This video, taken last night by Minnesota Independent at Cedar-Riverside, shows the jubilation spilling into the streets over the election of Barack Obama as president.
Happy Day!
Today is a good day.
It’s a very good day.
It is a very, very good day.
Vote Today!
Best Presidential Debate Body Language Moment
The most telling silent moment of last night’s debate came when Senator Barack Obama defended himself against Senator John McCain‘s charges that he would be reckless in foreign affairs because he was too inexperienced. At the 4:50 mark of the following video, Obama summarizes McCain’s charges that he’s wet behind the ears while Senator McCain is somber and responsible but then he brings up McCain’s singing of “Bomb Iran.” (CNN sucks. Their video embed script doesn’t work. Follow this link to see their higher quality clip). Watch Senator McCain’s body language during that exchange:
McCain’s body practically slumps; he looks crestfallen and his head droops toward the floor as if to say, “Ugh, you got me.”
Here’s the video of McCain singing “Bomb Iran,” the parody of the Beach Boys song:
The Bar Is Too High
I know everyone is saying that the bar has been set so low for Sarah Palin‘s debate performance that all she has to do is show up and utter a few coherent sentences in order to win.
I completely disagree.
I think that the reason Palin’s poll numbers have fallen is that while people like her charm, her appalling interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric have alarmed a lot of people who now worry that she’s a 72 year old’s heartbeat away from the presidency and she appears to have no qualifications nor, more importantly, capacity for the job at all.
I don’t think Sarah Palin has to simply not screw up; I think she needs to demonstrate a solid understanding of the issues we face and clear reasoning for the positions she takes.
Glittering generalities and homespun hockey mom stories that have no bearing on the question will be seen through for what they are: nothing. I think the Internet has taught us to see through that.
I have no idea how intelligent Palin is but I gotta think anyone who can get elected governor has got plenty of smarts. Worse, she appears to be completely incurious. And we’re still watching that movie.
The problem is, it looks like she has never had to grapple with national and international issues and she’s not had nearly enough time to cram. I think people want to be reassured that she can be president and you can’t do that just by cramming.