During the entire week, news organizations, websites and blogs had stated how Governor Palin was "prepping" for the debate. The word "prepping" sounds like the McCain-Palin camp were panicking over Palin's performance during the debate. As Barbara Walters said on her television show, "The View," "It bothers me that one has to be prepped so much for a debate and crammed full of material. I'm not sure -- and I'm talking about everybody -- that prepping so that you just pass a debate and don't make a huge mistake is necessarily what makes a great president."
I couldn't agree more. Last night's one and only vice presidential debate between Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin was disappointing to say the least. The debate was nothing more than an overly structured debate with little room for the candidates to openly challenge one another. Clearly this debate was catered to Governor Palin's inability to spar and improvise with a more seasoned politician, such as Senator Biden.
During the debate, moderator Gwen Ifill asked:
IFILL: Governor and senator, I want you both to respond to this. Secretaries of state Baker, Kissinger, Powell, they have all advocated some level of engagement with enemies. Do you think these former secretaries of state are wrong on that?
PALIN: No and Dr. Henry Kissinger especially. I had a good conversation with him recently. And he shared with me his passion for diplomacy. And that's what John McCain and I would engage in also. But again, with some of these dictators who hate America and hate what we stand for, with our freedoms, our democracy, our tolerance, our respect for women's rights, those who would try to destroy what we stand for cannot be met with just sitting down on a presidential level as Barack Obama had said he would be willing to do. That is beyond bad judgment. That is dangerous.
No, diplomacy is very important. First and foremost, that is what we would engage in. But diplomacy is hard work by serious people. It's lining out clear objectives and having your friends and your allies ready to back you up there and have sanctions lined up before any kind of presidential summit would take place.
When Palin speaks about using diplomacy in foreign affairs, she has to realize that the American public knows that she has been a passport holder for only a year. She hasn't done extensive traveling. She's only met with a handful of foreign leaders. Senator Barack Obama and Senator Joe Biden have more foreign policy than she will ever have.
Palin recognized that America stands for freedom, democracy, tolerance, and respect for women's rights. But for the last eight years, her party's beliefs and legislation have proved otherwise. She is a vice presidential candidate who bans certain journalists from covering her on the campaign trail. She's a vice presidential candidate who says she has foreign policy experience because she can see Russia from her house. She's a vice presidential candidate who opposes homosexual couples from marrying one another. She's a vice presidential candidate who would deny a woman's right to choose and access to birth control.
What kind of vice presidential candidate would limit the freedoms of the United States? Not a vice presidential candidate who plays the political puppet for the Republican party, the U.S. has already experience eight years of that. We certainly don't need another four years of it.[[In-content Ad]]
