?

Especially because of McCain and Palin's comments about Ifill (and those of the ultra-conservative right wing,) she BETTER NOT give Palin a "break" in any way.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081002/pl_politico/14207

Curious. A McCain ad setting expectations for Biden to put his foot in his mouth. Odd that they'd want to set his expectations low, isn't it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/02/mccain-hits-biden-gaffes_n_131245.html

p.s.-
what was I thinking???
Joe Six-pack ain't smart enuff to know...

"What's a goddamn blog, Bubba?? Some type of new new fishin' tackle?"

"Jethro, how da hell do I know? Somthin' they be sayin' when I watch the evenin' show (news). Somethin' to do with space. AND, don't be makin' me think so much! Now shut da hell up and drink yer Bud!"

Listen, Mr. The Pecos Bill, I want to be clear about something: My most passionate wish from the Commentary Side of blogging -- and I do it from both ends, authoring my own site and commenting here and there as the mood takes me -- is picking a fight with the intention to have my mind changed. For a long time I was a member of a particular Social Community that gave me much more ready access to Wingnuts and their insane opinions, and my best days were those in which I tried to use a little Reason and a little Humor to sway an opinion my way. Then I realized something: There are almost no minds left in this country capable of changing. At least not if the Internets can be said to represent some small microcosm of our society (and it never really can, given that by definition an Internets connection is a priviledge not afforded every citizen or class). So these days I lend my voice to the goings-on here at BobCesca.com because I've found a small and well-mannered community of like-minded people and I can vent my political spleen without the tiresome effort of using small one-syllable words and emoticons so the Wingnuts can understand me.

So don't mistake my derision of Joe Six-Pack as a blanket condemnation of Redneck Society and their lack of engagement in politics. I know they have their own enclaves, and preach to their own choirs, and talk endlessly about these issues just like we do. There's an old farmer in my very small rural Midwestern town that blogs, and just about everything he says makes me sick. But I respect his voice, and his desire to be heard. So I didn't mean to shit on Joe Six-Pack in that respect.

But Palin is a Redneck Nation Game-Changer. You have to be willfully obtuse to be supporting this ticket now. It's a magic act at this point: You have to willfully suspend your disbelief* in order to get behind McCain/Palin and I'm just not tolerant of that sort of buffoonery. If you're educated enough, functional enough, and Middle Class enough to enjoy a voice on the internets and you support McCain/Palin after having seen the Couric interviews, you are no longer just an Aw-Shucks Pedestrian Gump but a purposefully obtuse and dangerously apolitical creature that deserves immediate scorn and ridicule. There are those of us that take the governance of this country seriously, and expect our leaders to do likewise. For those Gumps and Bubbas that lend their voice in support of Sarah Palin, I've simply run out of the patient respect needed to share an honest dialogue.

* Great Black Adder line: "Well I'm not having people stare at my willy suspension in disbelief!" You may have had to be there.

The worst thing Biden could do to her tonight would be to say, "That was an interesting answer. I'd like to give my time to Ms. Palin to elaborate on that answer."

Elvis - awesome posts today. Be sure to save some for the liveblogging tonight! It's going to be a festival!

My dad has said for the past couple months that he is a smart guy with a good grasp of issues, politics, and foreign policy, but he wouldn't trust himself to run the country. There is a difference between being a regular "six-pack" American, and being someone with the knowledge and skill to be president.

About Biden, I am going to be optimistic and believe that the people around him have gone over these various scenarios with him and are making sure that he won't shoot himself in the foot. He's been around the block quite a few times, and hopefully he's learned from some of his past mistakes.

However, I picked up an extra-large bottle of Absolut today...just in case.

In defense of the real Joe Six-pack, isn't he represented by people like Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO (see Bob's current'Awesome') His members gave a standing ovation to his wonderful, honest assessment of racism and why it was so wrong for union members and other working class people - who know how hard and unfair life under Republicans can be - to let themselves be set against one another by the bosses for their own ends? I think Sarah Palin does not begin to understand real working class people, and thinks they are as simplistic as she.

Again, please understand that when I say "Joe Six-Pack" I'm saying it through Sarah Palin's mouth, putting the meaning to it that an utterly unengaged, uninformed and uninquisitive mind like hers conjures when she tries to grease that base: She's talking to the Great American Mouth-Breather that disdains intelligence and mocks elitism because learnin' makes you uppity and any shit-kicking moose-hunter can take Penultimate Global Responsibility because she's got Small Town Values and basic literacy. Make no mistake that Sarah Palin knows that the willfully obtuse are her Base, and that stroking their self-satisfied lack of intelligence is how she wins votes and approval. THAT'S the Joe Six-Pack that I mean, and that's the demographic in this country that's choking the very life out of our Body Politic.

Bob, Bob, Bob...calm down dude.

Awesome, awesome posting, ELVIS!! I agree with you, too, Phoenicia about the Trumka video, and NICE POINT about Palin's misunderstanding of working class people!